Access to the published version may require subscription. N.B. When citing this work, cite the original published paper.

No abstract

The overall aim of this thesis is to develop knowledge of teaching and learning sustainable development in global-local contexts. The research field is global learning for sustainable development (GLSD). Phenomenographic approach and contextual analysis were used as methods of analysis, and data was collected by Semi-structured interviews at secondary and upper secondary schools in Sweden.In Study I, a strategic and systematic literature review was conducted of recent trends and critique to the dominating rhetoric on policy level concerning global education and global learning on sustainability issues. The complexity represented in GLSD is of global interest to face current challenges. The global-local context and the process for global learning were characterised by the learner's perspective and self-efficacy. The variation of ways in which contextual features were revealed, affected how participants experienced their own learning global learning space.In Study II, empirical investigations were conducted of students', teachers', and head teachers' conceptions of implementation of GLSD. Results indicate that critical knowledge capabilities were needed to act towards sustainability globally. Critical knowledge capabilities developed in the processes were to take command and collaborate as a team. Capabilities that were identified as necessary but which had not been sufficiently developed were to be prepared, act in a transdisciplinary manner and lead for holistic understanding in the learning process. Critical knowledge capabilities to handle complex knowledge were characterised by volition, self-directed learning, and knowledge formation. 6In Study III, a re-analysis was conducted of the data from Study II. The results shed light on pertinent transition skills in GLSD: (I) transdisciplinary action via knowledge formation in actual practices, (II) democratic collaborative action via processes of understanding, respectively (III) self-directed learning and independent initiative. These transition skills, enabling young people to be prepared for unpredictable changes, were perceived as key features in developing young people's capability in an uncertain world. They developed worldview understanding, and advanced transformation competencies including critical reflections upon questions of current normativity.In Study IV, collaborative and transdisciplinary teaching with a global-local perspective was investigated in a study with teachers committed to global learning and sustainable development at an upper secondary school. Two main transdisciplinary teaching approaches of GLSD were distinguished: Contributing: Assist and Take Part respectively Ownership: Possess and Reconceptualise. The contributing approach was divided into the sub-categories: (I) Disheartened, (II) Supportive, and (III) Complementing teaching approaches; while the ownership approach comprised (IV) Decisive, and (V) Multi-dimensional teaching approaches.Various dimensions of the results appeared to be relevant for sustainability teaching an...

Despite continued efforts by educators, UN declarations and numerous international agreements, progress is still limited in handling major global challenges such as ecosystem collapse, accelerating climate change, poverty, and inequity. The capacity to collaborate globally on addressing these issues remains weak. This historical review of research on global learning for sustainable development (GLSD) aims to clarify the diverse directions that research on GLSD has taken, to present the historical development of the research area, and highlight emerging research issues. The review summarizes key findings of 53 peer-reviewed publications, published in English in the period 1994–2020 identified with the search terms “global learning” and “sustainable development”, sustainability or GLSD, respectively. The review documented a gradually growing knowledge base, mostly authored by scholars located in the global North. Conclusions point to what we might achieve if we could learn from one another in new ways, moving beyond Northern-centric paradigms. It is also time to re-evaluate core assumptions that underlie education for sustainable development more generally, such as a narrow focus on formal learning institutions. The review provides a benchmark for future reviews of research on GLSD, reveals the emerging transformative structure of this transdisciplinary field, and offers reference points for further research.

Global teaching and learning for sustainable development reaches from the classroom to the world outside, and is therefore a particularly interesting setting for practising transition skills. The article suggests a number of features perceived as crucial in developing young people's capability to act in a changing world and under circumstances that are difficult to predict. The suggestions are based on an empirical study of the Lund Calling project, which aimed at implementing a web-based international programme for teaching preventive environmental strategies in Swedish secondary schools. The article first presents some of the conditions in Sweden that particularly impact on young people's transition to adulthood. Related research in sustainability education is also briefly outlined. Knowledge capability theory is used to discuss results from the empirical study of the Lund Calling project, where interviews were conducted with secondary school students, teachers and headmasters. Based on these interviews, features that appear to be particularly relevant as transition skills in global learning for sustainable development include transdisciplinary action, democratic collaborative action, as well as self-directed and independent initiative. The article concludes that young people today cannot, as in earlier periods of history, base their actions entirely on the traditions of the family or community. Instead, they also need to learn to form their own communities, capable of acting at both local and global levels. Education here plays an important role in developing the necessary transition skills that enable young people to be prepared for a rapidly changing and uncertain world.

Purpose The paper aims to provide a conceptual map of how to mediate between sustainability theory and practice in higher education and how disciplinary divides can be bridged. It further looks at issues linked to knowledge views and drivers for institutional change that affect opportunities for whole institution development promoting action preparedness. Design/methodology/approach Taking its point of departure in the University Educators for Sustainable Development report UE4SD (2014, 2015), the paper discusses ways that ideas and interaction can be mediated in higher education settings, to connect sustainability research with vocational programmes. Different options are considered and compared. Findings Although the literature stresses both action orientation and the need for holistic transdisciplinary approaches, many institutional drivers limit opportunities for more integrating approaches. Research limitations/implications However, while conclusions may hold for universities at an overarching level, it is likely that certain research and teaching environments have been able to transcend such barriers. Practical implications Conceptually mapping the different forms that dialogue, interaction and flows of ideas take within higher education institutions has relevance for whole institution development for sustainability. Social implications Importantly, producing sustainability science with relevance to practice in various professions is a fundamental condition to support accelerated transitions to sustainability at societal levels. Originality/value The paper makes a significant contribution by focusing on concrete institutional pathways for knowledge exchange and negotiation that can support education for sustainability in higher education.

No abstract

This study investigates a reciprocal partnership between two cities in Namibia and Sweden to deepen the understanding of challenges and learning outcomes in a project on education for sustainable development. Since 2008, two municipalities have developed a strong partnership via The Municipal Partnership Programme at the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy. Municipal partnerships are results-oriented collaborations in joint projects on sustainability. The purpose is to describe how eight team members in the mutual South-North project, by addressing similar problems in different contexts, experienced challenges in the implementation of the project plan, solutions and learning processes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the end of the second project year. Transcripts and field notes were analysed using a phenomenographic approach and contextual analysis. Five main categories of description based on collective statements and three dimensions of learning were recognised in the research data. The analysis identifies strategies for critical knowledge formation and capability building to support mutual learning in South-North Municipal Partnerships. The concluding discussion spots the learning dimensions—how sharing experiences by justifying non-formal and transformational learning promotes organisations’ readiness for knowledge formation by conducting mutual global learning towards sustainable development goals.