Developing ESD indicators to assess progress during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development

Indicators are becoming one of the most commonly applied monitoring and assessment strategies among Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) practitioners. Indicators give stakeholders an adaptive framework within which to assess and learn about the impacts of ESD efforts avoiding the rigidity of evaluation for accountability or performance purposes.

ARIES undertook an innovative scoping study on ESD indicators to inform the development of a national monitoring and assessment framework for the UN Decade in Education for Sustainable Development. The project was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

The ARIES research identified key national and international experiences and extracted lessons learnt regarding the development and application of ESD indicators. It involved two international Expert Groups on ESD Indicators, from the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and Asia-Pacific region, and a Key Informant Group made up of international and national experts in ESD indicators. These groups assisted to validate findings as well as identify the latest thinking about ESD indicators.