Education for sustainable development in India and Sierra Leone a comparative policy analysis of SDG 4.7 implementation in two global south contexts

This study comparatively examines how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is conceptualized and operationalized within national education systems in India and Sierra Leone. Employing qualitative comparative content analysis of policy documents and curriculum frameworks (N = 10 documents: 5 core national policy texts + 5 supplementary contextual documents). Three additional state-level implementation guidelines from Karnataka, Odisha, and Maharashtra were analyzed separately as illustrative materials to assess subnational variation, but are not included in the N = 10 analytical corpus), grounded in postcolonial epistemology and Freirean critical pedagogy, the study analyzes how global ESD commitments translate across two distinct postcolonial contexts. India demonstrates strong policy coherence through NEP 2020 and NCFSE 2023, with sustainability embedded across disciplines. However, documentary analysis reveals three implementation gaps: uneven state-level operationalization, limited teacher professionalization, and minimal integration of Indigenous ecological knowledge, which remains symbolically referenced rather than systematically codified. Sierra Leone frames ESD through climate resilience and post-conflict nation-building within ESP 2022–2026 and NCF 2020. Implementation is constrained by limited institutional capacity, donor dependence, weak monitoring mechanisms, reliance on NGO-led initiatives, and insufficient teacher training. Despite differing governance structures—India’s federal model versus Sierra Leone’s centralized reconstruction model—both contexts exhibit a persistent gap between ESD policy commitments and the documented implementation instrumentation within policy texts, suggesting this gap reflects deeper institutional and epistemological challenges rather than economic capacity alone. These findings are derived from documentary analysis and do not constitute empirical observation of classroom practice. Applying postcolonial theory, global ESD discourse is adopted through normative policy language while Indigenous traditions remain underutilized. From a critical pedagogy perspective, sustainability integration remains curriculum-infusion based rather than transformative. The study demonstrates that ESD localization operates as a mediated process shaped by governance architecture, institutional instrumentation, and epistemological inclusion—not solely by resource availability.