This publication is the final report of the project Measuring Indicators of Sustainable Development in African School Curricula funded by the Academy of Finland in 2004–2005. The purpose of the study was to assess the role of sustainable development in Ethiopian, Ghanaian and Nigerian science education by applying tests and questionnaires of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study Repeat (TIMSS 1999).

The research results show that the students of these countries have acquired relatively good science knowledge for sustainable development although many factors in their schooling and everyday surroundings contradict the principles of sustainable development. The study also illustrates the conditions of teaching and learning environment in science education.