Embedding Social Sustainability in Education: A Thematic Review of Practices and Trends Across Educational Pathways from a Global Perspective

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript provides a comprehensive thematic review of how social sustainability is integrated into Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It explores essential questions regarding the conceptualization of social sustainability, pedagogical approaches, barriers to implementation, and policy support. The manuscript’s emphasis on experiential learning, critical pedagogy, and community-based education provides a clear and insightful understanding of how social sustainability can be embedded in education. However, there are areas that could be further strengthened to enhance clarity and the impact of the paper.

The title is descriptive but could be more concise. The abstract provides a good overview but lacks specific details about the methods and key findings. To make it more impactful, shorten the title, avoid repetition of social sustainability, and include quantitative results (e.g., percentage changes or significant trends) in the abstract.

Despite efforts to define social sustainability, the concept remains somewhat ambiguous. The authors acknowledge this challenge but could delve deeper into resolving definitional inconsistencies

While the thematic review methodology is described however is weak and not clearly described, The Methodology is generally not specific in terms of which country's education, and the paper could benefit from a more detailed explanation of the literature selection criteria (e.g., time frame, geographic scope, literature time span, which country education is focused, which education is focused like higher, secondary, elementary, primary, which books or curriculum, years etc. ) to enhance reproducibility. how authors made themes, and how many words or sentences represent a theme. how many words and sentences are aligned with social sustainability? only focus on social sustainability, and make an index based on the theme or words which are searched for social sustainability. present conceptual or analytical framework. 

The paper acknowledges the difficulty in measuring social sustainability outcomes but does not propose concrete assessment tools or metrics, which are critical for evaluating implementation success. Discussing how these could be incorporated into curricula would strengthen the practical aspect of the review.

While identifying barriers, the paper could provide more concrete examples or frameworks to bridge the gap between policy formulation and practical implementation.

The results are presented systematically but lack visual aids to illustrate themes.

While the manuscript highlights various effective pedagogical approaches like experiential learning and critical pedagogy, it would be beneficial to explore these methods in more detail, particularly their strengths and limitations in different educational settings. Providing concrete examples of these pedagogies in action could enhance the paper’s applicability.

 Revise conclusions according to modifications. 

Author Response

We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your careful reading of our manuscript and for the insightful and constructive comments you provided. Your feedback has been instrumental in helping us improve the quality and clarity of our work. In response, we have uploaded a detailed, point-by-point reply addressing each of your comments. We respectfully request that you review our responses, as we have endeavored to incorporate your suggestions and clarify the issues raised. We are deeply grateful for your invaluable time and insightful review.

 with best regards, Authors.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This manuscript presents a timely and well-structured thematic review addressing an underrepresented but essential Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) dimension: social sustainability. The focus on equity, inclusion, cultural diversity, and human rights within educational systems is both relevant and commendable, particularly given the historical emphasis on sustainability's environmental and economic pillars. The global scope, including examples from both developed and developing contexts, enriches the manuscript and strengthens its applicability across diverse educational systems.

Your use of reflexive thematic analysis is appropriate and generally well-explained. The manuscript's organization—moving from conceptual foundations through pedagogical approaches, implementation barriers, and policy frameworks—allows for coherent argument development. Including international case studies further supports your claims and provides valuable reference points for practitioners and policymakers.

However, there are several areas where the manuscript could be improved for greater clarity, precision, and academic impact:

While thematic analysis is appropriate, the methodology section would benefit from greater specificity. Please consider detailing the number of sources reviewed, the time frame covered, and the inclusion/exclusion criteria.

In several places, citations are presented in clusters without sufficient discussion (example, [3,30,49,50]). This weakens the analytical depth. Consider expanding on the unique contribution of individual sources and how they support particular claims.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

While the overall writing is clear, there are noticeable areas where the English could be improved for clarity and flow. Some sentences are overly long or repetitive, and specific key terms (for example: "social sustainability" and "policy integration") are repeated without variation. I recommend a careful language edit by a professional proofreader or native English academic editor. Specific examples include:

Page 2–3 (Lines 76–78): The paragraph introducing the four research questions appears abruptly and could benefit from a clearer transition: "Thus, there is a growing need to explore how social sustainability is conceptualized within ESD, which pedagogical approaches are most effective, what implementation challenges persist, and how policy frameworks can facilitate the integration of social sustainability."

Pages 4–5: The term "social sustainability" is used repetitively within a short span. Consider using synonyms or restructuring to improve readability: "Social sustainability within ESD refers to developing educational practices that promote social equity, cultural diversity, human rights, and community resilience. [...] The concept of social sustainability in education encompasses several key components: (1) Social Equity [...] (2) Cultural Diversity [...] (3) Human Rights [...] (4) Community Resilience."

Page 5 (Lines 217–219): The transition to the section on policy and institutional frameworks could be smoother. A linking sentence from the prior section would help: "Policies and institutional support are crucial in embedding social sustainability in education. High-level commitments and frameworks provide the necessary mandate, guidance, and resources for schools and universities to prioritize the social dimension of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)."
The use of "policies," "institutional support," and "frameworks" is clustered without a clear separation of roles. The transition into this subsection feels sudden and disconnected from the pedagogical challenges discussed earlier.
Provide a bridge sentence connecting the pedagogical section to the role of policy (for example, how pedagogical reforms depend on policy support).

Example: Page 1 (Line 13)
"While environmental and economic dimensions of sustainability have received extensive scholarly attention, the social dimension encompassing equity, cultural diversity, human rights, and community resilience remains insufficiently explored."

The sentence is grammatically correct but stylistically heavy. A comma before "encompassing" would improve readability.

Consider: "...the social dimension, encompassing equity, cultural diversity, human rights, and community resilience, remains..."

Example: Page 2 (Line 63)
"Education promotes sustainability by equipping learners with knowledge, skills, and values that support long-term societal well-being."

While correct, "long-term societal well-being" is vague and overused in sustainability literature. Consider a more precise or contextual phrase, such as "equitable and cohesive communities."

Example: Page 5 (Line 177)
"...have effectively encouraged students to apply sustainability concepts in real-world contexts. Implementing social sustainability in ESD requires adopting educational approaches that are experiential, participatory, and culturally relevant. As highlighted by [43]. Play-based learning and storytelling...".

The phrase "As highlighted by [43]." is a sentence fragment. It lacks a verb or proper continuation.

Consider: "As highlighted by [43], play-based learning and storytelling…".

Example: Page 8 (Line 340–343)
"Furthermore, assessing social sustainability learning outcomes remains challenging, as social competencies and values-based education do not lend themselves easily to conventional evaluation metrics [50. The lack of clear assessment frameworks…".

Punctuation error with the misplaced bracket: "[50."

Consider (I think so): "...[50]. The lack of clear assessment frameworks…".

Example: Page 9 (Line 386)
"While some developing countries, such as Kenya and South Africa, have made strides in incorporating ESD into vocational training and practical activities.".

This is a dependent clause presented as a complete sentence.

Consider combining it with the following sentence, or revise it to "...activities, significant challenges remain in other regions."

Despite these minor weaknesses, the manuscript makes a meaningful contribution to the literature and provides thoughtful insights into how education systems can better incorporate the social dimension of sustainability. 

Author Response

Dear reviewer, We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your careful reading of our manuscript and for the insightful and constructive comments you provided. Your feedback has been instrumental in helping us improve the quality and clarity of our work. In response, we have uploaded a detailed, point-by-point reply addressing each of your comments. We respectfully request that you review our responses, as we have endeavored to incorporate your suggestions and clarify the issues raised. We are deeply grateful for your invaluable time and insightful review.

With best regards, Authors.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Although the paper is well imagined and has a good beginning, the rest of the paper and the way of structuring it (no literature review, analysis results, etc.) are not good enough for publication in the journal Sustainability. The title of the paper, as the reviewer obtained, is also poorly formulated. The paper is too descriptive. The author should be suggested that the paper be proven with empirical research, as this would make it more significant.

Author Response

Dear reviewer, We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your careful reading of our manuscript and for the insightful and constructive comments you provided. Your feedback has been instrumental in helping us improve the quality and clarity of our work. In response, we have uploaded a detailed, point-by-point reply addressing each of your comments. We respectfully request that you review our responses, as we have endeavored to incorporate your suggestions and clarify the issues raised.We are deeply grateful for your invaluable time and insightful review.

With best regards, Authors.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Authors have made good efforts to improve it; however, there are still a few things that need to be addressed. 

1. Title must be changed because the author's focus is on social sustainability rather than ESD. How social sustainability is conceptualized and operationalized across early childhood, primary, secondary, and higher education levels. It should be something like that: Embedding Social Sustainability in Education: A Thematic Review from a global curriculum perspective.
2. The introduction must focus on social sustainability in education to clearly state the research gap and the integration of social sustainability decisions rather than the broader concept, because the authors' focus is on social sustainability, not ESD.
3. Please check the citation of the figures in the text.
4. Figure text is inconsistent with other text.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We hope this message finds you well. We have uploaded our response to the second round of review. Kindly review it at your convenience. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

Authors.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The new paper is structured in six sections and its structure is completely in accordance with the title, while the order of parts (sections) and individual segments (subsections) in each of them and their mutual quantitative relations are "logical", "qualitatively aligned", and "tightly packed" in the whole. According to its structure, content and manner of elaborating the material, the new paper represents the significant contribution to the understanding of complex problematics of education for sustainable development. This version is written professionally, linguistically correct and with the style that is completely understandable.

Using extensive and relevant literature, the authors have made the consistent theoretical-methodological and empirical whole. According to the depth and content of the research, the new paper is the quality work (creation) that deals with the issues of education and sustainable development, and as such will certainly be the significant literature and "starting foundation" for the practitioners and students which deal with this problematics.

Taking into account all that has been said, and especially emphasizing the need for this valuable scientific study to become available to the wider scientific and professional public, I am of the opinion that it should be published.

Minor improvements to be made:

o I suggest authors to consider following paper for citing in the paper:

Krstić, M.; Filipe, J.A.; Chavaglia, J. Higher Education as a Determinant of the Competitiveness and Sustainable Development of an Economy. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6607. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166607

 

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

We hope this message finds you well. We have uploaded our response to the second round of review. Kindly review it at your convenience. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

Authors.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf