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Article

Students’ Learning on Sustainable Development Goals through Interactive Lectures and Fieldwork in Rural Communities: Grounded Theory Approach

by
Ryuichi Ohta
1,*,
Akiko Yata
2 and
Chiaki Sano
3
1
Community Care, Unnan City Hospital, 96-1 Iida, Daito-cho, Unnan 699-1221, Shimane, Japan
2
Community Nurse Company, Satokata, Kisuki-cho, Unnan 699-1311, Shimane, Japan
3
Department of Community Medicine Management, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University, 89-1 Enya-cho, Izumo 693-8501, Shimane, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8678; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148678
Submission received: 20 June 2022 / Revised: 12 July 2022 / Accepted: 13 July 2022 / Published: 15 July 2022
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Sustainable social-resource-based community management and sustainable development goals (SDGs) are crucial for community sustainability and sustainable development, respectively, and SDG education is vital to motivate people to continue SDG-appropriate activities. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the SDG education of Rural Japanese University students using the grounded theory approach and investigate how their ideas about future work subsequently change. This study analyzes the learning and attitude changes in students enrolled in an elective SDG course and establishes the learning theory behind SDG education in rural universities. In this approach, student SDG education consists of three themes and eleven concepts. Through SDG education based on interactive lectures and rural fieldwork, participants reconsider community and society concepts in an SDG-minded framework. Based on this new perspective, participants begin considering community sustainability by gaining new insight from a first-person standpoint. Participants acquire SDG-minded working competencies, such as collaborative advancement, respect for inclusive societies, community revitalization from different perspectives, and mindset reconstruction. SDG educational processes were conducted in rural communities through university student SDG education, which deepened their understanding of community sustainability. Thus, SDG education should employ real practitioners to university curricula and deal with cultural and traditional diversity via effective collaboration.

1. Introduction

For community sustainability, community development needs to be based on the use of sustainable social resources [1,2,3]. The outflow of young generations towards urban areas and the declining population and average age in rural areas have changed community demographics, especially in developed countries [4,5,6]. Additionally, as consumer society progresses, the environment and community lifestyle change as a result of environmental destruction [7,8,9]. If such changes continue, population declines and environmental changes may disrupt lives in rural communities [2,10]. To create a sustainable social structure, it is crucial to smoothly use diverse social resources that aim for sustainable community productivity [11,12,13]. The use and activation of local social resources can increase the vitality and attractiveness of rural communities [12,14].
Communities and people should be educated and encouraged to use sustainable development goals (SDGs) [15], as SDG management is important for sustainable development. The SDGs refer to the sustainability goals for 2016–2030 as described in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Summit in September 2015 as the successor to the 2001 United Nations Millennium Development [16,17,18]. These SDGs consist of annual international goals, including 17 goals and 169 targets to realize a sustainable world, focused on the “no one left behind” on the earth concept [19,20]. While the global community works hard to achieve these SDGs, various organizations continue to focus on their respective goals [19,20,21]. In the future, continuous SDG-focused activities may greatly contribute to rural community continuity via the inflow of various generations into communities and revitalize various social resources for sustainable use [2,22].
Effective SDG education is vital to motivate people to continue SDG-minded activities. The provision of proper SDG education to people can facilitate the creation of sustainable communities [21,23]. SDG education has been employed for various generations [24,25,26]. Currently, various higher education institutions are promoting SDG education [11,27,28]; each educational institution is formulating a method for SDG education [29]. It is still unclear what kind of knowledge learners have gained through these education practices or how their attitudes have changed regarding future work. SDG education can be driven through interactive lectures and fieldwork with SDG-minded workers.
For effective education on the SDGs, various educational technologies can be involved, such as information and communication technology (ICT), especially in rural contexts. Because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, educational institutions have incorporated ICT systems into their education programs [30,31], and these tools have allowed students to access educational materials from different locations during the pandemic [32]. Education on the SDGs is needed in various contexts. Rurally, a lack of educational resources could impinge on communication and education systems [33]. By applying ICT-driven communication and education, education on the SDGs can be accomplished globally [34].
In Japan, a developed countries facing an aging society, advanced SDG actions are needed to ensure community sustainability. Shimane University is a rural university in Japan that provides SDG education through an elective course using ICT systems. Considering the future of rural Japan, understanding and improving SDG education will lead to more efficient sustainable rural development; therefore, this study aims to evaluate the learning of these students and investigates how they change their ideas of future work regarding SDGs through a grounded theory approach.

2. Materials and Methods

This qualitative study was performed on Shimane University students learning about the SDGs as an elective course at Shimane University. This research used the grounded theory approach to evaluate the learning and attitude changes regarding the future work of the students and establish the theory behind SDG education in rural universities.

2.1. Setting and Participants

This study was conducted in Shimane, which is a rural prefecture in Japan with eight cities, five counties, ten towns, and one village. The population of Shimane is 665,702 (as of 1 January 2021), and the proportion of the population aged ≥65 years is 34.7% (as of 1 October 2020) [35]. Shimane University, the only national university in the Shimane Prefecture [35], has six faculties: Law and Literature, Education, Human Science, Medicine, Science and Engineering, and Life and Environmental Sciences. In this study, participants consisted of 25 students, from any grade or facility, who applied for a SDG education course as one of their curriculum electives. There were more males than females, and more than 70% of students were from other Japanese prefectures. The participants learnt about SDGs in this course from April 2021 to February 2022 via interactive lectures and fieldwork.

2.2. Educational Course of SDGs

This was an elective course for Shimane University students focused on SDGs and their relation to the future work of the students. The course consisted of learning about SDGs through fieldwork under the guidance of experienced SDG-minded workers at their workplaces.
Interactive lectures were delivered by educators from experienced SDG workers in the Shimane Prefecture via ICT, considering the risk of COVID-19. The educators consisted of community workers, entrepreneurs, traditional food producers, human resource administrators in community organizations, and community nurses. They were instructed to share their practices in communities and teach important information via activities in rural communities. The educators shared their experiences, background knowledge, and the skills required to carry out their SDG-centric work. They then provided an opportunity for participants to discuss and share their ideas about the SDGs and related concepts, such as community, sustainability, collaboration, empowerment, investment, culture, and society. The educators facilitated these discussions and encouraged the participants to learn about SDGs and how to apply the idea of SDGs to their future work. Every week after completing each interactive lecture, the participants wrote reflection sheets regarding their SDG educational experiences. Twelve interactive lectures were conducted between April and September 2021.
Fieldwork was carried out in the work environment of each educator. The participants selected one of these work environments for their fieldwork through discussions with fellow participants. Prior to their fieldwork, the participants were divided into groups based on their selected work environment and discussed their intended educational aims and outcomes for their fieldwork. During the fieldwork, the participants worked alongside the educators and experienced hands-on SDG-focused activities to deepen their learning. They visited their rural fieldwork locations several times as per their schedules over four months. Within a month of finishing each interactive lecture, the participants were instructed to write reflection sheets regarding what they had learnt about the SDGs. Fieldwork was conducted between October 2021 and February 2022.

2.3. Measurements

The reflection sheets written by the participants during the course were used in our analysis. The 294 reflection sheets on their perception of the SDG-centric activities, their SDG education, and the potential application of this learning to their future work were transcribed into word documents.

2.4. Analysis

The inductive grounded theory approach was used for our analyses [36]. After reading the reflection sheets in depth, the contents were coded and codebooks were developed based on repeated readings of the research materials, with respect to the initial coding for reliability. This study used process and concept coding [36]; thus, the concepts and themes were induced, merged, deleted, and refined by alternating between the research materials and initial coding for axial coding. The axial coding was extrapolated to concepts and themes while refining the codes. For triangulation, the concepts and themes were discussed among the researchers and the reflection sheets were analyzed iteratively during the research period after finishing each period of learning for theoretical saturation. The tentative analysis results were also shared with the participants for an audit trial. Finally, the theory was discussed by the researchers, who ultimately reached an agreement on the themes.

2.5. Ethical Consideration

The anonymity and confidentiality of the participants were ensured throughout the study. All participants provided written informed consent before participating in the study. All procedures in this study were performed in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments. The Unnan City Hospital Clinical Ethics Committee approved the study protocol (no. 20210032).

3. Results

3.1. The Demographic Data

Of the 25 participants, the Law and Literature, Education, Human Science, Science and Engineering, and Life and Environmental Sciences faculties hosted 7, 4, 3, 5, and 6 students, respectively, and there were 13 first-year students, 10 second-year students, 1 third-year student, and 1 fourth-year student.
Three themes and eleven concepts were identified for student SDG education using the grounded theory approach (Table 1). Through SDG-based interactive lectures and rural fieldwork, the participants reconsidered the community and society concepts in an SDG-minded framework, thus changing their community understanding. Based on this new understanding, the participants began considering community sustainability by gaining new insights from a first-person standpoint and respecting community cultures, traditions, and social resource collaboration. Through this course, the participants acquired working competencies involving SDGs, such as collaborative advancements, respecting inclusive societies, the revitalization of communities from different perspectives, and reconstructing present mindsets.

3.2. Change in Understanding Communities

Through the SDG course, the participants deepened their community understanding by learning various experiences with community educators. A deepened community understanding allowed the participants to become familiar with communities that were similar to the communities of their youth. The concepts of communities and societies in the framework of the SDGs modified their thoughts on the future of communities. The processes included reflection on their experiences in their communities.

3.2.1. Deepened Understanding of Communities

The participants learnt specific community activities from various activists and work, and through interactive lectures by the SDG community practitioners. Through these lectures and the following discussions with the practitioners and other participants, they understood community concepts from new perspectives.
One of the participants stated:
“Previously, I thought that communities might be outdated and old; however, now, through these lectures, I could understand that my mindset was very narrow and limited. The concept of ‘communities’ is broad, and we can do more things in communities to enrich cultures and create new values in the world by using present resources.”
Another participant stated:
“I regret my previous ideas regarding communities. My understanding regarding communities and societies was limited. I thought that communities were rural; now, the concepts of communities should be considered without the limitation of locations worldwide. As such, rural communities have a lot of possibilities, and I may create new values in communities, which can lead to SDGs.”
The participants reconsidered their personal definitions of communities and rebuilt their perspectives of activities in communities from various perspectives. They began to consider various possible community activities. By learning these new community perspectives, they thought more positively about using SDGs in rural communities.

3.2.2. Familiarity of Communities

The participants learnt about communities comprehensively and developed social resources within them, leading to a deeper understanding of and familiarity with communities. During the learning processes, the participants reflected on their previous experiences in their rural communities which motivated their learning in the course.
One of the participants stated:
“Each practitioner in rural communities went into communities voluntarily and learnt about their communities in-depth. I was very impressed about their activities and felt the familiarity to my community. I was motivated to know my community better than I do now to find the advantage of my community.”
Another participant stated:
“My previous experience was not good in the rural community; young people go out from the community and only older people try to sustain the community. However, through this course, I could understand that each community has appealing points to younger and older people. In my community, I may be able to find the points to sustain the community with various young people.”
The participants enhanced their understanding of communities and their familiarity to their communities. During the learning process, the participants began to consider their own contexts from the new learnt perspectives. Furthermore, they considered the future of the present challenges to their communities and were motivated to consider the situation in communities positively.

3.2.3. Variable Thoughts on Issues of Communities

This SDG course provided participants with opportunities to learn various SDG-centric activities in rural communities. Initially, the participants were hesitant to accept new ideas and mindsets from the community practitioners; however, successful results and clear future views from the practitioners motivated the participants to change their ideas about communities.
For example, one of the participants stated:
“Different presenters take different approaches for the sustainability of communities. Each of them had strong ideas to change the communities and make people there happy. They tried to make themselves happier than now; this attitude is very impressive. I hope to be like them. Their new and different ideas could change the rural community’s issues gradually.”
Another participant stated:
“At first, I doubted the community sustainability because a lot of rural communities lose young generations’ power and decline; however, now, various practitioners presented their activities. Although each activity is challenging for them, they made effort from new ideas of considering communities and changed their situations. I got interested in their thoughts different from me and I wanted to learn more about SDGs.”
Through learning from the practitioner’s experiences, the participants became familiar with new ideas about communities and the need for SDGs to promote rural communities from different perspectives. The participants struggled to accept new ideas when considering challenges from social changes such as aging. However, they were motivated to actively learn about SDGs and accept new ideas for solving the issues in their rural communities by learning about the progressive activities conducted by the practitioners.

3.3. Possibility of the Sustainability of Communities

Based on their new community understanding, the participants began to consider community sustainability by gaining new insights from a first-person standpoint. They began to consider real situations in their rural communities to identify their own problems. Moreover, they understood the importance of respecting rural community cultures. They realized that collaboration with various social resources should be used to approach the issues of the rural communities.

3.3.1. Considering the Sustainability of Communities

Through the SDG course, the participants developed more positive attitudes towards the approaches to the community problems. Through practitioner-engaged education, the participants realized that they could accomplish successful sustainability activities in rural communities, and they could simulate their future activities.
One of the participants stated:
“Through this course, I could realize that the community could change in various ways for sustainability. The practitioners stated that the activities in communities could be slow progress, but the persistent activities could change the situations, leading to sustainability. I believe it.”
The participants initially realized that sustainability could be difficult to achieve on their own. However, through the educational course, they realized that by applying different ideas, they could consider the various paths to rural community sustainability. The participants also realized that a new framework for the SDGs could solve community issues.
For example, one of the participants stated:
“Sustainability might be challenging, but as the practitioners stated, sustainability has to be accomplished for rural societies to continue our lives. Japanese society is aging and shrinking, but there are various changes by changing the mindsets. There are various needs for the sustainability of rural community, so we should find the needs effectively and appeal to that part to drive the sustainability.”

3.3.2. Sustainability from a First-Person Standpoint

Through the discussions between the practitioners and participants, the participants began to consider community sustainability in their own contexts. Each participant had their own motivation for participating in the SDG course, which further motivated them to consider their contexts in-depth, ultimately changing their attitudes to learning.
As one of the participants stated:
“The discussion with various people in this course could motivate me to consider again deeply my rural community. My city is located far from the main city of this prefecture. My city has the same issues with other rural communities, such as aging and population shrinking. By listening to the ideas and activities of others in their communities, I could visualize what I can do in my communities.”
During SDG education, the participants felt that aging societies could cause the same problems in rural communities, and various participants approached these issues. The participants began to participate in the topics in this course from a first-person standpoint, which ultimately improved their motivation.
For example, one of the participants stated:
“In the beginning of this course, I did not concentrate on the topics of the course, but by listening to other participants and practitioners and discussing with them, I realized that they have the same consciousness about the issues in rural communities. After that, I began to consider each topic in this course as if I was solving the issue in its real context. This attitude could drive my learning of SDGs.”

3.3.3. Reorganizing Values of Community, Culture, and Traditions

The new perspectives that were acquired through this course included the various ways to prioritize community, culture, and traditions. The practitioners emphasized the importance of respect for community cultures and traditions to promote sustainability in rural communities. The continual provision of reorganizing existing ideas changed the participants’ perspectives.
As one of the participants stated:
“Rural communities have their own culture to do things. Sometimes, new activities in communities could impinge on indigenous tradition and culture; this invasion could inhibit new activity progressions.”
Throughout the course, the participants learnt about situations that invaded the cultures and traditions through new activities. Communities with specific cultures and traditions attempted to sustain community activities using their own methods. They also realized that rural cultures and traditions could pave the way to resolve issues in rural communities. The learning in this course allowed the realization of the balance among community activities, culture, and traditions.
For example, one of the participants stated:
“Rural culture and tradition could be a driver of the solutions for the issues in rural communities. So, as a practitioner, I should know more about culture and tradition in rural communities for the activities for the sustainability of communities.”

3.3.4. Collaboration for Sustainability

For community sustainability, various forms of collaboration were required by the practitioners in rural communities. The participants discussed the need for this collaboration with various social resources for community sustainability. Through discussion on practitioner activities and experiences, the participants realized the importance of collaboration for effective community activities.
As one of the participants stated:
“I have previously learnt about the importance of collaboration in jobs; however, I did not understand its usefulness in real scenarios. Most things could be done by myself. In this course, I understood that the sustainability of communities could not be accomplished without various collaborations. For new activities in rural communities, I need various supports from different specialties that should be involved in activities of rural culture and traditions.”
For these collaborations, the participants realized that they should relate to multiple social resources in rural areas because of lack of resources in rural contexts. Additionally, they considered the importance of communication skills with people in rural communities. Effective communication skills which respected culture and traditions mitigated various conflicts in communities related to community activities.
As one of the participants stated:
“The lack of resources could be an issue in rural communities. In activities in rural communities, I have to understand what kinds of resources there are in rural communities and make efforts to connect me with the resources proactively. For building the connection, I need the skills to communicate with various people and acquire the trust from the people there.”

3.4. Competency for Sustainable Development Goals

Through this course, the participants acquired thoughtful competencies for working with the SDGs, especially through their learnt knowledge and changed attitudes. They realized that advancement through collaboration could be essential for the progression of activities in rural communities. They were motivated to respect inclusive societies for the usage of social resources. The idea of community revitalization from different perspectives facilitated the participants to accept different ideas in rural communities. In the process of developing rural community activities, they understood that their present ideas and ways of thinking needed to be reconstructed again for new activities.

3.4.1. Advancement through Collaboration

The participants realized that collaboration in rural communities could drive new activities for community sustainability. In these collaborations, they were motivated to understand the in-depth histories and cultures of these rural communities. The participants also realized that collaboration was difficult; however, mutual respect could overcome the difficulty in collaboration.
As one of the participants stated:
“Various practitioners in rural communities struggled to get trust and reputation to progress their activities. In the process, they acquired the skills and attitudes to collaborate with people there and understood the communities in depth. The difference between people may have impinged on the collaboration. However, one person may not be able to accomplish community activities, but the collaboration could make those possible.”
During collaborations, the participants learnt that collaboration with people could improve their trust in activists. They also realized that continual collaboration could overcome the difficulty in collaboration as a relationship is formed and matured, leading to mutual understanding. Additionally, collaboration requires time and effort with persistent communication with the people in that community.
For example, one of the participants stated:
“I have to establish a good relationship with people from rural communities. For this relationship, I understand that I need to act continuously in one place to gain their trust. Continuous collaboration can positively change the situation of collaboration, leading to effective outcomes regarding community activities.”

3.4.2. Importance of Inclusive Societies

During the coursework, the participants learnt the importance of wide and varied participation from communities. The rural community activities included various people from private companies, public organizations, and laypeople from the communities. Their collaborative efforts were helpful in developing advantageous practitioner activities for community sustainability.
One participant stated:
“The important component was the inclusion of different categories of people in rural communities. The cooperation of various peoples could drive activities in communities. Different people have different perspectives to improve the quality of activities. Although the inclusion of various people can be difficult in some situations based on previous relationships, I should effectively connect with them for driving activities in communities.”
The inclusion of various people could cause some conflict because of their previous relationships or differences in opinion; however, connecting them is vital for rural community sustainability using the limited social resources in rural communities. To overcome the conflict, the participants learnt the importance of respecting different perspectives in communities and generating a dialogue with them.
As one participant stated:
“Conflict may not be avoidable in inclusive societies; however, when various people can be connected, community activity could be driving effectively with various corporation. I want to acquire the knowledge and skills to facilitate the collaboration among various people from different contexts.”

3.4.3. Revitalization of Community Respect for Culture and Tradition

For the participants, the concept of respect for cultures and traditions appeared interesting and appealing. They believed that development could invade the existing cultures and traditions. Through this course, they realized that respect for cultures and traditions in rural communities is the first step in engaging in activities with them. The participants realized that respecting culture and tradition and mixing them with new perspectives could encourage positive drive in the communities.
For example, one participant stated:
“I was impressed with the idea of respecting culture and traditions in rural communities in the activities of the practitioners. I was anxious about breaking traditions and culture in rural communities by new activities. Respecting rural traditions can drive new activities and collect more collaborators in rural communities. I learnt that learning traditions and culture there is vital for the activities for sustainability of rural communities.”
Furthermore, the participants realized that rural communities can be revitalized by new activities involving rural cultures and traditions. There were potentially productive activities and products in rural areas; however, because of the lack of effective promotion, these were not focused on or sold. Collaboration between new initiatives and traditions could revitalize the traditional activities and make products more appealing and recognized.
One of the participants stated:
“Rural traditions have a lot of appealing points. The important thing is how to appeal to societies. Through the learning in this course, I understand that there are various ways to promote rural traditions. Rural culture and traditions have a lot of appealing activities and products such as interesting festivals, traditional crafts, and beautiful nature. Through respecting culture and traditions and collaboration new and traditional things in rural communities, the communities could be revitalized for the sustainability.”

3.4.4. Reconsidering Existing Way of Thinking

Throughout this course, the participants considered that the SDGs could not be accomplished without expanding present perspectives. Furthermore, they realized that their cognitive stereotypes about rural communities inhibited the advancement of the communities. In addition, they realized that they were affected by the existing concepts of communities and limitations, and that changing their ideas could gradually progress community activities.
For example, one of the participants stated:
“I realized that we should consider the present situations in rural communities from different perspectives. The present way of thinking might impinge on progression of rural communities. I learnt in this course that I was strongly affected by the existing ideas.”
When considering SDGs in rural communities, practitioners must change their mindset around rural communities in rural and global contexts. During this process, the realization of their own prejudice towards existing concepts regarding ways of thinking was important. Moreover, to work towards rural community sustainability, the participants realized that practitioners need to proactively learn new fields to acquire new perspectives.
As one of the participants stated:
“I understand that I should learn more and more about new fields and specialties. Focusing on one specialty is of course, important; however, practitioners for the sustainability of rural communities need a wide range of knowledge of communities and societies based on established knowledge and skills. I was motivated to learn more about various specialties in depth.”

4. Discussion

This study shows the effectiveness of SDG education for rural university students in rural communities. Through the learning course, university students deepened their understanding of communities by learning from the experiences of practitioners. Thus, the participants became familiar with communities that reflected their earlier stages of life. The community and society concepts in the SDG-centric framework modified their ideas on community futures. University students began to consider community sustainability by gaining new insights from first-person standpoints and real situations of rural communities. Moreover, they understood the importance of respecting the rural community’s cultures and traditions. Through learning and experience, the students acquired SDG implementation competency and realized the importance of collaboration and inclusivity for the use of social resources leading to the revitalization of communities from different perspectives. While working in rural communities, they also realized that they had to change their present ideas and ways of thinking.
The first theme of change in understanding communities established the theory on perception changes about rural communities in students. The concept of community is generally perceived in various ways in different contexts [37,38]. Among young generations, the concept of community may mean old and declining [39], and this image may drive out younger generations from rural communities to urban areas [40,41]. Through the education program, the participants realized that their perception on rural communities and societies could be skewed, and focused on only a part of rural communities. Previous studies have shown that living in and understanding the effectiveness of a rural community could preserve personal health conditions and nature [24,42]. This study shows that education on SDGs and advantages and disadvantages of rural communities could improve community understanding and perceptions among students, further improving their familiarity with them and encouraging a wide range of perspectives on communities. Thus, to drive SDG education, community and society concepts should be taught in educational institutions by practitioners through hands-on experiences in rural communities.
The second theme of community sustainability reconfirmed the above theory on student realizations of positive opportunities concerning rural communities through learning various new standpoints, and the importance of collaboration. Multiple interventions are essential for organizations and people in both public and private sectors [43,44]. Research on this emphasizes the importance of understanding community sustainability and its empowerment [6]. The participants became motivated to consider the sustainability of rural communities based on their knowledge of communities and societies. Based on their changes in perception and motivation regarding community activities, they will also begin to consider community issues when addressing their own problems in the future and apply them to their own communities. Furthermore, the participants acquired a first-person understanding of community activities. This first-person standpoint could be essential for actively considering community sustainability [45,46]. This educational course could motivate participants to act on their own. Moreover, in rural communities, reorganizing community cultural and traditional values is necessary to bring new values to the present era and to appeal to various people in and out of the communities. For reorganization, collaboration could be effective to consider new values of communities towards sustainability [47,48]. For SDG education related to rural communities, the content on culture, societies, and modes of collaboration should be adequately robust for the efficient running of this course.
The third theme emphasized the competence of students in relation to SDG activities. Activists for SDGs need various competencies for effective engagement with rural communities and to carry out SDG activities [49,50]. In such SDG activities, the existing value of things may be changed, because accomplishing the SDGs requires novel community activities and collaboration with various organizations [48,51]. As this study shows, SDG education by the present practitioners could motivate learners to reconsider their existing values and the importance of collaboration. Additionally, rural societies lack resources for sustainability [52,53]. Thus, communities should include various people from different cultures and traditions [54,55]; however, such a mixture of traditions and cultures could cause various conflicts. This study shows that SDG education teaches the importance of inclusive societies and respect for different cultures and traditions, leading to positive expectations of rural community activities among students. The prejudice towards and stereotypes of different cultures and traditions could impinge on the progression of SDGs and rural community sustainability [56,57]. In SDG education, cultural and traditional diversity and its importance should be included in the curriculum.
This study has some notable limitations. The first is the motivation of the participants for taking part in this course, as some participants might have had a former motivation. In this study, the researchers evaluated the learning content from the perspective of multiple participants by iterative data collection. Another limitation is transferability. Because this research was performed in only one rural university, to improve reliability, we used iterative data analysis and a prolonged data collection duration. Future studies should investigate effective educational methods involving these research theories in other national and international settings. Additionally, the reflection transcripts were coded by the first author, which could affect this study’s credibility. To improve the quality of research, the second author reviewed the process of coding the concepts and themes through theoretical triangulation.

5. Conclusions

This study investigated the SDG learning processes of rural university students for rural communities. Through SDG education, university students could deepen their understanding of communities and sustainability and familiarize themselves with communities that reflected the earlier phases of their lives. For the continuity of rural communities and to achieve SDGs, middle and higher educational institutions could employ real practitioners in communities. Real practitioners of SDGs should educate not only on the general issues of the SDGs, but also on cultural and traditional diversity and effective collaboration methods for different categories of people and organizations to implement SDG-related activities.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, R.O.; methodology, R.O. and A.Y.; validation, R.O. and C.S.; formal analysis, R.O., A.Y. and C.S.; investigation, R.O.; resources, A.Y.; data curation, R.O.; writing—original draft preparation, R.O., A.Y. and C.S.; writing—review and editing, R.O., A.Y. and C.S.; visualization, R.O.; supervision, C.S.; project administration, R.O. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and it was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Unnan City Hospital (protocol code 20210032, and date of approval: 1 March 2021).

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study may be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all students who participated in this research.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

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Table
Table 1. Themes and concepts in the grounded theory approach for student SDG education.
Table 1. Themes and concepts in the grounded theory approach for student SDG education.
ThemeConcepts
Change in understanding communitiesDeepening the understanding of communities
Familiarity of communities
Variable thoughts on issues of communities
Possibility of the sustainability of communitiesConsidering sustainability of communities
Sustainability from a first-person standpoint
Reorganizing values of community culture and traditions
Collaboration for sustainability
Competency for sustainable development goalsAdvancement through collaboration
Importance of inclusive societies
Revitalization of communities respecting culture and traditions
Reconsidering existing way of thinking
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Ohta, R.; Yata, A.; Sano, C. Students’ Learning on Sustainable Development Goals through Interactive Lectures and Fieldwork in Rural Communities: Grounded Theory Approach. Sustainability 2022, 14, 8678. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148678

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Ohta R, Yata A, Sano C. Students’ Learning on Sustainable Development Goals through Interactive Lectures and Fieldwork in Rural Communities: Grounded Theory Approach. Sustainability. 2022; 14(14):8678. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148678

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Ohta, Ryuichi, Akiko Yata, and Chiaki Sano. 2022. "Students’ Learning on Sustainable Development Goals through Interactive Lectures and Fieldwork in Rural Communities: Grounded Theory Approach" Sustainability 14, no. 14: 8678. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148678

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