Institutionalizing ESD Standards in Teacher Education Programs: Case of National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education, Pakistan

Any reform in education leverages reform in teacher education. The National Accreditation Council for Teacher Education developed Standards for Accreditation of Teacher Education Programs including specific standards relating to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Data from 103 teacher education programs (TEPs) accredited during the first 2 years evidenced that TEPs in the earlier phases remained low on ESD while those accredited later were found to be better. Data and feedback also reveal that TEPs are working to meet the prerequisite ESD indicators--nonaccredited ones before submission for accreditation and the accredited ones for improved ratings. Thus, accreditation is effective in overall quality enhancement of TEPs and is helping them to adopt ESD concepts and practices.