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Education Sciences
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Promoting Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Era of Climate...
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Promoting Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Era of Climate Change

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2023) | Viewed by 16830

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Iris Alkaher

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education, Faculty of Science Education, Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts, Tel-Aviv 6250769, Israel
Interests: environmental and sustainability education; environmental citizenship; climate change education; eco-humanism; education for sustainability in teacher education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Efrat Eilam

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Arts and Education, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 8001, Australia
Interests: science, environment and climate change education; climate change curriculum development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is unequivocally the biggest existential threat of our time, putting all of Earth’s natural and social life support systems at risk (IPCC, 2022). Children and young people as well as adults are living in uncertain and risky times, as the social, cultural, and environmental effects of global climate change are already impacting their everyday lives. Now more than ever before, education needs to step up and take a major role in addressing the challenges. In this time of transitions and uncertainties it is imperative for education systems to change course from ‘business as usual’ to preparing students for living and thriving in a world of risk and uncertainty, where business is fundamentally not as usual.

This critical role of the education system in cultivating environmental citizenship has been widely acknowledged by international and regional organizations, with particular articulation in the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, Quality Education. (UN General Assembly, 2015). Target 4.7 highlights this role, stating that: “by 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development” (UN General Assembly, 2015, n.d.). Similarly, Target 13.3 of SDG 13 Climate Change, put forward the aim to “Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning” (ibid, n.d.).

Against the backdrop of the current urgent need to reorient the education systems for meeting the challenges of our time, this Special Issue of Education Sciences has been developed with the aim of bringing together best practices in sustainability and climate change education. In contributing toward this goal, the journal seeks contributions on the broad topic of sustainability and climate change education, including: the formal and informal systems; educational policy and implementation; and examination of methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks. Further interest is in the question of evidence and verification in sustainability and climate change education, particularly in relation to what counts as quality education in this field.

Finally, this special issue of Education Sciences seeks to elucidate diverse viewpoints and foster fruitful discourse between researchers, educators, policymakers and practitioners regarding the challenges and opportunities of sustainability education in the era of climate change.

References:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2022. “Climate Change 2022: Synthesis Report.” Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC

UN General Assembly. 2015. “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. Retrieved from United Nations General Assembly: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Dr. Iris Alkaher
Dr. Efrat Eilam
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainability education
  • climate change education
  • environmental citizenship Sustainable Development Goal 4
  • Sustainable Development Goal 13
  • quality education for sustainability

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 868 KiB  
Article
Attitude Construction toward Invasive Species through an Eco-Humanist Approach: A Case Study of the Lesser Kestrel and the Myna
by Adiv Gal
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(11), 1076; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13111076 - 25 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1194
Abstract
The green school in northern Israel has embraced an eco-humanist approach with the aim of mitigating the animosity displayed by fifth-grade students towards invasive species. This antipathy arose due to the negative impact of these invasive species on a local species that the [...] Read more.
The green school in northern Israel has embraced an eco-humanist approach with the aim of mitigating the animosity displayed by fifth-grade students towards invasive species. This antipathy arose due to the negative impact of these invasive species on a local species that the students were monitoring as a component of their environmental education curriculum. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine to what extent, if at all, there is a difference in the ethical attitude of the 188 fifth-grade students (10–11 years old) towards the conflict between the Lesser Kestrel (local species) and the Myna (invader species) and the solution to this conflict following the change to an eco-humanist teaching approach. The study, based on content analysis methodology of written self-reflection, and thematic analysis indicated that the fifth-graders’ knowledge was not adversely affected, but the solutions they proposed for resolving the conflict between the Myna and the Lesser Kestrel were more holistic, ethical, and moral after adopting the eco-humanist approach. Eco-humanism encourages an ethical attitude and environmental responsibility toward nature’s fate, including invasive species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Era of Climate Change)
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18 pages, 695 KiB  
Article
Fulfilling the Regenerative Potential of Higher Education: A Collaborative Auto-Ethnography
by Koen Rens Wessels and Lotte Grünwald
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(10), 1037; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13101037 - 17 Oct 2023
Viewed by 2244
Abstract
Moving towards sustainable futures in which human and natural systems increasingly flourish together asks not only for technological innovation but also for social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual transformation. Regenerative education is an upcoming strand of theory and practice seeking to understand the enabling [...] Read more.
Moving towards sustainable futures in which human and natural systems increasingly flourish together asks not only for technological innovation but also for social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual transformation. Regenerative education is an upcoming strand of theory and practice seeking to understand the enabling role educational systems can fulfill in this process. This paper aims to advance the notion of regenerative education from the perspective of two regenerative principles: (1) living the question of vocation and (2) embracing emergence. To do so, we—as a teacher–researcher and a student–researcher—engage in collaborative auto-ethnography against the background of a regenerative educational experiment we participated in together, which we refer to as “Graduate with Hope”. Our collaborative auto-ethnographic process was built around the practices of journaling and diffractive letter conversation. Through it, we meditate how (1) fostering a regenerative educational experience asks for the embrace of the pedagogical paradoxes of structure, shared agency, educational space, and transformation, (2) embracing these paradoxes can be confrontational and trigger inner development, and (3) sustaining commitment in this context asks for an ongoing practice of “talking the walk”. These perspectives can inspire educational professionals to design for, engage in, and study regenerative forms of education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Era of Climate Change)
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21 pages, 4120 KiB  
Article
Linking Urban Water Management, Wastewater Recycling, and Environmental Education: A Case Study on Engaging Youth in Sustainable Water Resource Management in a Public School in Casablanca City, Morocco
by Hajar Nourredine, Matthias Barjenbruch, Angela Million, Btissam El Amrani, Nihad Chakri and Fouad Amraoui
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 824; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13080824 - 11 Aug 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3868
Abstract
The management of water resources is crucial for sustainable development, necessitating innovative solutions to address the increasing demand for safe water. Alternative approaches must be adopted to effectively engage young generations in understanding the importance of water resources. This chapter reports on an [...] Read more.
The management of water resources is crucial for sustainable development, necessitating innovative solutions to address the increasing demand for safe water. Alternative approaches must be adopted to effectively engage young generations in understanding the importance of water resources. This chapter reports on an experiment that aimed to promote sustainability education by linking wastewater treatment and reuse with an educational garden. In particular, an undertaking was executed to establish a decentralized wastewater treatment system wherein purified water was employed for the purpose of irrigation. The study’s primary focus is on the association between urban water management, wastewater recycling, and environmental education. The study has two distinct components. The first segment discusses three examples of projects that have employed urban wastewater treatment and reuse to generate environmental education materials using various approaches. The second component features a case study of a public high school in Casablanca, where students participated in a questionnaire and participatory workshops to design an educational garden. The study’s outcomes include a proposed educational garden design that will be presented to the relevant authorities and project partners. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Era of Climate Change)
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16 pages, 343 KiB  
Article
Subject Student Teachers’ Perceptions of Key Environmental Problems and Their Own Role as Environmental Problem Solvers
by Eija Yli-Panula, Eila Jeronen, Sofia Vesterkvist and Laura Mulari
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 779; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13080779 - 31 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1901
Abstract
Teachers play a crucial role in supporting the development of students’ environmental knowledge and skills for responding to environmental change, but previous research has not sufficiently explored teachers’ perceptions of this matter. The article reports on a survey aimed at studying subject student [...] Read more.
Teachers play a crucial role in supporting the development of students’ environmental knowledge and skills for responding to environmental change, but previous research has not sufficiently explored teachers’ perceptions of this matter. The article reports on a survey aimed at studying subject student teachers’ (SSTs, n = 113) perceptions of environmental problems, their interest in sustainable development (SD) and their own role as environmental problem solvers. The material was gathered using a questionnaire and analysis by quantitative methods. Urban environment and infrastructure problems were the most frequently mentioned. Problems of ecosystems and indifference and a lack of information were also mentioned often, while the least noted were problems of human wellbeing. The majority of SSTs were interested in SD, but interest in SD was dependent on the discipline studied and gender. Two-thirds of women and one-third of men were very interested, and more than half of biology and geography SSTs were very interested. Over half of SSTs reported that environmental problems had to be solved by someone else; only about one-seventh perceived themselves to be solvers. The SSTs felt that they could influence the solutions to environmental problems more often on a local than on a regional or global level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Era of Climate Change)
18 pages, 293 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Affordances of Place-Based Education for Advancing Sustainability Education: The Role of Cognitive, Socio-Emotional and Behavioural Learning
by Felicity Hernandez Gonzalez
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(7), 676; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13070676 - 1 Jul 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3477
Abstract
The present paper explores the affordances of place-based education (PBE) to enhance the goals of sustainability education (SE). UNESCO, the leading international body responsible for advancing SE, assigns a central role to the three dimensions of cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural learning as a [...] Read more.
The present paper explores the affordances of place-based education (PBE) to enhance the goals of sustainability education (SE). UNESCO, the leading international body responsible for advancing SE, assigns a central role to the three dimensions of cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural learning as a means for advancing sustainability and the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. Thus far, little research attention has been given to examining pedagogical approaches that may be effective in supporting these learning dimensions. PBE has risen over the past years as a holistic educational approach that may be well situated for supporting SE goals. To evaluate its affordances, the study put forward the objectives to (i) examine the application of cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioural learning dimensions in empirical studies employing PBE; and (ii) examine the overall contribution of PBE to developing students’ sustainability awareness, as reflected in the PBE case-study literature. Multiple case-study analysis was employed for examining secondary resources, comprised of four PBE case studies reported in the literature. It was found that the implementation of PBE in the context of SE produced holistic learning outcomes across the three dimensions, as early as in kindergarten students. Through direct content with nature and the local community, students’ agency, voice and action competence increased, having ripple effects across the community, connecting the local with the global. PBE advanced inter-cultural sensitivity and promoted the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in SE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Era of Climate Change)
24 pages, 4178 KiB  
Article
Identifying Gaps within the Education System in Uganda to Prepare Students for More Sustainable Water Management in the Future
by Brian Nalumenya, Matteo Rubinato, Michael Kennedy, Jade Catterson and Hilary Bakamwesiga
Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(6), 597; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13060597 - 12 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2904
Abstract
Due to climate change and increased urbanisation, the current level of freshwater withdrawals and corresponding water usage in Uganda has increased, affecting the availability of these resources and becoming a concern. Education can play a crucial role in providing support to and training [...] Read more.
Due to climate change and increased urbanisation, the current level of freshwater withdrawals and corresponding water usage in Uganda has increased, affecting the availability of these resources and becoming a concern. Education can play a crucial role in providing support to and training students on sustainable water use, both at home and in relation to school activities. Therefore, it is imperative that the education system develops actions, approaches and materials to achieve this goal. The paper assesses the current state of existing Ugandan education on this subject, by identifying the water-related topics currently featured in the curriculum at different class levels, with the aid of questionnaires conducted in four schools in Uganda. Three questionnaires (one for primary school pupils, one for secondary school pupils and one for teachers) were designed for collecting targeted data, and thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the data collected. The results revealed important insights regarding students’ behaviours towards water usage at home. They also revealed that water sustainability topics are delivered in the science curriculum at the primary level, as opposed to geography at the secondary level, confirming that overall, there is a lack of integrated practical teaching incorporated within the courses currently taught in Ugandan schools. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Promoting Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Era of Climate Change)
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