Quality in education is a fiercely debated concept. Definitions and emphasis vary according to educational disciplines, geographical and cultural positions, policy and practice settings, understandings of didactical, pedagogical, and teaching trajectories within education (Charalambous & Praetorius, 2020; Elf, 2021; Fenstermacher & Richardson, 2005; Kumar, 2010). In Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) research these discussions have been present throughout the development of the research field, not necessarily as a specific sub-strand, but as an ongoing dialogue between different positions within and outside of the field. Combining our interest for discovering qualities within the ESE-field, our aim is to present a knowledge synthesis to qualify and strengthen our ability to navigate in an evolving research field (Gutierrez-Bucheli, Reid, & Kidman, 2022). The many initiatives focusing on quality enhancement, searching for “solutions” with the aim of “fixing” both the education system, and now preferably also sustainability issues within the same breath, call for nuanced discussions of how quality- and the ESE-disciplines can be combined (Biesta, 2021). This paper aims to deliver insights, presenting a selection of the most dominant trends and developments. Inspired by a multidimensional perspective on quality, our aim is to explore the nuances of how quality is displayed in relation to the ESE-research field. Furthermore, we are interested in how we can ensure that these dimensions are including quality from a student perspective? As Rickinson (2001), earlier Payne (1997), pointed out that the pupil and student, although they are the center and the subjects of ESE, they are nonetheless often overlooked in theory and research. As part of continuing this dialogue we focus on nuancing the different aspects and dimensions of quality in relation to the ESE-field. Thus the ambition, is more than descriptive, with a special interest in the voice of the pupils and the students when arguing for specific perspectives on quality within ESE education. Through inspiration from ongoing debates on the prescribed, documented and experienced quality aspects of not only education, but also more specifically teaching, we aim to deliver a broad analysis of concepts of quality in ESE research and potentials for further strengthening the specific voice of students and pupils through conceptual and methodological development within ESE research in order to support the continued critical and constructive immigration of environmental and sustainability issues into the broader educational landscape.

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