Teachers have their say: motivation, skills and opportunities to teach education for sustainable development and global citizenship

This publication summarizes the findings of a survey commissioned by UNESCO and Education International to assess teachers’ readiness to integrate education for sustainable development (ESD) and global citizenship education (GCED) into their teaching. Its findings demonstrate that teachers want a comprehensive approach in addressing current gaps in teaching ESD and GCED. While most teachers are confident in their motivations and awareness, they are generally less certain of their skills in teaching ESD and GCED, especially given often insufficient professional training, teaching tools, resources, curricula and overall support from their schools and wider community. Inspired by their views, and as a direct response to the world’s local and global environmental and social challenges, UNESCO and Education International call on the education community – lawmakers, policy-makers, educational planners, curriculum developers, teacher trainers, teachers, school leadership and personnel and communities and other concerned actors – to take action.