Sprouting as a target in Brundtland Report entitled Our Common Future for the first time (WCED, 1987) and emerging as a formal concept globally at the Rio Earth Summit (UN, 1992), Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) became a global vision in 2002 when the UN designated 2005-2014 as the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. As a UN initiative, the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) was associated with a goal “to integrate the values inherent in sustainable development into all aspects of learning to encourage changes in behaviour that allow for a more sustainable and just society for all” (UNESCO, 2005a: 5).

ESD is roughly defined to be an approach to teaching and learning based on the ideals and principles that underlie sustainability (UNESCO, 2005b) and principally promotes social and economic justice; cultural diversity; human rights of future generations; and the protection and restoration of the Earth’s ecosystems (UNESCO, 2005a). Since the beginning of the DESD, nations’ engagement with sustainable development differed considerably on the basis of their socio-political priorities, for the reason that educational practices of a particular society might be shaped by the forms of democracy surrounding educational institutions of that society as well as other historical, socio-cultural, political, ecological, and economic factors (Kopnina and Meijers, 2014). In this sense, social justice, health issues, gender equality, or poverty might be prioritized in some circumstances while environmental problems, ecological concerns, or consumption habits might be more appropriate to discuss in other settings. Expecting people, who are cold, hungry, unemployed, or unsafe in their local environment, to care about global warming or biodiversity loss might be quite unrealistic (Bhatti and Dixon, 2003). Sometimes poverty or low income might act as a barrier to a proper adoption of green technologies such as solar panels or waste disposal (Crabtree, 2005). There might be a tendency to choose social and economic priorities over concerns about environmental protection, which seems to be more distant for some people (Lundmarck, 2007). In other words, people might become activists when they are confronted closely with certain threats such as climate change (Booth, 2009).

Considering all those points, this study aims to look into a local context, the Turkish case, in relation to a global endeavour, which is promoting the vision of sustainable development in all forms and at all levels of education. Turkey, on the one hand, strives to integrate herself into the European Union, and on the other hand asserts its regional role in the Middle East. As a UN member state since 1945, Turkey tries to progress in internationally agreed development goals. ESD is one of those globally recognized objectives to which any growing country is expected to attach importance. Since reviewing research trends is one way of getting a broad understanding about the value paid to an internationally prioritized issue, this study aims to see the coherence and effectiveness of the DESD on the Turkish stakeholders’ side and portrays how such a global issue is addressed in educational research by local actors, because educational researchers, as local or global actors, are to carry out studies that are of significance to not only educational community but also to whole society. Based on this rationale, this study acknowledges the significance of: (a) drawing lessons from educational research as a means to communicate societal issues requiring attention; (b) hearing local voices and looking into local cases to address a global phenomenon; and (c) choosing the time frame between 2005 and 2014 as a solid way to address the issue under investigation, which is the vision of education for sustainable development.

Bhatti, M., and A. Dixon. “Special Focus: Housing, Environment and Sustainability.” Housing Studies 18, no. 4 (2003): 501-504. Booth, C. “A Motivational Turn for Environmental Ethics.” Ethics and Environment 14, no. 1 (2009): 1-12. Crabtree, L. “Sustainable Housing Development in Urban Australia: Exploring Obstacles to and Opportunities for Eco-city Efforts.” Australian Geographer 36, no. 3, (2005): 333-350. Kopnina, H., and F. Meijers. “Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 15, no. 2 (2014): 188-207. Lundmarck, C. “The New Ecological Paradigm Revisited: Anchoring the NEP Scale in Environmental Ethics.” Environmental Education Research 13, no. 3 (2007): 329-347. UN [United Nations]. (1992). Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Retrieved from www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-3.htm on February 1, 2015. UNESCO [United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization]. (2005a) United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014): International implementation scheme - Draft. Paris: UNESCO. UNESCO [United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization]. (2005b). United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014): International Implementation Scheme. Paris: UNESCO. WCED. (1987). Our common future: The World Commission on Environment and Development’s report. Oxford: Oxford University Press.