The teachers` understanding of the concept sustainability influences their way of handling this concept in the classroom. Sustainability can be understood in many ways. Within educational literature sustainability can be related to teaching about sustainability and teaching for sustainability (Thomas, 2009). When teaching about sustainability the content in the learning processes are focused on sustainability ie knowledge about how to secure the future for the next generations (WCED, 1987). Learning for sustainability embraces to some extend action. The pupils should as a result of teaching for sustainability be able to make decisions to the best of the future based on their knowledge. Learning about sustainability is, in this view, part of learning for sustainability. An understanding like this will influence the teacher’s way of organising for learning, her way of teaching.

Education for sustainability (ESD) covers many different understandings of sustainable development. Teachers are influenced by their different traditions within their disciplines and the complexity and wholeness of the concept can be difficult to handle (Borg, Gericke, Höglund & Bergman, 2012). It can also be a hurdle to build teaching plans on their personal knowledge and understanding (Blum, Nazir, Breiting, Goh, & Pedretti, 2013; Sinnes, 2015).

Sustainable development has in a new curriculum reform been one of three main overall areas of main importance in Norwegian compulsory schools (Utdanningsdirektoratet, 2017). The purpose is to help the pupils to understand basic dilemmas and developments in society, and how they can be dealt with (p. 15/21), ie teaching for sustainability. This kind of teaching is based on the teachers` understanding of sustainability and this is what we are exploring in this project.

Teaching for sustainability is not a new phenomenon, but it is new thoughts that all teachers in Norway now are supposed to implement this in their daily teaching. To define sustainable development as an interdisciplinary theme in the Norwegian curriculum might change the teachers` understanding and their obligation and responsibility to include sustainability in their discipline (Sinnes & Straume, 2017).

To teach the pupils to become actively, participating, knowledgeable, fellow citizens in a democratic society is part of education for sustainable development. To be able to argue and listen in dialogues are purpose adequate tools for this. Students can participate in dialogues (Mercer & Littleton, 2007) to develop shared understanding (Wertsch, 1984).

Learning communities (Wenger, 1998) can function as arenas for learning dialogues about sustainable development. The pupils support each other in constructing knowledge and understanding of the concepts. The students have to be actively collaborating when learning. The collaboration towards shared goals supports the learning (Engeström, 1987). In education for sustainable development, competence for action is also part of the learning outcome.

Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used This project is in the very beginning, before the presentation at the conference the following methods will be carried through: Interviews with school-leaders and teachers (Kvale, 1997): • What do you find characteristic for learning for the future? • How do you operationalise this in the school/in the classroom? • Which challenges do you meet when you • Do you find connections between your understanding and deep learning? • Do you find connections between your understanding and sustainable learning? • How does the school work with sustainability in the elementary stages • How does the teacher work with sustainability in the elementary stages The interviews will be transcribed, coded and categorised according to the research question (Straus & Corbin 1998).

We expect to be able to describe the teachers` understanding of teaching for the future, and compare this with the use of the concepts sustainable development and deep learning in the curriculum. We will in the following phase implement this knowledge in some schools in an action research project in order to get practical and academical experience with education for sustainability

Blum, N., Nazir, J., Breiting, S., Goh. K. C., & Pedretti, E. (2013). Balancing the tensions and meeting the conceptual challenges of education for sustainable development and climate change. Environmental Education Research, 19(2), 206-217. Borg, C., Gericke, N., Höglund, H.-O., & Bergman, E. (2012). The barriers encountered by teachers implementing education for sustainable development: Discipline bound differences and teaching traditions. Research in Science & Technological Education, 30(2), 185-207. Burns, H., Kelley, S. S. and Spalding, H. (2018). Teaching Sustainability: Recommendations for Best Pedagogical Practices. Journal of Sustainability Education. Vol. 19. Engeström, Y. (1987). Learning by Expanding: An Activity-theoretical Approach to Developmental Research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit Oy. Kvale, S. (1997). Det kvalitative forskningsintervju [The qualitative researchinterview]. Oslo: Ad Notam Gyldendal. Mercer, N., & Littleton, K. (2007). Dialogue and the development of children`s thinking: a sociocultural approach. London: Routledge Sinnes, A. T. (2015). Utdanning for bærekraftig utvikling: Hva, hvorfor og hvordan? [Education for sustainable development: What, why and how?] Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. Sinnes, A. T. & Straume, I. S. (2017). Bærekraftig utvikling, tverrfaglighet og dybdelæring: fra big ideas til store spørsmål [Sustainable development, interdisciplinarity and deep learning: from big ideas to great questions]. Acta Didactica,11(3), Oslo. Downloaded 05.02.19 https://utdanningsforskning.no/artikler/barekraftig-utvikling-tverrfaglighet-og-dybdelaring-fra-big-ideas-til-store-sporsmal/ Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Thomas, I. (2009). Critical Thinking, Transformative Learning, Sustainable Education, and Problem-Based Learning in Universities. Journal of Transformative Education, 7(3), p 245-264. DOI: 10.1177/1541344610385753 WCED (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and development; Our Common Future. Hentet 20.04.19 fra http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wertsch, J. V. (1984). The zone of proximal Development: Some Conceptual Issues. In B. Rogoff & J. V. Wertsch (Eds.), Childrens Learning in the "Zone of Proximal Development" (pp. 7-18). San Fransisco: Jossey-Bess Inc. Publishers. Utdanningsdirektoratet (2017). Core Curriculum. Sustainable development. Downloaded 31.01.2020: https://www.udir.no/lk20/overordnet-del/?lang=eng