Hols , Jo i ; Singe ‐B odowski, Mandy; B ock, An je; de Haan, Ge ha d
A icle — Published Ve sion
Moni o ing SDG 4.7: Assessing Educa ion o Sus ainable De elopmen
in policies, cu icula, aining o educa o s and s uden assessmen
(inpu ‐indica o )
Sus ainable De elopmen
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
John Wiley & Sons
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Hols , Jo i ; Singe ‐B odowski, Mandy; B ock, An je; de Haan, Ge ha d (2024) :
Moni o ing SDG 4.7: Assessing Educa ion o Sus ainable De elopmen in policies, cu icula,
aining o educa o s and s uden assessmen (inpu ‐indica o ), Sus ainable De elopmen , ISSN
1099-1719, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Chiches e , UK, Vol. 32, Iss. 4, pp. 3908-3923,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/sd.2865
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Moni o ing SDG 4.7: Assessing Educa ion o Sus ainable
De elopmen in policies, cu icula, aining o educa o s and
s uden assessmen (inpu -indica o )
Jo i Hols | Mandy Singe -B odowski | An je B ock | Ge ha d de Haan
Ins i u Fu u , Depa men o Educa ion and
Psychology, F eie Uni e si ä Be lin, Be lin,
Ge many
Co espondence
Jo i Hols , Ins i u Fu u , Depa men o
Educa ion and Psychology, F eie Uni e si ä
Be lin, Fabecks . 37, Be lin, 14195, Ge man.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
Funding in o ma ion
Bundesminis e ium ü Bildung und Fo schung,
G an /Awa d Numbe s: 01JO2004, 01JO2305
Abs ac
Educa ion is iewed as a c i ical keys one in achie ing he Sus ainable De elopmen Goals
(SDGs). Speci ically, Educa ion o Sus ainable De elopmen (ESD) is mean o enable
e e yone o con ibu e o sus ainable de elopmen (SDG 4.7). This a ge is moni o ed
using he global indica o 4.7.1 –mains eaming o ESD in policies, cu icula, aining o
educa o s and s uden assessmen . He e, we o e a concep ual and me hodological
amewo k o assessmen s o SDG 4.7.1 (inpu -le el) ha add esses bo h quali y and
dep h o implemen a ion and speed o change. The app oach combines documen analysis
wi h ex e nal expe e alua ion and is applied o 10-yea da a (>11,000 documen s) om
all o mal a eas o educa ion in Ge many (ea ly childhood educa ion, school educa ion,
oca ional educa ion and aining, highe educa ion). Cu en ly, ESD is mos ly implemen ed
in Ge many as an “add-on” o he educa ional sys em, wi h all sub-indica o s anging om
“isola ed men ioning”o ESD and ela ed concep s o “pa ial in eg a ion”. Ac oss mos
a eas o educa ion, he sub-indica o aining o educa o s was e alua ed as mos de icien .
Wi h ega d o he speed o change, i was ound ha he implemen a ion o ESD is
dynamic, wi h all sub-indica o s ha ing been e alua ed as inc easing. The p oposed ame-
wo k can inc ease he alidi y, eliabili y, and compa abili y o bo h coun y epo ing and
scien i ic assessmen s o SDG 4.7.1. We a gue o independen and in eg a i e moni o ing
ac oss inpu , p ocess, ou pu and ou come o complemen sel - epo ing and o suppo
e idence-in o med policymaking on sus ainabili y in educa ion.
KEYWORDS
Sus ainable De elopmen Goals (SDGs), SDG 4.7, Educa ion o Sus ainable De elopmen
(ESD), moni o ing & e alua ion, documen analysis, inpu -indica o , ea ly childhood educa ion &
school educa ion, oca ional educa ion & highe educa ion
1|TOWARD SDG 4.7 –RESPONDING TO
AN EXISTENTIAL CHALLENGE
Sus ainable De elopmen (SD) encompasses an ambi ious global
agenda o he de elopmen o esilien , socially jus human li e wi hin
he limi s o plane Ea h. Wi h 17 globally ag eed upon goals, 169 a -
ge s and well o e 200 indica o s, he Sus ainable De elopmen Goals
(SDGs) a e cu en ly he co e no ma i e amewo k o global sus ain-
abili y e o s (e.g., Bie mann e al., 2017; Bie mann e al., 2022).
Al hough he SDGs a e no wi hou con o e sy due o hei
Recei ed: 9 June 2023 Re ised: 27 No embe 2023 Accep ed: 11 Decembe 2023
DOI: 10.1002/sd.2865
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License, which pe mi s use, dis ibu ion and ep oduc ion in any medium,
p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
© 2024 The Au ho s. Sus ainable De elopmen published by ERP En i onmen and John Wiley & Sons L d.
3908 Sus ainable De elopmen . 2024;32:3908–3923.
wileyonlinelib a y.com/jou nal/sd
inhe en ly con lic ing goals (Hickel, 2019; Holden e al., 2017;
Spangenbe g, 2017), he gene al necessi y and u gency o mo e
owa d global sus ainabili y is i ually undispu ed in academia and
in e na ional poli ics (e.g., Richa dson e al., 2023; Rocks öm
e al., 2023; Uni ed Na ions Gene al Assembly, 2023). As impo an as
he SDGs a e, he indings o he mid- e m epo on hei implemen-
a ion a e e y sobe ing (Sachs e al., 2023): Cu en ly, none o he
17 goals a e on ack, and in some cases p og ess is epo ed o be
going backwa ds. None heless, he au ho s emind us ha all o he
goals a e s ill achie able (ibid.). Fo his ansi ion, he mid- e m epo
highligh s uni e sal quali y educa ion as a c i ical SD pa hway, among
o he s. This is suppo ed by s udies on assessmen s o he SDGs and
hei in e ac ions, in which quali y educa ion (SDG 4) and pa icula ly
SDG 4.7 a e desc ibed as ha ing a s ong posi i e ela ionship wi h
a ious o he SDGs (Dalampi a & Nas is, 2020; Fonseca e al., 2020;
Pham-T u e e al., 2020; Vladimi o a & Le Blanc, 2016; Xiao
e al., 2023). In his ein, linking educa ion wi h sus ainabili y has been
discussed as undamen al o change owa d sus ainabili y bo h in he
ields o educa ion (Agbedahin, 2019; S e ling, 2003,2016; Wals &
Bena o , 2017) and sus ainabili y esea ch (Abson e al., 2017; O o
e al., 2020; Sachs e al., 2019; Van Poeck e al., 2020).
Co espondingly, a ge 4.7 o he SDGs calls o educa ion sys-
ems wo ldwide o “ensu e [by 2030] ha all lea ne s acqui e he
knowledge and skills needed o p omo e sus ainable de elopmen ”
(Uni ed Na ions Gene al Assembly, 2015, p. 21). Agains his back-
d op, Educa ion o Sus ainable De elopmen (ESD) is app oached by
UNESCO and i s membe s a es as “an enable o all 17 SDGs”and a
“ ounda ion o he equi ed ans o ma ion”(UNESCO, 2021). Con-
sequen ly, he inal decla a ion a he UNESCO Wo ld Con e ence on
ESD in 2021 se a commi men o membe s a es o “[e]nsu e ha
ESD is a ounda ional elemen o ou educa ion sys ems a all le els”
(UNESCO, 2021, p. 2).
To be able o mee his commi men as well as he objec i e se
in SDG 4.7, i is o c i ical impo ance o sys ema ically moni o and
e alua e he deg ee o which ESD and sus ainabili y a e being in e-
g a ed wi hin educa ion sys ems (B en Edwa ds e al., 2020; Kioupi &
Voul oulis, 2019; S epanek Lockha , 2018). Such da a p o ide he
basis o obse ing ends, iden i ying p og ess and gaps as well as
de i ing necessa y policy measu es o s eng hen he implemen a ion
o ESD. As wi h all SDGs, he de elopmen o conc e e and acili a i e
indica o s o he in eg a ion o sus ainabili y in educa ion is c ucial
o i s go e nance and p ac ical implemen a ion (Bie mann
e al., 2017; Hák e al., 2016; Kim, 2023). Cu en ly, he global indica-
o o a ge 4.7 o he SDGs is desc ibed as he “ex en o which
(i) global ci izenship educa ion and (ii) educa ion o sus ainable de el-
opmen a e mains eamed in (a) na ional educa ion policies;
(b) cu icula; (c) eache educa ion; and (d) s uden assessmen ”
(UNESCO, 2017,2019a,2019b). Howe e , his indica o has no ye
been su icien ly ope a ionalized o independen and scien i ic
assessmen s (B en Edwa ds e al., 2020; Giang ande e al., 2019).
Moni o ing is cu en ly based on coun ies' sel - epo ing using a
dicho omous (yes/no) assessmen scheme as well as quali a i e
highligh ing o bes -p ac ice cases (UNESCO, 2019a,2019b). This
eliance on coun ies' sel - epo ing esul s in a bias owa d posi i e
epo ing (e.g., Nazi e al., 2011), which mos likely does no e lec
he eal s a us o a ge 4.7. Taking he example o Ge many, he cu -
en sco e on he global indica o o SDG 4.7.1 is epo ed a 1.0 o
na ional educa ion policies ( ange: 0–1), 0.904 o cu icula, 0.95
o eache educa ion and 0.917 o s uden assessmen
(Des a is, 2023). Howe e , he esul s de i ed om independen da a
om he na ional moni o ing o ESD in Ge many (e.g., G und & B ock,
2020; Hols e al., 2020) a e signi ican ly di e en . While he e is con-
side able suppo o he in eg a ion o ESD in o he Ge man educa-
ion sys em, including h ough a la ge pa icipa o y mul i-s akeholde
p ocess (Na ionale Pla o m BNE c/o BMBF, 2017; Singe -B odowski
e al., 2020), he disc epancies be ween sel - epo ing sco es and
e alua ions by independen moni o ing p o ide good easons o
complemen ing coun ies' sel - epo ing on SDG 4.7 wi h indepen-
den e alua ions o allow o e idence-in o med policy-making
(Linga d, 2013).
Also, wi h ega d o ope a ionaliza ion, he concep ual openness
o he cu en global indica o 4.7.1. is iewed by some au ho s as
p oblema ic because, among o he easons, “i is no clea how com-
pa isons o his indica o ac oss coun ies should be in e p e ed”
(B en Edwa ds e al., 2020, p. 35) and because he e m “mains eam-
ing”is no su icien ly conc e e wi h ega d o dep h o in eg a ion
(Gallwey, 2016). Howe e , a mo e nuanced app oach o measu ing
SDG 4.7.1 a he inpu -le el o documen s has no ye been p oposed.
Awa e o he necessi y o moni o ing ESD ac oss he di e en indica-
o le els (inpu s, e.g., in documen s; p ocesses, e.g., assessmen s o
Whole Ins i u ion App oaches; ou pu s and ou comes,
e.g., assessmen s o compe encies) and he need o de elop bo h
in e na ional and mo e con ex -speci ic indica o s, we ocus he e on
measu emen s a egies o he assessmen o ESD a he inpu -le el
o documen s. While we a e p oposing a way o u he ope a ionalize
SDG 4.7.1 and apply in one illus a i e con ex (Ge many), he
app oach can also be used as a gene al inpu -indica o o ESD in
o he con ex s.
Va ious au ho s ha e al eady conduc ed documen analyses on
ESD (e.g., Be e idge e al., 2019; F ed iksson e al., 2020; De Haan,
2021; Hols e al., 2020; K ah e al., 2021). Howe e , e alua ing he
esul s o hese s udies has o en p o ed di icul and, because o
he lack o clea c i e ia o “su icien ”o “sa is ac o y”ESD imple-
men a ion, i has no been possible o compa e e alua ions ac oss di -
e en con ex s and o e ime. This also accoun s o pas documen
analyses as pa o he moni o ing o ESD in Ge many, whe e he
ocus has p ima ily been on whe he he goals se by s akeholde s
hemsel es we e me and how he obse ed s a us compa ed o o he
con ex s desc ibed in he in e na ional li e a u e (Hols e al., 2020).
We hus see a conside able need o a concep ual and me hodological
amewo k o e alua ing he cu en s a us quo and p og ess owa d
implemen ing SDG 4.7. Such a amewo k mus allow o mo e s an-
da dized assessmen s ha p o ide g ea e eliabili y and alidi y, and
hus be e compa abili y ac oss con ex s and o e ime.
In his a icle, we (1) p opose an inpu -le el amewo k o indica-
o ising and sys ema ically assessing ESD, and speci ically SDG 4.7,
HOLST ET AL.3909
based on lexical documen analysis and ex e nal expe e alua ion.
We (2) epo on he esul s o an assessmen o he ope a ionalized
indica o 4.7.1 based on a longi udinal analysis o >11,000 documen s
om ea ly-childhood educa ion, school educa ion, oca ional educa-
ion and aining, and highe educa ion in Ge many. By combining sys-
ema ic documen analysis wi h an ex e nal expe e alua ion, we
p opose an ope a ionaliza ion ha can be used bo h o independen
scien i ic assessmen s and as pa o coun ies epo ing on SDG 4.7.
2|MONITORING SDG 4.7.1 AT THE
INPUT-LEVEL: BASELINE DOCUMENT
ANALYSES AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
FOR OPERATIONALIZATION
A he in e na ional le el, he UNECE expe g oup on indica o s o
ESD con ibu ed o he design o ESD indica o s du ing he Uni ed
Na ions Decade on ESD (UNECE, 2005). This p o ided a basis o
coun ies o epo on hei p og ess (UNECE, 2009,2022) and was
in ended o co e a b oad ange o educa ional a eas and le els
(e.g., inpu , ou pu /ou come). While in e na ional epo ing o da e
has mos ly been based on coun ies' sel -assessmen s, independen
na ional moni o ing o ESD has been ca ied ou a F eie Uni e si ä
Be lin in Ge many since 2015. This moni o ing includes conduc ing
epea ed documen analyses o ack he s a us and p og ess o ESD
implemen a ion a he inpu le el o educa ional go e nance. Sys em-
a ic assessmen s o documen s a e conside ed a undamen al pa o
educa ional moni o ing (Ioannidou, 2010) as documen s (e.g., policies,
cu icula) p o ide impo an le e age o in eg a ing eme ging con-
cep s and objec i es wi hin he s uc u es o educa ion sys ems. In
Ge many, da a ha e now been collec ed and analyzed o e a 10-yea
pe iod ( om 2012 o 2021) in all a eas o o mal educa ion (ea ly
childhood educa ion, school educa ion, oca ional educa ion and
aining, highe educa ion). This longi udinal documen analysis se es
as an exempla y da a base o he ope a ionaliza ion o indica o 4.7.1
in his a icle.
In he ollowing sec ions, we i s p esen a concep ual amewo k
o assessing di e en deg ees o implemen a ion o sus ainabili y and
ESD in educa ion sys em documen s, in line wi h SDG 4.7. We hen
ou line ou me hodological app oach o documen analysis and, build-
ing on he p oposed concep ual amewo k o indica o ising SDG
4.7.1 a he inpu -le el, and desc ibe he p ocess o expe e alua ion.
In he esul s, we i s syn hesize he co e indings om he documen
analysis on he s a us o ESD and sus ainabili y in Ge many and hen
p esen he esul s o he ex e nal expe e alua ion on SDG 4.7.1. In
he discussion, we e lec upon he co e implica ions o he indings,
s eng hs and limi a ions o he app oach, and ways o u he ope a-
ionalize and assess SDG 4.7.
Redesign? In eg a e? Add-On? Wha does i mean o “main-
s eam ESD”?
As he undamen al basis o he de elopmen o indica o s o
SDG 4.7, i is necessa y o conside he di e en deg ees o which
ESD and sus ainabili y may o may no be “implemen ed”o “main-
s eamed”wi hin educa ion sys ems. F om an implemen a ion heo y
pe spec i e, he mains eaming o he social inno a ion o ESD
(Bo mann & Nikel, 2017) can be desc ibed as he scaling o an educa-
ional e o m. Cobu n (2003) iden i ies ou dimensions o he scaling
o such inno a ions in educa ion: dep h, sus ainabili y (in he sense o
du abili y), sp ead and shi in owne ship. A documen analysis, by i s
e y na u e, can ha dly cap u e a shi in owne ship ( he ou h dimen-
sion o Cobu n's app oach). Howe e , he p oposed amewo k aces
he scaling o ESD in documen s in e ms o (1) dep h, quali y and
sp ead (Cobu n's i s and hi d dimensions) and (2) s abili y and speed
o scaling (Cobu n's second dimension) by analyzing da a a di e en
imes. Wi h ega d o dep h and quali y, S e ling (2003, 282 .)
desc ibes ou di e en modes o implemen a ion: “denial”( ejec ion,
leading o no change), “bol -on”(“accommoda ion”, esul ing in su -
ace le el e o ms whe e sus ainabili y is added o an exis ing sys em
wi hou changing he unde lying pa adigms), “build-in”(“se ious
g eening”, esul ing in signi ican sys em changes) and “ edesign”
(whole sys em change, a “deep eo de ing o assump ions equi alen
o epis emic change”). Since he ea ly 2000s, a ious au ho s ha e
e e ed o his heu is ic o e alua ing he dep h and quali y o sus-
ainabili y implemen a ion (e.g., Kolmos e al., 2016 on enginee ing
educa ion; Wals & Bena o , 2017 gene ally on educa ion; Weiss &
Ba h, 2021 on cu iculum change in highe educa ion). Fo he con-
cep ual amewo k p oposed he e, we adap , e ine, and u he ope -
a ionalize he heu is ic o e alua ing SDG 4.7.1. Rega ding he
second aspec o mains eaming ESD, speed o change, i is impo an
o conside he usual cycles in which di e en ypes o documen s a e
e ised. As bo h aspec s a e impo an o he e alua ion o he s a us
and p og ess o ESD implemen a ion, he p oposed amewo k o
assessmen s o SDG 4.7.1 con ains wo modules o he wo sepa a e
ye in e ela ed domains: (1) quali y and dep h and (2) speed o
change. The i s (dep h) is conside ed as he ounda ional module,
which can be u ilized in one-o o con inuous (longi udinal) assess-
men s. The la e (speed o change) equi es ime se ies,
ei he –whe e possible – h ough he inclusion o pas da a (e.g., old
and new e sions o cu icula, laws, exams) o , h ough compa a i e
su eys (ideally, as pa o long- e m moni o ing). Bo h pa s o he
amewo k a e in oduced in he ollowing.
2.1 |Quali y and dep h o implemen a ion
Wi h ega d o dep h o implemen a ion, we adap and ope a ionalize
S e ling (2003) heu is ic o he e alua ion o documen analysis
wi hin six dema ca ed assessmen ca ego ies: (1) No Men ioning,
(2) Isola ed Men ioning, (3) Add-On, (4) Pa ial In eg a ion, (5) Subs an-
ial In eg a ion and (6) Redesign ( o an o e iew, see Figu e 1). In line
wi h S e ling's app oach, we sugges ocusing p ima ily on he quali y
o obse ed implemen a ion pa e ns (e.g., Redesign, In eg a ion, Add-
On, Isola ed Men ioning) a he han he shee quan i y o ex ual e -
e ences o concep s such as ESD o sus ainabili y. A he same ime,
3910 HOLST ET AL.
quan i ica ion is o some ex en inhe en in he ca ego ies p esen ed
below, conside ing ha “Redesign”and “Subs an ial In eg a ion”,by
de ini ion, equi e mo e ex ual e e ences, while he ca ego ies o
“No Men ioning”and “Isola ed Men ioning”always imply low o non-
exis en quan i ies.
Redesign is desc ibed by S e ling (2003, p. 284) as ans o ma ion
in he sense o “a deep, conscious eo de ing o assump ions equi a-
len o epis emic change, leading o change o pa adigm”. Educa ion is
he eby e- hough “ h ough a con inuous lea ning p ocess – o
embody and e lec a whole sys em app oach” o sus ainabili y
(ibid.:285). This pa adigm shi (sus ainabili y as a cen al objec i e o
quali y educa ion) is mani es ed a all le els o educa ion sys ems
(e.g., policy, o ganiza ions and lea ning ne wo ks, speci ic lea ning
en i onmen s and si ua ions). In line wi h heo ies on le e age poin s
o sys em changes, edesign add esses he “mindse o pa adigm ou
o which he goals, ules, eedback s uc u e a ise”as well as he
“goals o he sys em”i sel (Abson e al., 2017; Meadows, 1997).
As he deepes o m o implemen a ion, which does no by de ini-
ion equi e a undamen al shi in he unde lying educa ional pa a-
digms, Subs an ial In eg a ion o ESD and sus ainabili y in educa ion
sys em documen s is ope a ionalized o include he goal o ensu ing
“ ha all lea ne s acqui e he knowledge and skills needed o p omo e
sus ainable de elopmen ”(UNESCO, 2020; Uni ed Na ions Gene al
Assembly, 2015, p. 21) as a p io i y and guiding objec i e o all lea n-
ing p ocesses in a gi en sec o o educa ion (UNESCO, 2021). Wi h
e e ence o he sub-a eas o he indica o o SDG 4.7, we p opose
ope a ionalizing his as he ollowing ype o in eg a ion in he di e -
en a eas o educa ion:
1. Policy: Ambi ious and binding educa ion policy decisions and ec-
ommenda ions o he ele an ac o s in he espec i e educa ion
sec o o he implemen a ion o ESD and sus ainabili y a all le els
o he educa ion sec o . Key e e ences o his a e he oadmap o
he UNESCO “ESD o 2030”p og am and he Be lin Decla a ion
on he implemen a ion o ESD (UNESCO, 2020,2021).
2. Cu icula: C oss-cu ing in eg a ion o discipline-, subjec - o
occupa ion-speci ic goals (e.g., ele an compe ences), con en
(e.g., aspec s o he SDGs, he socio-ecological ans o ma ion),
didac ic p inciples (e.g., ac ion- and li e wo ld o ien a ion, pa icipa-
ion), and, i app op ia e o he espec i e ype o documen ,
o ms o o ganiza ional implemen a ion (e.g., inclusion o he
socio-physical lea ning en i onmen as well as egional pa ne s in
he sense o a whole ins i u ion app oach; see Buckle &
C eech, 2014; Hols , 2023).
3. T aining o educa o s: C oss-cu ing in eg a ion o ESD- and
sus ainabili y-speci ic compe ence goals in he ele an documen s
o he aining and u he educa ion o educa o s (e.g., eache s,
aine s, ea ly childhood educa o s), ha is, ac oss all subjec s, dis-
ciplines and age g oups.
4. S uden pe o mance assessmen s: Design o examina ion ques-
ions in all subjec s, disciplines, and p o essions in a o m ha akes
in o accoun o he objec i es o pe o mance assessmen and p o-
ides an incen i e o p omo e and measu e sus ainabili y- ela ed
compe ences, including he c i ical and sys emic examina ion o
cu en non-sus ainable de elopmen and he de elopmen
o u u e-o ien ed possibili ies o ac ion.
By de ini ion, such Subs an ial In eg a ion implies bo h high qual-
i y and high quan i y ex ual e e ences. In con as , Pa ial In eg a ion
equi es a simila ly high le el o quali y, bu a lowe le el o quan i y.
This means ha se e al, bu no mos , documen s, g oups o con ex s
apply an ambi ious and binding concep ual unde s anding o ESD.
Taking an example om Ge many, pa ial in eg a ion migh mean ha
he e a e high quali y passages in ex s on sus ainabili y and ESD in
he laws o cu icula o se e al, bu no mos ede al s a es.
The quali y o implemen a ion o Add-On di e s om ha o
pa ial and subs an ial in eg a ion in ha i e e s o a pa e n whe e
he in eg a ion o ex ual e e ences o SD, ESD and ela ed con-
cep s is p edominan ly o low quali y and whe e such e e ences a e
o en simply added o objec i es and explana ions ha a e o he wise
ha dly changed a all. S e ling (2003, p. 282) desc ibes his as “a
‘bol -on’o sus ainabili y ideas o [an] exis ing sys em, which i sel
emains la gely unchanged”. In he case o cu icula, o example, his
could mean adding he label “ESD” o cou ses wi hou making sub-
s an ial changes o hei con en , adding new elec i es on opics
ela ed o SD wi hou making changes o he main body o compul-
so y cou ses, o modi ying pa s o cou ses o subjec s so ha hey
b ie ly ouch on sus ainabili y.
We sugges ha isola ed ex ual e e ences o ESD/sus ainabili y
lea ning- ela ed concep s (low quan i y) ha a e no u he con ex u-
alized and/o picked up in he es o he documen (low quali y)
should be conside ed as Isola ed Men ioning.
The lowes p oposed ca ego y (No Men ioning) implies ha no
ancho ing can be iden i ied a all.
FIGURE 1 Concep ual amewo k o he dep h o implemen a ion o sus ainabili y and Educa ion o Sus ainable De elopmen (ESD) in
educa ion sys em documen s; e ined ope a ionaliza ion based on he unde lying heu is ic by S e ling (2003).
HOLST ET AL.3911
2.2 |Speed o change
When assessing documen s, speed o change always ela es o he
usual publica ion da es and e ision cycles (e.g., school cu icula a e
e ised less equen ly han, o example, examina ion ques ions).
Mo eo e , speed o change can only e e o documen s in which e -
e ences o ESD/sus ainabili y can be expec ed (e.g., no e e ence o
sus ainabili y o ESD could be expec ed in esolu ions by minis ies in
esponse o he Co id-19 pandemic). Based on hese conside a ions,
we sugges ope a ionalizing speed o change in i e ca ego ies (S ong
Inc ease, Medium Inc ease, Small Inc ease, No Change, Dec ease;
de ailed ope a ionaliza ion: see me hods). These can be e alua ed
ei he by ex e nal expe s who ha e comp ehensi e knowledge o he
ields o educa ion (as in his s udy), o as pa o coun ies' sel -
epo ing (see discussion). Las ly, an assessmen o speed o change
equi es da a o compa isons ac oss ime, which may no always be
a ailable.
In he ollowing sec ion, we p o ide an in oduc ion o he docu-
men analysis ha se es as he da a basis o ex e nal expe e alua-
ion, and ope a ionalize he concep ual amewo k wi hin a code
sys em o e alua ions.
3|METHODS FOR MEASURING SDG 4.7.1:
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS AND EXPERT
EVALUATION
3.1 |Sys ema ic documen analysis (quan i a i e,
quali a i e)
Since 2017, he na ional moni o ing on ESD in Ge many has con-
duc ed epea ed la ge-scale documen analyses, which se e as he
da a basis o e iewing he s a us and p og ess on SDG 4.7.1 a
he inpu le el. This cu en analysis includes a o al o 11,061 docu-
men s (2017: 2795 (B ock e al., 2018; Singe -B odowski, e al.,
2019), 2019: 45078 (1713 new) (Hols e al., 2020), 2021/22: 11,061
(6553 new)) om all subdomains o he global indica o o 4.7: educa-
ion policy, cu icula, aining o educa o s and s uden assessmen .
Table 1p o ides an o e iew o he di e en ypes o documen s
included om each o he ou a eas o o mal educa ion (Ea ly Child-
hood Educa ion, School Educa ion, Voca ional Educa ion and T aining,
Highe Educa ion) o he ou sub-indica o s (Educa ion Policy, Cu -
icula, T aining o Educa o s, S uden Assessmen ).
The choice o documen g oups is based on (i) in e na ional indi-
ca o s ha we e ope a ionalized in o g oups o documen s o assess-
men (B ock e al., 2018; Singe -B odowski e al., 2019;
UNECE, 2005), (ii) g oups o documen s speci ically add essed in he
Na ional Ac ion Plan on ESD (Na ional Pla o m ESD c/o BMBF,
2017) and (iii) a sys ema ic alignmen o he documen base wi h he
subdomains o SDG 4.7.1 (educa ion policy, cu icula, aining o edu-
ca o s, s uden assessmen ). A ansdisciplina y knowledge exchange
wi h membe s o he Ge man ESD expe o a ook place h oughou
all p ocess s eps. This i e a i e app oach, which began in 2016,
g adually led o he inclusion o u he g oups o documen s
(e.g., exams in school educa ion and didac ic aining o educa o s in
highe educa ion we e assessed o he i s ime o his s udy).
Applying he same da a collec ion p ocedu e used o he 2017,
2018, and 2019 benchma k da a, he new and upda ed da a o all
documen g oups included in his s udy we e collec ed be ween
No embe 2021 and Janua y 2022. A o al o 6553 addi ional docu-
men s we e downloaded, in en o ied and loaded in o he da a analy-
sis so wa e MAXQDA o his s udy, b inging he o al da ase o
11,061 documen s. All da a we e au oma ically sea ched o concep-
ual keywo ds ela ing o (i) ESD, (ii) Sus ainabili y/Sus ainable De el-
opmen , (iii) Pe spec i es on and om ESD and (i ) Rela ed
educa ional concep s. An o e iew o all keywo ds used in he lexical
analysis is p o ided in Figu e 2.
Keywo ds on a concep ual le el we e chosen o add ess he he-
ma ic as well as he didac ic le el o ESD. All codings o iden i ied ex
segmen s we e checked manually, o example, o a oid miscoding,
such as he use o “nachhal ig”(Ge man o sus ainable) only in he
sense o “lang is ig”(du able/long- e m) ins ead o in he sense o
he no ma i e concep o sus ainabili y/SD. As a coding ule, all seg-
men s whe e he coding did no seem en i ely clea we e s ic ly
coded as “unce ain”and discussed in a pee deb ie ing (Spall, 1998)
wi h h ee esea che s o each consensus o , whe e his was no pos-
sible, o o e on he coding. The coded ex segmen s wi hin each
g oup o documen s we e analyzed bo h quan i a i ely and
quali a i ely.
3.2 |Ex e nal Expe E alua ion
A e epo s had been inalized in Ge man o each a ea o educa ion,
six ex e nal expe s on ESD and educa ional measu emen in he Ge -
man educa ion sys em we e asked o e alua e he desc ip i e esul s
acco ding o he p ede ined sys em o ca ego ies. The expe s we e
chosen based on hei con ex o expe ise, ep esen ing all a eas o
educa ion, and hei p o essional expe ience wi h indica o de elop-
men as p o esso s in he ields o gene al educa ion and ESD. Table 2
p o ides an o e iew o he expe s in ol ed in he ex e nal e alua ion
wi h hei ins i u ional a ilia ion and con ex o expe ise. The numbe
and selec ion o expe s ook in o accoun bo h he need o eliabili y
and alidi y o e alua ions, and he easibili y o applying he me hodo-
logical amewo k in di e en con ex s. Gi en he ex ensi e and long-
s anding ield knowledge and expe ience o he expe s, in one speci ic
a ea o educa ion and mo e gene ally ac oss all a eas o educa ion, i
can be assumed ha hey we e able o make obus assessmen s o he
quali y and speed ca ego ies based on he p ede ined empla e (below).
A empla e was de eloped (supplemen a y ma e ial) o s anda d-
ize he ex e nal expe e alua ion, including backg ound in o ma ion
on he documen analysis and he scales o e alua ion (quali y/dep h,
speed o change). As he desc ip i e basis o hei judgmen s, he
expe s ecei ed a desc ip i e aw e sion o ou epo s on he mos
ecen documen analysis (in Ge man: B ock & Hols , 2022; Hols ,
2022; Hols & Singe -B odowski, 2022; Singe -B odowski &
3912 HOLST ET AL.
TABLE 1 Documen g oups included in he sys ema ic lexical documen analysis so ed by a eas o educa ion and sub-indica o s o SDG
4.7.1 (educa ion policy, cu icula, aining o educa o s, s uden assessmen ).
Educa ion policy Cu icula T aining o educa o s S uden assessmen
Ea ly Childhood
Educa ion
(ECE)
•Laws o all s a es and
ede al laws
•Educa ional plans om all
s a es
•School cu icula o
cou ses in ECE om all
ede al s a es
•Educa ion epo s •Cou se handbooks and
s udy/examina ion
egula ions o all s udy
p og ams a highe
educa ion ins i u ions
(HEI) o educa o s in ECE
•Documen s om he
con e ences o Minis e s
o You h and Family
A ai s (JFMK) /
Educa ion (KMK) and he
Child and You h Wel a e
Associa ion (AGJ)
School Educa ion
(SE)
•Laws o all s a es •School cu icula o all 16
s a es o 9 selec ed
subjec s
•Cou se handbooks and
s udy/examina ion
egula ions o eache
aining a he 20 highe
educa ion ins i u ions
wi h mos g adua es in
Ge many
•Exams o deg ees in
seconda y educa ion
(Abi u , Realschule,
Haup schule) om 2005
un il 2021
•Documen s om he
S anding Con e ence o
he Minis e s o
Educa ion and Cul u al
A ai s (KMK) wi h ocus
on SE
Voca ional
Educa ion and
T aining (VET)
•Fede al and s a e laws •All new o modi ied
aining egula ions
since 2015
•Cou se handbooks and
s udy/ examina ion
egula ions o eache
aining in i e selec ed
s a es
•Regula ions on exams in
aining egula ions
since 2015
•Fede al Ins i u e o VET
(BIBB), KMK-Commi ee
on VET
•All new o modi ied
ame-cu icula o VET-
schools since 2015
•O dinance on T aine
Ap i ude (AEVO) and
egula ions o u he
aining o educa o s
•Educa ion epo s and
da a epo s (BIBB)
•Guides o Educa ional
P ac ice (BIBB)
since 2015
Highe Educa ion
(HE)
•Fede al and s a e laws •Cou se handbooks and
cou se egula ions o 3
subjec s (biology,
mechanical enginee ing,
business adminis a ion)
om 20 HEIs
•Didac ic aining o
educa o s a 20 HEIs and
espec i e ne wo ks o
didac ic aining in HE
•Fede al, egional ec o s'
con e ences (HRK/LRK)
•Ta ge ag eemen s o all
s a es wi h HEI
•Educa ion epo s
•S uden associa ions
•HEI sel -go e nance (e.g.,
mission s a emen s,
epo s, s a egies,
s a u es) om 20 HEIs
HOLST ET AL.3913
Hols , 2022). Abs ac s, e alua ions and ecommenda ions we e
emo ed o be e ensu e an unbiased and independen e alua ion by
he expe s. The desc ip i e epo s we e di ided in o i e PDFs
(in oduc ion and me hods, one PDF o each sub-indica o o SDG
4.7.1) and p o ided o he expe s wi h he empla e. The ollowing
Tables 3and 4a e pa o he empla e and we e p o ided o he
expe s as he p ede ined ca ego y sys em o assessmen . Fi s ,
Table 3in oduces he ca ego y sys em used o e alua e he quali y
and dep h o ESD implemen a ion. Table 4subsequen ly in oduces
he ca ego y sys em used o e alua e speed o change.
Impo an ly, he a ing o bo h ca ego ies (dep h/quali y, speed)
e e s o he p edominan pa e n o ancho ing, which means ha indi-
idual e e ences a e less impo an in he e alua ion han he la ge
pa e ns. Du ing he e alua ion, all documen g oups we e e alua ed
indi idually and an agg ega ed assessmen was made o each sub-
indica o . A e he six expe e alua ions had been collec ed, he mean
and modus we e calcula ed o each documen g oup and sub-indica o .
4|RESULTS
Sec ion 4.1 p o ides a desc ip i e o e iew o he main esul s o he
documen analysis o each a ea o educa ion. These se e as he da a
o he e alua ion o SDG 4.7.1. The esul s o he expe e alua ion
a e epo ed in sec ion 4.2.
4.1 |Implemen a ion o ESD and ela ed concep s
in Ge many: Desc ip i e o e iew
Be o e p esen ing he esul s o each a ea o educa ion, i is impo -
an o no e ha , unde he Ge man cons i u ion, educa ion in
Ge many is he esponsibili y o he 16 ede al s a es. This means ha
he ede al go e nmen only has di ec in luence on some pa s o he
educa ion sys em (e.g., pa s o oca ional educa ion) and ha mos
da a a e epo ed o he 16 s a es.
4.1.1 | Ea ly childhood educa ion (ECE)
Ea ly childhood educa ion in Ge many is p ima ily o ganized by inde-
penden ins i u ions. Municipali ies and s a es suppo dayca e places,
and in ecen yea s he ede al go e nmen has p o ided unding o
o e all quali y de elopmen . A he le el o educa ion policy (s a e
laws), he e is a sligh end owa d he inclusion o ESD compa ed o
he p e ious s udy, wi h 4 s a e laws (2019: 1) e e ing o sus ainabil-
i y o ESD. The suppo ing associa ions, which a e uni ed in he Child
and You h Wel a e Associa ion (AGJ), ha e also aken a posi ion on
ESD.
1
Posi ion pape s o he S anding Con e ence o he Minis e s o
Educa ion and Cul u al A ai s (KMK) on he aining o ea ly child-
hood educa ion specialis s and suppo s a ha e p o ided a basis o
FIGURE 2 Concep ual keywo ds
used o lexical sea ch ( ansla ed om
Ge man, di e en o ms o singula /
plu al as well as di e en su ixes we e
included); based on Hols e al. (2020).
Keywo ds which we e included in his
s udy o he i s ime a e ma ked wi h.
TABLE 2 Expe s in ol ed in he ex e nal expe e alua ion wi h
ins i u ional a ilia ion and con ex o expe ise.
Expe
Ins i u ional
a ilia ion Con ex o expe ise
P o . D . Inka
Bo mann
F eie Uni e si ä
Be lin
P o esso o Gene al
Educa ion
P o . D .
Johannes
Ha ig
Leibniz Ins i u e o
Resea ch and
In o ma ion in
Educa ion
P o esso o Educa ional
Measu emen
P o . D .
We ne
Kuhlmeie
Uni e si y o
Hambu g
P o esso o Voca ional
Educa ion
P o . D .
A min Lude
Ludwigsbu g
Uni e si y o
Educa ion
P o esso o Biology and
Biology Educa ion
P o . D .
Heike
Moli o
Ebe swalde
Uni e si y o
Sus ainable
De elopmen
P o esso o
En i onmen al
Educa ion and
Educa ion o
Sus ainable
De elopmen
P o . D .
Ma co
Rieckmann
Uni e si y o Vech a P o esso o Highe
Educa ion
De elopmen
3914 HOLST ET AL.
s eng hening ESD in aining (see below). ESD has no been included
in educa ion epo ing. Rega ding he cu icula, he e a e no binding
documen s o young child en up o he age o 6. Howe e , by he
end o 2021, 9 o he 16 educa ional plans o he ede al s a es explic-
i ly e e ed o ESD (2017: 6; 2019: 8). A clea end can he e o e be
obse ed, which applies in pa icula o he ecen ly e ised educa-
ional plans. Ea ly childhood educa o s ollow one o wo aining
pa hs: adi ional dual educa o aining (see sec ion on Voca ional
Educa ion and T aining (VET) below) o an ea ly educa ion/childhood
s udy p og am a highe educa ion ins i u ions. An inc ease o e e -
ences o ESD o ela ed concep s was ound in documen s ela ed o
s udy p og ams (3% o documen s wi h e e ences in 2017 o 5% in
2021). Speci ically, his means ha e e ences o ESD could be ound
on abou one in 31 analyzed pages (2017: 1/139 pages), and e e -
ences o sus ainabili y on abou one in 45 pages (2017: 1/256 pages).
The e is also an inc ease in he p opo ion o ESD in ela ion o o he
sus ainabili y- ela ed educa ional concep s. An e en clea e end is
e iden in VET o ea ly childhood educa o s: s a ing om compa a-
i ely ew e e ences in he baseline analysis (2017: 1 e e ence e e y
280 pages, n=292), ESD is mo e equen ly in eg a ed in mo e
ecen documen s (2019: 1 e e ence e e y 43 pages, n=44; 2021:
1 e e ence e e y 24 pages, n=72). No ECE documen s exis ha
could be analyzed in he a ea o s uden assessmen s.
4.1.2 | School educa ion (SE)
In Ge many, SE laws, cu icula and examina ion ques ions di e om
s a e o s a e. The S anding Con e ence o he Minis e s o Educa ion
and Cul u al A ai s (KMK) he e o e wields conside able in luence as
he join consul ing body o he ede al s a es. A e iew o he
TABLE 3 Ca ego y sys em o quali y and dep h o ESD implemen a ion wi h desc ip ions and u he elabo a ions o he ca ego ies
“Redesign”,“Subs an ial In eg a ion”,“Pa ial In eg a ion”,“Add-On”,“Isola ed Men ioning”and “No Men ioning”.
Ca ego y Desc ip ion Fu he elabo a ion
Redesign Comp ehensi e edesign o eo ganiza ion o he undamen al
o ien a ion o documen s/documen g oups owa d
sus ainabili y/ESD (pa adigm/li ed cul u e o sus ainabili y).
Unde s anding o ESD as a cen al, con inuous and binding pa
o he educa ional mission in he sense o a whole ins i u ion
and ul ima ely a whole-sys em app oach, which in u n
co esponds o a undamen ally changed educa ional
pa adigm/a li ed cul u e o sus ainabili y (c . also
S e ling, 2003). The o ien a ion owa d sus ainabili y
es uc u es he goals and pa hs o he educa ional sec o /
ins i u ion in ques ion.
Subs an ial
In eg a ion
Deep and c oss-sec ional in eg a ion o sus ainabili y/ESD in
he a ious documen s/documen g oups; high quan i y and
quali y (subs an ial in eg a ion) o e e ences on ESD and
sus ainabili y.
An ambi ious and binding concep ual unde s anding o ESD is
consis en ly applied o he con en o he espec i e
documen s (e.g., cu iculum o esolu ion).
Pa ial
In eg a ion
P edominan ly high con en quali y o he e e ences o
ESD/sus ainabili y in he sense o subs an ial in eg a ion in
se e al documen s/documen g oups (e.g., in se e al, bu no
all ede al s a es) wi h di e ences be ween o wi hin he
documen s/documen g oups.
An ambi ious and binding concep ual unde s anding o ESD is
applied in se e al documen s o a documen g oup o in
se e al ede al s a es, subjec s, o a se e al loca ions wi h
high con en quali y in he sense o subs an ial in eg a ion
(see abo e).
Add-on Re e ences o ESD/sus ainabili y a e p edominan ly o medium
o low con en quali y, o en as a supplemen o o he wise
equen ly unchanged equi emen s/objec i es/explana ions.
Fo example, naming he concep o ESD in cu icula, bu
wi hou desc ibing goals, con en , me hods/media, and
o ganiza ional implemen a ion as subs an ially o ien ed
owa d ESD/sus ainabili y.
Isola ed
men ioning
Isola ed e e ences in indi idual documen s (g oups o
documen s) ha a e no u he con ex ualized and/o aken
up in he es o he documen .
Isola ed e e ences o o example, sus ainabili y, ESD o ela ed
concep s.
No men ioning No men ioning o sus ainabili y, ESD o ela ed concep s.
TABLE 4 Ca ego y sys em o speed o change o ESD-
implemen a ion wi h desc ip ions o he ca ego ies “S ong
Inc ease”,“Medium Inc ease”,“Small Inc ease”,“No Inc ease”and
“Dec ease”.
Ca ego y Desc ip ion
S ong
inc ease
A e y s ong/ apid inc ease in e e ences o
ESD/sus ainabili y in he espec i e documen s
(g oups) compa ed o usual publica ion/ e ision
imes.
Medium
inc ease
Asigni ican inc ease in e e ences o
ESD/sus ainabili y in he espec i e documen s
(g oups) compa ed o usual publica ion/ e ision
imes.
Small
inc ease
Aslow inc ease in e e ences o ESD/sus ainabili y in
he espec i e documen s (g oups) compa ed o
usual publica ion/ e ision imes, ecognizable by
spo adically inc easing e e ences.
No change No change is disce nible o e ime.
Dec ease A educ ion o e e ences o sus ainabili y/ESD can be
obse ed in he pe iods unde conside a ion.
HOLST ET AL.3915
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Addi ional suppo ing in o ma ion can be ound online in he Suppo -
ing In o ma ion sec ion a he end o his a icle.
How o ci e his a icle: Hols , J., Singe -B odowski, M., B ock,
A., & de Haan, G. (2024). Moni o ing SDG 4.7: Assessing
Educa ion o Sus ainable De elopmen in policies, cu icula,
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10.1002/sd.2865
HOLST ET AL.3923
