Implicit Knowledge in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development: Students’ Orientations Towards Sustainability-Related Topics

This study argues from a sociology of knowledge perspective which considers implicit knowledge as the basis for orientation towards a certain topic. Reconstructing this type of knowledge can help to better understand the learner’s perspective. Implicit knowledge originates from shared experiences. It therefore indirectly provides information about the experiences of learners. In this study, implicit knowledge (orientations) regarding sustainability-related topics was reconstructed from open group discussions with upper secondary-level students from Germany. Three main orientations are presented in this article: the orientation based on a predetermined future of the world, the orientation based on conformity and the orientation based on knowledge and awareness. The findings are discussed with regard to the shared experiences of the students and in terms of their implications for the practice and theory of education for sustainable development.