ESD conceptualization and enactment in Austrian teacher education

Abstract

Education for sustainable development (ESD) has become a central framework for educational transformation in response to complex socio-ecological challenges. As higher education institutions are increasingly called upon to contribute to sustainability transitions, teacher education plays a pivotal role. Teacher educators act as key intermediaries between policy aims and pedagogical practice, shaping how future teachers implement ESD. Despite their central role, empirical research has paid little attention to how teacher educators conceptualize their professionalism in relation to sustainability and how institutional contexts shape their engagement with ESD. This study investigates how teacher educators in Austrian higher education understand and negotiate their professional role within the framework of ESD. Guided by a qualitative research design and informed by qualitative content analysis, seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with teacher educators across disciplines. Data were analyzed through open coding supported by MAXQDA. The findings indicate that the integration of ESD is shaped by institutional structures and professional identity. At the institutional level, fragmented responsibilities, weak structural anchoring and curriculum overload hinder systematic implementation. At the professional level, participants express strong normative commitment to sustainability but also reveal conceptual ambiguities, informally acquired knowledge and didactic uncertainty regarding ESD integration. These tensions indicate that ESD is often sustained through individual engagement rather than embedded in coherent institutional strategies. By analyzing the relationship between institutional conditions and professional identity and agency of teacher educators, the study deepens understanding of how sustainability can be meaningfully integrated—referred to here as ESD Star Enactment Model —into teacher education. It underscores the need to strengthen professional identity and agency development, supported by clear institutional structures.