Frontrunners in sustainability? A scoping review of research on sustainability education in Nordic teacher education
Although the Nordic region is regarded as a frontrunner in sustainability, Nordic teacher education faces challenges in implementing sustainability education. As research has the potential to serve as a resource for informed reflection and for advancing sustainability education, this article aims to highlight prominent perspectives and approaches in the associated research fields. By asking what characterises research on sustainability education in Nordic teacher education, the article presents a scoping review of research published between 2014 and 2024. Searches of 13 databases and institutional repositories yielded 77 publications after screening. The publications were coded and analysed in terms of design, methodological approaches, objects of study, research questions, and theoretical perspectives. Four overarching trends were identified in the material: (1) a predominance of small-scale studies of teacher students, (2) a strong focus on teaching methods and subjects, (3) limited attention to system-level factors, such as institutional and national frameworks, policy and structures, and (4) a line of research anchored in non-traditional theories, such as posthumanism and ecocentric perspectives. Overall, the scoping review describes a field where the majority of studies are small-scale, involving few participants and often concerned with isolated teaching interventions. These findings suggest a need to complement existing studies with further research on additional key actors, particularly teacher educators, and closer examination of institutional, political and structural conditions for sustainability education. Such research can contribute to understanding what is required to advance sustainability education in the Nordic region.
Publisert i Acta Didactica Norden (ADNO), 2026
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