Education for Citizenship and Sustainable Development in the curriculum of Spain and Finland

Abstract

The 2030 Agenda turns the Sustainable Development Goals into the roadmap where citizens become aware of reality. These call on global citizens to be active agents of change towards a more ecological and sustainable world. Education has throughout history been a tool to train future citizens. Therefore, the objective of this article is to compare the stages of primary and secondary education in terms of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through the educational policies adopted in Spain and Finland in order to glimpse if the same goal is pursued: achieve global, ecological and sustainable citizenship in both countries. To do this, a comparative study is carried out based on a descriptive-analytical analysis of the differences and similarities in their curricula. The research shows that EpC and ESD are worked on in both countries unequally. Finland has a longer history in the training of citizens and sustainable politics, and Spain has evolved in these matters as a result of the LOMLOE educational law and the integration of ESD and EpC within its key competencies.