Creative Approaches for Enhancing the Sustainability of Ecology Education
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 7
Special Issue Editors
Interests: biophilia hypothesis; biophilic design; outdoor education
Interests: ecology education; ecosystem services; green infrastructure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: ecosystem ecology; ecopsychology; ecomedicine; ecosystem services
Interests: science education; sustainability education; game-based pedagogy; citizen science; systems thinking in science education; ecology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Human behavior has significantly impacted the natural environment, making environmental issues some of the most urgent social problems of our time. However, one of the primary goals of humanity in the 21st century is to build a sustainable society, in line with the UNESCO recommendations about sustainability, which is intended as a way of making life choices that ensure an equal, if not better, quality of life for future generations. Education is undeniably a key factor in achieving sustainability and is one of the targets for a sustainable society. With this, environmental and ecology education plays a crucial role in sustainable development and climate mitigation, offering advantages in scientific literacy, information dissemination, engagement, and behavioral activation, which are fundamental for building a global citizenship. Leveraging awareness on the importance of the natural environment and fostering connection to nature and life-like processes, educational programmes can also contribute to enhancing system-thinking and healthy, respectful engagement with wildlife and ecosystems from early childhood. Moreover, creative and engaging learning and teaching approaches such as ecopedagogy and game-based pedagogy can stimulate educators and, in a cascade-effect, also stimulate learners in developing a scientific understanding of current ecological crises and available mitigation solutions.
The aim of this Special Issue is thus to raise scholarly awareness on the power of creative learning approaches in environmental and ecology education. The editors welcome the submission of original research articles that address relevant and innovative methods for encouraging the change in behavior that can contribute to the achievement of a more sustainable society. Practices should empower learners to engage critically, creatively, and responsibly in shaping sustainable futures.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Giuseppe Barbiero
Dr. Mita Drius
Dr. Alice Stocco
Dr. Luana Silveri
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 single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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
- environmental education
- ecology education
- creative learning approaches
- experiential learning
- active learning
- green competences
- ecopedagogy
- biophilia
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