Work-Integrated Learning for a Sustainable Future
A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 June 2026 | Viewed by 19
Special Issue Editor
Interests: advancing work-integrated learning; experiential learning frameworks for sustainability; innovative WIL delivery models; industry-academia partnership strategies; assessment frameworks for sustainability competencies
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Contemporary global challenges require educational approaches that prepare students to address complex environmental, social, and economic sustainability issues. Work-integrated learning (WIL) represents a critical pedagogical approach that bridges academic knowledge with practical application, offering unique opportunities to develop sustainability competencies through real-world engagement. The urgency of climate change, social inequality, and economic instability demands graduates who can think systemically and act decisively across disciplinary boundaries. Importantly, students are wanting to graduate with experience that matters.
This Special Issue aims to examine the intersection of work-integrated learning and sustainability education, exploring how experiential learning approaches can cultivate the systems thinking, interdisciplinary problem-solving skills, and ethical decision making capabilities essential for sustainable development. The scope encompasses innovative pedagogical frameworks that connect classroom learning with authentic sustainability challenges, industry–academia partnerships that foster sustainable development competencies, WIL and social impact, and assessment strategies for measuring sustainability learning outcomes in work-integrated contexts.
Suggested themes include the following:
- Virtual and international WIL models that reduce environmental impact while expanding access;
- Transdisciplinary approaches to complex social challenges through work-integrated learning;
- Career development learning integrated with UN Sustainable Development Goals;
- Assessment strategies for sustainability competencies in experiential learning contexts;
- Industry-academia partnerships advancing sustainable development practice;
- Case studies of successful sustainability-focused cooperative education and internship programs.
Dr. Faith Valencia-Forrester
Guest Editor
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
- work-integrated learning
- sustainability education
- experiential learning
- industry-academia partnerships
- systems thinking
- cooperative education
- sustainable development goals
- assessment strategies
- social Impact
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