UN Education for Sustainable Development in Action

a Case Study of Primary Education in Croatia

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), promoted by the United Nations, is a social movement to be nurtured for the future benefit of the planet and humanity. In a rapidly changing world, where cascading risks are increasingly evident, the continued development of ESD is critical to overcoming cross-cutting challenges. Starting from the viewpoint that quality education should focus on learning ‘how to live sustainably,’ this article examines the integration of ESD into Croatian primary schooling within the context of current global challenges, as defined by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The research examines the implementation of selected ESD priority areas that are relevant for primary schooling: advancing policy, transforming learning environments, building the capacities of educators, and establishing a monitoring system that could track and enhance national education policy and performance. This paper also discusses relevant global and EU education frameworks, singling out the recently published Cypriot policy as an example of good practice. The research was conducted in 927 primary schools in Croatia. The results revealed that the primary obstacle to further ESD development in primary education is the insufficient integration of new ESD achievements and trends, largely because many challenges that should be globally addressed by the Agenda 2030 are not satisfactorily integrated into teaching. This indicates the need to amend the existing National Curriculum, which is still under development, and calls for substantive support from the highest decision-making spheres regarding the global importance of sustainable development. Respondents also indicated the need for improved knowledge, skills, and cooperation among teaching staff and a wider range of stakeholders, such as local communities. A more comprehensive approach to improving ESD in Croatia could be inspired by Cyprus’s ESD policy to bring together a wider range of stakeholders and achieve ESD objectives in a timely manner.