Assessment of cross-cutting competences in education for sustainable development

Abstract

The current context, with the many changes occurring in both local and distant environments, raises ethical questions that challenge our emotions, our relationships, and our vision of the world and our place in it. These changes require us to be capable of apprehending a complex set of problems so as to understand and analyse them, grasp the individual and societal challenges they present, and, with full awareness of the issues, decide how to behave. This aim of enabling every citizen to be capable of making informed choices and acting responsibly is found in the curricula of many countries, including Switzerland. Education about changes, for systemic and forward-looking vision and for action is rooted in particular in the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) approach. Our study aims to better define what is conducive in compulsory schooling to the development of cross-cutting competences and their assessment.