This contribution is based on the Swiss part of a trinational research project, which attempts to create a scientifically substantiated and internationally negotiated set of indicators for education for sustainable development (ESD). The Swiss research part aims at revealing deficits and vantages of existing sets of ESD-indicators with regard to the developments of the above mentioned international set of indicatorsTo this purpose, the analysis focuses on international accepted sets of indicators for sustainable development and examines whether education pertains to these indicators. The instrument we use for the analysis is a raster consisting of different elaborated criteria. As one of the most relevant criteria we name the different functions of education in the context of sustainable development. The distinction of these functions (e.g. education as a basic need, education as a means to attain defined targets in sustainable development) is not only important for the analysis but also with regard to the development of our set of indicators. Parts of the knowledge gained from the analysis can be described as follows: Sets of indicators for sustainable development usually account for the relevance of education but specific indicators are often deficient; the different functions which education in the context of sustainable development can bear are often considered but not in a systematic way. Furthermore, a theoretically and empirically founded set of indicators should be informed by those factors steering the relevant actors in the educational system. Finally, some general conclusions will be drawn with respect to the construction of educational indicators.