About two years after the United Nations adopted the Agenda 2030 resolution and the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), the present study gives an overview of the integration of the SDGs in the German educational system. Based on expert interviews and online research, six education sectors are highlighted individually: early childhood education, school education, higher education, vocational education, non-formal and informal education as well as vocational training and continuing education. Compared with the sheer size of the educational sector consisting of thousands of institutions on all educational levels, the SDGs have hardly been perceived, communicated and implemented. The SDGs are generally only being championed by institutions already working on related topics such as environmental education, global education, or education for sustainable development. However, the SDG framework seems to give fresh impetus to the promotion of sustainable development and helps to frame existing initiatives in new appealing ways. The contribution closes with an overview of recommendations for action both from an education policy and an institutional perspective. At the moment the main field of action is to integrate the SDGs into existing curricula and to connect them to established disciplines. This will especially challenge the more selfgoverned education sectors and is both dependent on political support and on individual commitment.

Schlagworte
sustainable development goals, education for sustainable development, educational policy, curricula, education system