This dissertation investigates central obstacles to technology-oriented Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in formal educational institutions in Germany and develops strategies to overcome them. Despite its anchoring in educational policy programs and curricula, the practical implementation of sustainable development in schools and universities frequently falls short of expectations. Through comprehensive analysis, the study demonstrates that these institutions — particularly university technical disciplines — cannot fulfill ESD competency goals due to their inherent institutional logic, instead sending contradictory signals when attempting to address sustainability competencies within their current structures. Theoretically, the work frames sustainability as a complex societal transformation process requiring specific competencies including systems thinking, reflexivity, action orientation, and others addressed in the study. A particular focus lies on the "implicit curriculum" of formal education, which sends messages through didactic and institutional structures that can foster or hinder competency development. Preliminary studies analyze learners' sustainability knowledge, curricular requirements, and teaching materials, revealing that existing resources and textbooks inadequately meet competency-oriented ESD demands. The analysis reveals that, through their implicit curricula, formal educational institutions predominantly convey dissonant rather than resonant messages regarding the competencies needed for sustainable development action. Empirically, the study tests open educational resources, gamified formats, and educational games, while transdisciplinary collaboration yields a didactic concept for ESD in makerspaces. Makerspaces serve as non-formal learning spaces making real design and production processes accessible, enabling systemic, action-oriented learning. This produces a project-based didactic approach integrating sustainability, technology, and competency goals. The dissertation concludes that technology-oriented ESD requires transformation of formal educational structures — a protracted process necessitating competency development not only among learners but also within institutions themselves to enable ESD-appropriate teaching and learning. As an empirically tested interim solution, the makerspace-specific didactic concept offers a viable pathway through project-based school cooperation with non-formal learning spaces, despite limited institutional support, supported by didactically robust learning arrangements. Makerspaces emerge as particularly promising partners connecting sustainability and technical education.
Ina Peters (Thu,) studied this question.