This symposium addresses regional and local strategies concerning the implementation of ESD. It centres on the ambiguous/paradox challenge to make the implementation and transfer of ESD a national political and administrative task while at the same time calling for a highly participatory partnership-alliance approach to the implementation process. In other words, we focus on how this paradox of a top-down-implementation of an educational innovation being conducted in a bottom-up manner, is dealt with by multiple actors from state actors to NGOs. Using examples of selected federal states and municipalities Germany’s implementation strategy will be discussed against experiences in Sweden.

Each symposiums presentation discusses two questions: i] Methodologically, we address and give an example of how the transfer of the innovative idea of ESD is observed and investigated empirically; ii] Theoretically, we present analytical frameworks developed in order to explain the observed patterns of implementation activities These findings are discussed concerning results and findings from other studies on the implementation of ESD within the worldwide UN Decade.

By exploring these research issues, we wish to contribute to an empirical sound theory of the implementation of ESD in a multilevel education system. This takes into consideration the changing context or policy making and implementation as it is characterized by – among others - the changing role of knowledge and the changing roles of  the state  and civil society actors. The theoretical perspective further considers the outcome of an education system as being the result of actors on one level of the education system recognizing the implications of the respective frameworks of subordinated administrative and political bodies that restrain or enable local activities.

The presentations draw on several theories. One of them being emerging theories on educational governance from the social sciences in Germany (Altrichter, Brüsemeister & Wissinger 2007) in order to explain the social conditions and limitations of specific modes of action coordination between actors. Further, we refer to theories of knowledge transfer (Ozga/Jones 2006; Bormann 2011) and, as the educational innovation is supposed to be embedded into a wide range of educational organisations, on institutionalisation theory (Scott 2008). The later highlighting the importance of cognitive, normative and regulative “instruments” to institutionalise an innovative education programme. Another theoretical tradition here is sociology of law based within social science. The studies in Sweden on ESD are connected to the theoretical tradition known as "genetic sociology of law" supplemented with interviews with legislators. The theoretical framework follows theories in sociology of law where the relation between law and society is the focus of the research.

The symposiums aims to challenge the current prevailing conceptual and didactical approaches to enhance ESD by using a social theoretical standpoint that focuses on the social conditions of the transfer and institutionalisation of ESD, on the one hand. On the other hand, we would like to launch a discussion on the inherent governance of ESD which is rather underexposed in research on ESD, so far. In this respect, we would like to contribute to an internationally relevant research on the transfer of ESD.