Empirical research on school practice and teacher education in the ESD global action program

Abstract

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has developed17Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets which recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth. Each SDG has its own specific agenda, one of which is SDG 4 - Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). UNESCO states that ‘Education is a human right and a force for sustainable development and peace’. This means that researchers around the world are putting considerable effort into making sure this international goal is delivered at a local level. Professor Tomonori Ichinose, who is based within the Research Institution for Teacher Training and Development at the Miyagi University of Education in Japan, has been working on interpreting SDG 4 locally. He is specifically conducting empirical international comparative research on school practice and teacher education to give teachers and students the tools they need to realise the potential of education.