Implications of the German Case Study

This chapter synthesizes findings from the German case study to assess how global poverty is represented and taught in EFL classrooms, and how these practices align with the aims of education for sustainable development (ESD). Germany presents a unique setting, combining strong top-down policy support for the SDGs with bottom-up motivation among textbook authors and editors. Despite this promising context, the analysis reveals that textbook portrayals of poverty are reductive, moralistic, and often fictionalized, emphasizing empathy while neglecting structural complexity, critical reflection, and meaningful action. Poverty is framed largely as a moral harm inflicted by powerful groups on vulnerable populations, with solutions centered on charity, migration, or individual goodwill. Teacher perspectives further exacerbate these tendencies: while valuing empathy, many express discomfort with the topic, avoid critical engagement, and resist action-oriented approaches, particularly in classrooms where poverty is locally relevant. Together, these findings suggest a substantial gap between ESD’s goals of critical, competence-based education and the realities of poverty teaching in practice. The chapter concludes that superficial, moralizing representations risk reinforcing stereotypes, disempowering learners, and undermining global citizenship aims. It calls for more realistic, reflective, and pedagogically grounded approaches that address both the global and local dimensions of poverty.