Purpose - The current unsustainable environment demands a sustainability transition. Municipalities are critical players in this transition. By fostering the development of sustainability competencies through improving the learning culture in Swedish eco-municipalities, this research aims to foster the sustainability transition. Design/methodology/approach - This research aims to understand the current learning culture of Swedish eco-municipalities using semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Both methods also provided insights for recommendations to improve the learning culture in eco-municipalities. For validation of these recommendations, quantitative data analysis is used. The sample includes practitioners and experts in the field. Findings - The research provides insights into the high relevance of interpersonal competency for the sustainability transition. Moreover, practitioners in municipalities focus on strategic thinking competency and topical knowledge, whereas experts in the field focus more on systems thinking and intrapreneurial competence. Further, continuous learning opportunities, collaboration, and inquiry play a big role in the learning environment. Finally, the research provides seven validated recommendations to foster the learning culture to support learning for sustainability. Quality/value - This research supports (Swedish) municipalities in their sustainability by providing insights into challenges in the current learning culture and developing practical recommendations. Further, the study emphasizes the importance of integrating learning into the vision, values, and strategy of municipalities, involving leaders and practitioners. Ultimately, the research highlights that building sustainability competencies requires a comprehensive understanding of learning as an ongoing process integrated into the organizational culture.

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore experiences of English medium schools in Sweden through the narratives of participants (students and parents), and the educational philosophy of one independent school organisation. The theoretical perspective of Knud Illeris’ learning dimensions has been applied as an analytical tool to investigate the content, incentive and social/societal dimensions. As previous research on English medium education in Sweden have mainly investigated the content and incentive dimensions of learning, this study has a stronger focus on the social and societal dimension. A phenomenological approach extracted the experiences from participants in English medium schooling as written or oral narratives. The perspective of an English medium school organisation was explored through their educational philosophy as described in their Ethos. One of the main results of this study is that the positive influence of English is mentioned in all learning dimensions. English is not only described as an important learning content and incentive to learn, but also as an essential part of the school culture and an access to a global society. Another result is the importance of the unique school atmosphere that has been created through consistent rules of conduct and high expectations of academic achievement. The cultural diversity in the school and how this is described as a motivational factor and an opportunity to share and learn other perspectives is the final main result of the study.