Environmental and sustainability education in the Benelux countries: Research, policy and practices at the intersection of education and societal transformation

As an introductory article of a Special Issue on Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) in the Benelux region, this paper provides an overview of ESE research, policy and practice in Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. It discusses the different contributions in this collection with regard to how the central theme of this issue, the relation between education and societal transformation, is approached in each paper. The main characteristics of the ESE research fields in the Benelux are described in general terms, and placed within the context of how ESE policy and practice are organised in these countries. Next, different conceptualisations of the relation between educational and political spaces reflected in the collection are discussed and the varied contributions to this issue are positioned in relation to three distinguished traditions of approaching the place of democracy in ESE. The authors conclude with commenting on how this relates to different approaches to the research-policy-practice interface.