THE EUROPEAN UNION POLICY RESPONSE TO COVID-19: EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND AWARENESS OF CLIMATE CHANGE An analysis of policy documents

Background. Covid-19 has affected almost all areas of public policy. The European Union has activated funding programs and instruments to respond to the crisis triggered by Covid-19 and become resilient. Additionally, interest in education for sustainable development and climate change has increased in recent years (Wals, 2009; Anderson, 2012). However, there is little clarity on what education for sustainable development and awareness of climate change entail (Tilbury & Mulà, 2009) and how the political response to the crisis could change the education sector. Research question. How does the EU’s policy response to the pandemic invest in education for sustainable development and awareness of climate change? Methods. A qualitative research design with a documents analysis was chosen. The population from which the documents were sampled was composed by European Union law and other public documents of the European Union on education for sustainable development and awareness of climate change. The data was collected through ten policy documents. Results. Learning for environmental sustainability prevails in EU internal politics, while peace education and Global Citizenship education appear in the EU’s external policy action. Furthermore, European institutions are convinced that a systemic change in education is necessary to effectively invest in education for sustainable development and awareness of climate change. Universities, a certain set of knowledge and skills and an education that combines formal, non-formal and informal modalities are believed to be at the center of this systemic change. Conclusions. Researchers could consider analysing more documents published by European institutions on education for sustainable development and climate change awareness. Moreover, policies and practices for learning that cross the environmental, economic and social pillars of sustainable development should be further stimulated and supported by Member States.