Abstract:

Integrating sustainability into education and training systems is crucial for protecting our planet and public health. Education empowers learners with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to value and safeguard the environment. The Academy for Sustainable Future Educators (EduSTA) is an international project aimed at enhancing teachers' competences in sustainable development across five European countries: Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Spain (Catalonia). The primary objective is to strengthen the European dimension of teacher education through the use of digital open badges, which serve as micro-credentials to perform, recognize, document, and transfer competences. Despite extensive research on teachers' competences in sustainable development, a gap persists between research findings and teachers' practical work. EduSTA's research focuses on mapping legislative frameworks in vocational education and training (VET) teacher education related to education for sustainable development (ESD). It aims to identify contextual opportunities and constraints for transformative sustainability education by operationalizing skills. The findings reveal that national policies in different countries do not legally require competences in ESD, highlighting a significant area for development. This study further discusses the potential for enhancing competences in rural development.

Keywords:

Education for sustainable development, teacher competences, digital open badges, vocational education and training.