Educational Innovation for Circular Economy and Climate Resilience: Frameworks, Competences and Pedagogies for a Sustainable Transition

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will explore how educational innovation can support the transition towards a circular economy and climate-resilient societies. We invite contributions that examine the integration of sustainability competences, circularity principles, and climate change adaptation into teaching and learning processes across a broad spectrum of disciplines and educational contexts. These may include fields such as architecture, engineering, design, environmental sciences, social sciences, economics, business, health sciences, humanities, teacher education and vocational training, as well as cross-sectoral and community-based learning environments.

Our aim is to gather research on transformative pedagogies, curriculum redesign, green and transversal competences, assessment and accreditation frameworks, digital and immersive learning tools, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary methodologies, and institutional strategies that foster systemic change in education. We particularly welcome contributions that draw on real-world practice, living labs, challenge-based learning, partnerships between academia, industry, and public institutions, and innovative models that bridge formal and non-formal education.

We especially encourage comparative case studies, mixed-methods research, and methodological advances aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal, the UNESCO ESD for 2030 roadmap, and other sustainability transition frameworks. Contributions may address micro-, meso-, or macro-level transformations, ranging from individual learner competences to organisational change and policy-driven reforms, highlighting the role of education as a catalyst for equitable, circular, and climate-resilient futures.

Dr. Carmen Díaz-López
Prof. Dr. Carmen Maria Muñoz-González
Dr. Rubén Mora-Esteban
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.