Encouraging a sense of responsibility among German geography students in the context of Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a central part of the German curriculum across all subjects and school types. Geography, in particular, lends itself well to ESD integration. The aim of ESD is to empower students to take action and practise sustainable behaviour in the classroom. In order to achieve this, students should become aware of their own responsibility, as well as that of other actors, on sustainability issues through geography lessons. This article describes four levels of responsibility (space, groups, sustainability dimensions and time) that should be addressed in geography lessons focusing on ESD. An exploratory qualitative intervention study of two school classes tested the extent to which a differentiated sense of responsibility could be promoted among students through lessons that took these dimensions into account. The results show that the students were able to analyse the actors involved and the consequences of their actions. However, they struggled to perceive their own responsibility in a differentiated way, and to describe the responsibility of other groups of actors. In particular, the students were reluctant to hold the government accountable. The intervention helped the students to become more aware of their own responsibility and that of other groups. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that they developed a differentiated sense of responsibility.