Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures

The Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures network was coordinated out of the University of Bristol, UK, and worked with partners in India, Rwanda, Somalia/Somaliland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. It ran for three and a half years, from November 2019 to October 2023. IEF President Arthur Dahl was an adviser to the project, and IEF member Terra Sprague was one of the key researchers in the first part of the project.

The research addressed the role of education in climate action, decent work and sustainable cities. Cross-cutting themes addressed inequalities relating to poverty, gender and the status of indigenous knowledge, as well as concerns for foregrounding marginalised voices and decolonising research.

The aim was to develop new knowledge that can assist education policy makers, practitioners, non-governmental and community-based organisations to implement policies and practices in education that are transformative and can contribute to ensuring equitable, just and environmentally sustainable development.

The project funded and supported a balanced mix of 67 exploratory, innovative studies and pilot projects lasting up to 12 months within the four countries of India, Rwanda, Somalia/Somaliland and South Africa.

The project has just released the final synthesis reports for each country, as well as Knowledge Co-creation in Action: Learning from the Transforming Education for Sustainable Futures Network. A methodological sourcebook. The reports are full of creative thinking, wisdom and practical experience about education appropriate to the world views, values and Indigenous knowledge of the marginalised peoples of the world. The reports and many other project outputs are accessible on the TESF Network website at https://tesf.network/.