In the discourse on how to equip future generations with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to contribute to a more sustainable future, it is formal education that features prominently (Barth 2015). Future teachers here will have a crucial role as change agents to support meaningful learning processes. With regard to these learning processes and the competencies needed, the question is what exactly the professional action competency is which teachers need in order to effectively implement education for sustainable development. So far however, few attempts have been made to describe teachers’ competencies regarding education for sustainable development and to develop corresponding competence models (Bertschy et al. 2013, Rauch & Steiner 2013). In this contribution an overview of existing competence models in teacher education with respect to sustainability is given and a synthesised model of sustainability action competency for teaching is derived. Consequences are drawn for teacher education, respective learning settings and ways to evaluate the development of relevant competencies.

Barth, M. (2015). Implementing sustainability in higher education: Learning in an age of transformation. Routledge studies in sustainable development. London: Routledge. Bertschy, F., Künzli, C., & Lehmann, M. (2013). Teachers’ Competencies for the Implementation of Educational Offers in the Field of Education for Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 5(12), 5067–5080. Rauch, F.; Steiner, R. (2013). Competences for education for sustainable development in teacher education. Center Educ. Policy Stud. J. 3, 9–24.