Action research for education for sustainable development: the case of the university in-service course ‘education for sustainable development–innovations in school and teacher education (BINE)*

Abstract

The goal of the university professional development course BINE is to encourage participants to address education for sustainable development (ESD) in a reflective way. The main aims are for the participants to learn about action research and to reflect and implement ESD in their work and institutions. This paper briefly describes the concepts of action research in relation to ESD and gives an overview of the structure of the course. The central part reports on the programme evaluation and the main results. Findings indicate that the systematic collection and analysis of data and the writing of a study are regarded as strenuous but conducive to learning. It seems that a balance of provocation and support as elements of a dynamic didactical design offers space for more in-depth reflections on ESD.