More of the same: A critical analysis of the formations of teacher students through education for sustainable development

Abstract

Despite the good intentions in policies promoting education for sustainable development (ESD), this paper shows that, as university scholars and teachers, we need to critically engage with how student subjectivities are formed when global initiatives materialise in local educational practices. The analysis in this paper is based on focus groups with teacher instructors in Sweden, where the participants discuss how they work with education for sustainable development. The analysis focuses on how the teacher instructors discuss their students. The analysis shows that the preferred teacher student has an active lifestyle, participates in public debates, is happy, and consumes eco-friendly goods, often in line with the teacher instructors themselves. In conclusion, the author argues that those engaging with education for sustainable development should seek to widen its scope by critically engaging with how those under education are formed through taken for granted norms of good intentions and education for sustainable development in the present.