Embedding Sustainability in Teacher Education: A Comparative Analysis of Policy Frameworks in Hungary, Finland, and Poland

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has become a central priority in international education policy, increasing expectations for teacher education systems to prepare future teachers for sustainability challenges. This study examines how sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and higher-order cognitive expectations are embedded within teacher education policy frameworks in Hungary, Finland, and Poland. Using qualitative document analysis supported by MAXQDA, national policy documents, teacher education regulations, and programme frameworks were systematically analysed. Sustainable Development Goals were used to examine policy content, while Bloom’s Taxonomy provided a framework for investigating cognitive expectations in teacher education requirements. The findings reveal substantial cross-national differences in how sustainability is conceptualised and operationalised within teacher education. Finland demonstrates the most comprehensive and transversal integration, whereas Hungary primarily adopts a disciplinary approach and Poland places greater emphasis on digitalisation and innovation. In the Hungarian teacher education qualification requirements, lower- and intermediate-level cognitive processes are more frequently represented than higher-order processes, while the Finnish and Polish frameworks also contain explicit expectations related to higher-order thinking. Beyond comparing national frameworks, the study demonstrates how qualitative policy document analysis combined with SDG mapping and Bloom’s Taxonomy reveals pedagogical priorities within teacher education systems. The findings suggest that national policy frameworks may shape how sustainability competences and cognitive expectations are represented within teacher education requirements, offering policy-level implications for sustainability-oriented teacher education.