Reshape instead of Escape
Insights from the Reshape instead of Escape needs analysis
Within the small scale Erasmus+ project Reshape instead of Escape (RioE), we carried out a needs analysis to explore the current challenges, conditions and enabling factors related to sustainability education and green skills in adult learning contexts.
The analysis is based on ten in-depth interviews with adult educators, trainers and sustainability practitioners in Sweden and Austria. Rather than pointing to a lack of commitment or interest, the findings highlight a set of recurring challenges that shape how sustainability is understood, experienced and translated into action in learning situations. The analysis also gives a clear indication regarding the support, tools and methods the educators need in their roles.
Sustainability is experienced as complex and overwhelming
A central insight from the needs analysis is that sustainability is often perceived as inherently complex. Educators describe learners who struggle to navigate interconnected issues, competing priorities and multiple ongoing crises. This complexity frequently leads to cognitive overload, emotional fatigue or disengagement.
When sustainability is framed primarily through crisis narratives or implied sacrifice, there is always the risk that participants withdraw rather than engage. Educators emphasise the difficulty of balancing realism with hope and agency. Especially when the maturity and knowledge varies a lot between the participants.
Implication: Adult learning methods need to reduce perceived complexity without oversimplifying. Learning designs should help participants grasp systems and interconnections while maintaining a sense of agency and possibility.
The gap between understanding and action
Another recurring pattern in the interviews is the so-called mind–behaviour gap. Learners may understand sustainability challenges and even express strong concern, yet struggle to translate this understanding into concrete action in their professional and organisational roles.
Educators describe learning situations where reflection is strong, but where participants leave without clarity on what is within their influence or how to move forward in practice. It stays cognitive and does not translate into concrete action.
Implication: Green skills education must be designed with action as a core outcome. Learning experiences need to explicitly support the translation of insight into context-specific decisions and next steps.
Sustainability work is often carried by individuals
Across sectors and contexts, educators describe sustainability efforts as relying heavily on one committed individual rather than being embedded across organisations. Responsibility is frequently not matched by mandate, resources or shared ownership. This “lone responsibility” limits long-term impact and affects both motivation and continuity. This is particularly evident for educators working with representants from organisations as participants. The context is crucial.
Implication:Adult learning designs should make organisational dynamics visible and support collective responsibility, rather than focusing solely on individual behaviour change.
Emotional and political resistance is part of the learning context
The outcome from the needs analysis also highlights emotional and political resistance as a common feature of sustainability education. Sustainability topics can trigger defensiveness, polarisation or anxiety, particularly when they are perceived as moralising or judgemental.
Educators stress the importance of psychological safety and of creating learning spaces that allow exploration without blame.
Implication:Indirect, experiential and scenario-based methods can help lower resistance and support reflection by allowing participants to engage with sustainability challenges without confrontation. However, it is important that they still ar perceived as professional and not just “let’s play”!
Strong motivation and a clear opportunity for game based learning
Despite the challenges above, the interviews reveal strong intrinsic motivation among educators. Trainers are motivated when learning leads to visible impact, when participants are engaged, and when methods allow creativity, adaptation and collaboration.
Game-based and experiential approaches are described as having great potential with the possibility of creating a playful, collaborative and engaging environment for learning and transformation. Game based methods are especially valuable when they are clearly purpose-driven, well facilitated and aligned with learning objectives. Several interviewees point out that such methods can help make complex sustainability challenges more tangible and actionable, supporting learners in moving from reflection to concrete action. This highlights the potential of a game-based Train-the-Trainer approach as a structured and innovative way to strengthen green skills while addressing emotional engagement and agency.
What this means for adult learning practice
The needs analysis shows that the green transition is not only a technical challenge, but also a human and educational one. Adult educators are key multipliers, yet they operate in contexts shaped by limited time, resources, organisational constraints and emotional complexity.
The insights from this analysis form the evidence-based foundation for the next phase of the Reshape instead of Escape project, where they are translated into concrete training design principles and facilitation approaches. At the same time, the challenges identified are not unique to this project. They reflect broader realities that many adult educators across Europe recognise: the need for methods that make complex sustainability issues understandable, actionable, and meaningful in everyday practice.
All updates, materials, and results from the project will be published on the project website as they become available. For those who wish to follow the development and access upcoming resources, more information can be found here: https://reshapegame.com/
Together, we can strengthen the role of adult education in the green transition — moving from climate anxiety to climate action.
