"Not everything can be taught." Learning through a whole institution ESD process in university teacher education

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is key to the transition to more fair and sustainable futures and is an increasing emphasis across educational phases, including in teacher education. Whole Institution Approaches (WIA) to ESD are particularly effective in empowering learners and educators to act for sustainability, and there is a need for more understanding of the complexities and contradictions of implementation. This article reports on a WIA ESD process at a university teacher education institute in Germany. Drawing on the scientific monitoring of the process, we show that participants’ understandings of ESD developed through their involvement, and highlight some of the practical challenges associated with this approach.