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This article examines the affordances and limitations of textbooks for promoting action competence for sustainable development. Based on a content analysis of Swedish lower secondary level textbooks in geography and biology, we investigated how content about sustainable development is organised and formulated, the ways its multidimensional character is described, and how conflicts relating to achieving sustainability are addressed. We found that for both subjects, textbooks provided a fair amount of content about sustainable development, but that relations between its ecological, economic and social dimensions and between different subjects are routinely underdeveloped. We also found that the content about sustainable development obscures complexities and conflicts that are crucial for understanding the challenges involved with achieving sustainability, and taking action. In conclusion, we argue that such textbooks substantially limit the potential for promoting action competence for sustainable development, i.e. through cross-curricular approaches and critically assessing problem-oriented actions at collective and individual levels.

Gender equality constitutes a central aspect of sustainable development. Education is commonly viewed as crucial for achieving both sustainable development and gender equality, and many argue that fostering action competence is a key element in such educational efforts. This article directs attention to the ways in which textbook content about sustainable development and gender equality may support and/or hinder the promotion of action competence. We analyze content about gender equality and sustainable development in Swedish lower secondary school textbooks in biology, civics, and home and consumer economics. We find that sustainable development and gender equality are organized as separate, rather than integrated, topics in textbooks. The analysis also shows that the social dimension, in particular, and multidimensionality, in general, of sustainable development are poorly described. Content about gender equality is furthermore marked by anthropocentric perspectives and weak historical contextualization. All of these traits, we argue, hinder rather than support how textbooks may promote action competence.

Sexuality constitutes an important aspect of sustainable development as the concept is used by the United Nations. Education is commonly viewed as crucial to achieving sustainability, and promoting action competence is a key element in such educational efforts. This suggests that education should support individuals in actively seeking information and acting in relation to sustainability challenges. This article aims to understand the role of textbooks in promoting action competence for sustainable sexuality by analysing content about sexuality in Swedish lower secondary school textbooks in biology and religious education. Results show that sustainable development and sexuality are organised as separate topics in all the books. Textbooks in biology contain a fair amount of sexuality education content, but content in religious education textbooks is more limited. In general, sexuality is closely linked to reproduction and is marked by androcentrism, phallocentrism and ideals of monogamy. Content about sexuality is furthermore strongly normative and seldom introduces readers to different theoretical perspectives or viewpoints. Taken together, these factors limit the extent to which existing textbooks can promote action competence for sustainable sexuality.

Sexuality is a central aspect of life and health and achieving sustainable sexuality is of crucial importance. Education is commonly viewed as essential for achieving sustainable sexuality as well as sustainable development in general. Fostering action competence is a key aspect of education for sustainable development, and educational policy today. The ‘action’ element of action competence directs attention to behaviours targeted at bringing about change. Understanding change is, therefore, a crucial aspect of education for sustainable development. This makes it relevant to study representations of change in education materials. Representations of change are furthermore a central part of sex education. This article takes an interest in narratives of change in textbook content on sexuality. The aim is to analyse themes in narratives of change in Swedish textbooks for early teens. Key findings include a tendency towards teleological narratives of change with non-controversial, utopian goals. Change is furthermore commonly constructed as moving from beliefs to scientific knowledge, and from discrimination to tolerance. Narratives of change often do not discuss political aspects of change, and they are often marked by utopianism and dehistoricisation. These circumstances limit the abilities of textbooks to support the development of action competence for sustainable sexuality.