sustainability-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Develop, Educate and Communicate Sustainability Through STEM Education and Beyond: Challenges and Opportunities

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2025 | Viewed by 3787

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail
Guest Editor
Graduate School of Education, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
Interests: science edu-communication; science communication; instructional design and technology; STEM education

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Information and Computer Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
Interests: computer vision; deep learning; pattern recognition; educational analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Business Administration, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
Interests: organization theory; organization behavior; human resource management

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Graduate School of Education, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
Interests: educational technology; science education; game-based learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This special issue, titled "Develop, Educate and Communicate Sustainability through STEM Education and beyond: Challenges and Opportunities", digs into the intersection of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education for sustainable development and engagement among global citizens. As the global community continues to pursue the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), communicating about science and education has emerged as a critical driver for fostering innovation, systems thinking, and beyond. The scope of this issue spans across multiple dimensions of sustainability—environmental, STEM learning and teaching, CDIO practices, and scientific—and examines how education and the engagement of public understanding about STEM can be leveraged to address complex global challenges.

We welcome diverse educational studies for such goal, STEM educational practices and communication, policies and seeks to expand the conversation by including insights from the social sciences and humanities. This issue will supplement existing research by examining the practical impact of STEM education on sustainability initiatives, science communication among the global citizens, with a focus on measurable outcomes, monitoring tools, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The ultimate goal is to advance both theoretical and empirical understanding of how education can foster sustainable development in diverse contexts.

Dr. Leon Yufeng Wu
Dr. Chih-Chang Yu
Dr. Ming-Yen Lee
Dr. Chun-Hung Lin
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

  • STEM education
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • science communication
  • interdisciplinary education
  • educational innovation
  • CDIO
  • learning metrics regarding sustainability

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

24 pages, 1613 KiB  
Article
Sustainability of Programming Education Through CDIO-Oriented Practice: An Empirical Study on Syntax-Level Structural Visualization for Functional Programming Languages
by Chien-Hung Lai, Liang-Chieh Ho and Zi-Yi Liao
Sustainability 2025, 17(12), 5630; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125630 - 18 Jun 2025
Viewed by 419
Abstract
This study integrates the 2017 United Nations ESD framework and UNESCO’s ESD priorities with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of “quality education” and the CDIO (Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate) framework to propose an innovative programming teaching model. A central component is an automatic [...] Read more.
This study integrates the 2017 United Nations ESD framework and UNESCO’s ESD priorities with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of “quality education” and the CDIO (Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate) framework to propose an innovative programming teaching model. A central component is an automatic architecture diagram generation system that visualizes program code structures in real-time, reducing cognitive load and enhancing comprehension of abstract programming concepts such as recursion and data structures. Students complete a project-based assignment—developing a Scheme interpreter—to simulate real-world software development. This model emphasizes system thinking, modular design, and problem solving, aligning with CDIO’s structured learning progression. The experimental results show that students using the system significantly outperformed the control group in their final project scores, demonstrating improved practical programming ability. While cognitive load remained stable, learning motivation decreased slightly, indicating the need for additional affective design support. The findings confirm that the integration of visual learning tools and project-based pedagogy under the CDIO framework supports the development of critical competencies for sustainable development. This approach offers a transformative step forward in programming education, cultivating learners who are capable, innovative, and ready to meaningfully contribute to global sustainability. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 2346 KiB  
Article
Literacy for Sustainable Education: A Premise of Pedagogical Inclusiveness and Multilingualism in Higher Education
by Angel Chang and Jacob Oppong Nkansah
Sustainability 2024, 16(24), 10943; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162410943 - 13 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1697
Abstract
Literacy has moved from conventional concepts of reading, writing, and counting skills to proficiency in reading, writing, data, technology, and education for sustainable development. The transition aims to prepare students to engage in a sustainable society and the method aims to cultivate multilingualism [...] Read more.
Literacy has moved from conventional concepts of reading, writing, and counting skills to proficiency in reading, writing, data, technology, and education for sustainable development. The transition aims to prepare students to engage in a sustainable society and the method aims to cultivate multilingualism and inclusiveness in undergraduate education via a first-year writing (FYW) program. Considering the sustainability of such a transition, this study employs a case study of the FYW program to demonstrate to what extent literacy evolves via pedagogical inclusiveness and multilingualism in higher education. The FYW focuses on how educators can ensure pedagogical inclusiveness by inviting the varied language lingua students have before they arrive at our learning community rather than learning the language itself. The new FYW curriculum includes the World English of our students and embraces multilingualism rather than focusing on error correction so that students fit the norms and rules of American English. The longitudinal data from 2010 to 2020 were collected via five surveys with different approaches, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze them. The outcomes indicated that the new premise generates better course outcomes and fosters students as confident and comfortable writers and readers. The FYW program intersects with other STEM programs to build a more sustainable undergraduate education and cultivate students’ literacy capacity for sustainable development and lifelong learning. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop