Cross-disciplinary Educator Training approaches for Education for Sustainable Development in a Post-digital Perspective

Abstract

The call for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) connects with the agenda for addressing the anthropogenic challenges, aiming at a transition towards a sustainable future for planet Earth, humanity, and all living beings. As part of this agenda, educators play a vital role in developing and implementing ESD in their teaching. In recent years, there has been a focus on developing digital teaching and learning resources to support educators in their work on developing and delivering ESD. In a post-digital era with digital technology intricately woven into education and teaching, educators must excel in both designing and orchestrating teaching to effectively support ESD learning experiences. This implies that educators must acquire both pedagogical, technological, and sustainability knowledge to make informed pedagogical decisions on designing for ESD. Thus, pointing to a need for focused educator training and adequate learning materials to empower educators. This study investigates an international cross-disciplinary project, focusing on developing, integrating, and scaling ESD in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and Vocational Education and Training (VET) educations, by developing and delivering educator training, supported by a digital ESD Academy (i.e., an online learning platform (OLP)). An ethnographic study of a series of educator training was carried out, focusing on; (1) “What are the educators taught about the key sustainability competencies and ESD. (2) “How are the educators taught to teach for such competencies”. Field notes, pictures, and documents, such as programs, slides, and hand-outs, were collected to address the research questions. This paper discusses how educator training handles the interplay of the components; knowledge, skills, affective dispositions, and actions toward sustainable development when designing for ESD. Findings from this study show a disposition for the knowledge dimension when teaching the key sustainability competencies in educator training and further reveal challenges in addressing the pedagogical choices for teaching these and delivering action-oriented teaching. When designing an OLP to support educators in developing and delivering ESD, this study points to a need for an awareness of the complexity of teaching key sustainability competencies and calls for reflections on both knowledge of pedagogy, technology, and the key sustainability competencies.