Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to outline the scientific production in Portuguese universities in environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). It takes doctoral theses presented in public universities as reference, assuming that, in Higher Education, the production of doctoral theses is a key beacon of the scientific development in academic fields of knowledge. Design/methodology/approach The theses selected were subject to documentary and content analyses. Findings The results allow the identification of research trends and the recognition of detached aspects, such as the influence of the UN Decade of ESD in the research themes and the clear preponderance of a qualitative-led research tradition. Originality/value This paper provides an original and extensive review of PhD studies on EE and ESD in Portuguese public universities.