Several high-level strategies devote special priority to Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Given the seriousness of the ESD agenda in SIDS, it is vital that ESD programmes perform at a level where potential positive impacts on schools and communities can be realised. Contemporary literature on ESD has shed light on the most effective educational approaches for addressing the types of complex sustainability problems facing islands. This study set out to identify the types of changes which Indian Ocean ESD professionals are working towards on the ground, and how these relate to contemporary ESD theory. Despite the practical and urgent issues facing Indian Ocean SIDS, this research reveals a general rejection of traditional expert-driven instrumental/behaviourist approaches in favour of a dominant emancipatory approach and full grasp of the need for transformative change and a holistic whole institution approach to ESD among ESD professionals in the Indian Ocean. The study goes on to illuminate how the professionals believe transformative change can be recognisable in Indian Ocean schools, and finally proposes four indicators for evaluation.