Under the coordination of HAND Association, a V4 project involving Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, and Romanian experts is underway at several universities in the respective countries. The research project examines efforts and outcomes related to sustainability and global challenges, with a special emphasis on pre-service teacher training The "Teachers for a Sustainable Future" project (www.teachers4sd.org) applies interviews, document analysis, and participatory system mapping methods to explore institutional strategies, activities, educational practices, and forms of collaboration related to sustainability and global education. The research involves six institutions in Hungary and two universities from each participating country. In the current phase of the research, the focus is on refining research criteria, analyzing interviews conducted in spring 2024, and comparing similarities, differences, and professional experiences. Our analysis highlights several guiding factors, including consideration of teacher training outcomes, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) , and the interpretation of global citizenship education as defined in the Dublin Declaration.
There is a remarkable difference in the integration of education for sustainable development and global citizenship education in pre-service teacher training. Compared to global citizenship education, education for sustainable development is more present, particularly in the context of environmental sustainability. Preliminary results underscore the importance of personal motivation and commitment, leadership support, openness to methodological innovations, the critical role of rich external partnerships, the catalytic role of projects realized through funding opportunities, the importance of fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, and the link between organizational transformations and institutionalized practices with sustainability efforts. The first comprehensive presentation of the research findings will take place in a symposium format at the National Conference on Educational Science in Debrecen in October 2024 and within the framework of the “Shaping Tomorrow through Global Education” conference hosted by HAND Association in partnership with Concord Europe and in cooperation with Global Education Network Europe and the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe.