This report provides the results and an analytical narrative of findings from a survey of the further education (FE) and skills sector about experiences of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). We wanted to understand the current landscape, and particularly the experiences and needs of those who work in the sector.
With the support of the Society for Education and Training (SET), and other partners, we surveyed 830 people who work in the FE and skills sector. Our data showed that whilst there was almost widespread recognition of the potential and importance of this field, the extent to which it is being practiced at an individual and organisational level varies greatly. There are a range of barriers that we also explored, alongside solutions to these challenges.
Sustainability as a concept is broadly well understood
There’s widespread belief that the sector is well placed to lead on sustainability solutions
Diverse subject specialisms all have a role to play
Different FE providers are at different stages of their ESD journey
The FE workforce have had very little training on how to deliver quality, impactful ESD
Findings from the survey have enabled us to develop our strategy and inform our design and development process when creating tools and resources that support the sector’s adoption of ESD. IT also provides FE and skills sector practitioners, providers and stakeholders data with data to plan their own ESD approaches.
Five ways to create change with our survey data
