From International Plans to National Practice: How are Issues of Inequality Addressed in Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Training? A case study research on how issues of inequality are addressed through Education for Sustainable Development in teacher training in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.7 on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an international goal, which needs to be implemented nationally to be achieved. By using theories on globalization and coloniality, as well as transformative learning, this case study research investigates how ESD is being understood in the national context of Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. The focus is on the social justice dimension of sustainable development, SDG 10: Reduce inequality, and how this is addressed in ESD in teacher training in the three countries. The research focuses on teacher educators who are participating in the Advanced Regional Training Programme (ARTP) in ESD, a cross-national project in Southern Africa. Based on the findings, there is a need to decolonize ESD and the global structures that promote sustainable development. The tug of war between the different dimensions in sustainable development, as well as between ESD, GCED, and EE, must also be addressed in order to steer away from silo thinking and towards holistic approaches in education. In the context of Southern Africa, findings show that there is no division between ESD, EE and GCED. UNESCO, on the other hand, has until recently treated GCED and ESD as two educational disciplines, however, connected. The political dimension, a fourth dimension of sustainable development, applied in Southern Africa, may be a way to include GCED with ESD. It may also be a means to address structural inequality and contribute to decolonialization, which is needed for the transformation to sustainability.