ESD-ASSESS | Assessing Learning in Education for Sustainable Development
A UNESCO-commissioned guidance tool on assessing learning in Education for Sustainable Development.
A UNESCO-commissioned guidance tool on assessing learning in Education for Sustainable Development.
- Status
- Completed
- Duration
- 05/2024–03/2026
- Funding
- UNESCO (commissioned consultancy)
- Role of the Chair
- Project lead (Daniel Fischer)
- Context
- UNESCO Transforming Futures
What is it about?
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) aims at competencies, values and the ability to act. Conventional assessment rarely captures these outcomes, and it often runs against the participatory and transformative principles of ESD itself. How can educators assess learning in ESD in ways that fit what ESD sets out to achieve?
UNESCO's Transforming Futures initiative supports educators and institutions worldwide in advancing ESD through action research. It works on three focus areas, each with a dedicated guidance tool: transversal sustainability competencies and pedagogies, learning assessment for ESD, and whole-institution approaches. ESD-ASSESS developed the guidance tool on learning assessment.
Goals
- Develop the Guidance Tool on ESD Learning Assessment for UNESCO
- Offer educators the DARE framework, an iterative process to design, reflect on and transform their assessment practice in line with ESD principles
- Serve educators at different entry points, from a quick start to in-depth guidance, with case examples from different educational levels and contexts
- Test and validate the tool together with practitioners
Approach
The tool was developed in an iterative co-design process. A first draft was piloted in more than ten countries, among them Brazil, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Romania and Slovenia, with 35 schools and four higher education institutions. Feedback was collected systematically, discussed with the participating educators and validated in direct exchange with practitioners, among others at a global symposium in Bucharest in January 2026. UNESCO released the revised tool in September 2026, together with the two other Transforming Futures guidance tools.
Partners
- UNESCO, Transforming Futures initiativeCommissioning body
- Aalborg University, DenmarkAaron Redman
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Honors College, USAJordan King
Contact
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