From mimicry to principled adaptation: an interpretive meta-synthesis of education for sustainable development across higher education and school contexts

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a critical enabler of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda, yet its implementation is uneven across educational sectors. While Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are progressively adopting comprehensive sustainability models, a significant gap exists in translating these successful approaches to the more centralized and resource-constrained K-12 school context. This study aims to bridge this gap by conducting a qualitative meta-synthesis of patterns of practice for ESD implementation in HEIs, which may inform adaptation in the K-12 context. This study contributes an interpretive meta-synthesis that advances the conceptual understanding of ESD transferability across educational levels. Using a systematic search and screening process modeled on Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ) statement, this study analyzes a corpus of qualitative research and extracts key themes through thematic analysis. The synthesis reveals 14 distinct practice domains organized across four meta-categories: pedagogical innovation, institutional architecture, stakeholder engagement, and assessment ecosystems. The study concludes that by strategically adapting these HEI-derived practices, policymakers, school leaders, and teacher-training institutions can systematically advance ESD, strengthening the overall educational response to global sustainability challenges.