Towards sustainability the implementation of Global Learning for Sustainable Development (GLSD) is crucial in education (Scheunpflug and Asbrant, 2006). A better understanding of how to – from a global didactic angle – establish globally genuine dialogues (Biesta, 1994; Roth, 2006) forming nuanced conceptions of sustainable development (SD) is necessary (Scott and Gough, 2004; Tatoo, 2007; Jickling and Wals, 2008). Global teaching as well as global learning has to identify the challenges in various contexts for transdisciplinary knowledge formation (Wals, 2010). Aiming to reach established and new target groups; higher education and secondary school as well as informal learning situations demands a holistic understanding (Pierce, 1934; Hansson, 2000). The challenges take their main point of departure in the particular global perspective (Anderberg, Norden & Hansson, 2009), and concerns ways to see the whole and the parts, on the one hand, while on the other learning how to relate the parts to one another, and to the whole (Svensson, 1986), respectively. Students in a globalized setting could also achieve intercultural qualities of learning outcomes, in terms of competencies and capabilities (Bowden, 2004; Anderberg, Haggstrom & Nordquist, 2007) needed for constructive intercultural encounters and interaction. According to Svensson and Wihlborg (2010), intercultural learning could lead to a development of ‘global consciousness’ and support global citizenship, capabilities and competencies. On a global level, an ‘emergent holistic consciousness’, through the connection of cultures to a complex collective whole, would form a collective consciousness. Because of the complex demands underlying the discourse of GLSD and related topics, a curriculum dimension is also needed, for learning and teaching SD in a globalized context. Emphasizing that ‘globalization and the need for curricula change will become the great challenge. . Though, the global perspective (Svensson & Wihlborg, 2010) has to be integrated in curriculum to achieve a competence-driven global curriculum. Thereby, capabilities through constructive interaction for various qualities of global learning and knowledge formation for sustainable development will be a central part of the outcome. Global learning encourages self-determination (Rauch and Steiner, 2006).

Though, repeatingly since 1972 (Agenda 21, chapter 36) proclaims for initiating the process of global teaching and learning about sustainability issues in global–local settings, reviews of literature show a dominance of rethoric (Anderberg, Norden & Hansson, 2009). Few implementation attempts have led to continuity in the didactic steps to developing global teaching. By capturing some of the experiences of the many stakeholders in a recent research project on the process of initiating implementation teaching and learning in global settings, Lund Calling (Norden & Anderberg, 2010), a framework for the further development of the implementation processes was recognised. To be of practical use, the process of developing global teaching for sustainable development has to be understood more carefully. This paper describes an empirical follow-up research of the implementation process, concerning how teachers at an upper secondary school develop their common planning and conduct teaching for sustainable development with a global focus transdisciplinarily. A phenomenographic approach and semi-structured interview questions are used for analysing and describing the teacher competence development in relation to the global learning process. In the result will be presented; the participating teachers´ concrete practice and challenges for global learning, while transition via knowledge formation supports competence development for global action. The findings show among other things the importance of awareness raising dialogues among teachers, who from their various subject matter expertises were heading for a common development of education in teaching of sustainable development with a global focus. This research clearly points to a link between transdisciplinary and global teaching within the field of global learning for sustainable development (GLSD).

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