Challenges and Opportunities in Combing the Competences of Formal Education and NGOs for Teaching Sustainability

Abstract

Although the decade for Education for Sustainable Development has been well promoted in Germany it
still finds itself in a rather marginal position, both in the formal and in the informal educational sector.
This is at least partly due to the status it is given in the political debate that leads to different expectations
by different actors who operate in different frameworks. Thus teachers in formal education will have to
take general requirements of education for citizenship into consideration while NGOs are often focused on
improving environments and living conditions. Nonetheless there are numerous efforts for the two to join
forces. These efforts can be fruitful, if actors on both sides understand the needs and restrictions the other
side faces. In this article we want to explore the opportunities and challenges of cooperation between the
formal and informal educational sector with a view of giving partners a chance to better use their often
scarce resources.