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Towards Sustainable Development Goals: Promoting Sustainable Development in Education through Digital Technologies

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2025) | Viewed by 3458

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Didactic, Organization and Research Methods, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
Interests: education for sustainable development (ESD); educational technology; digital teaching and learning ecosystems (DTLEs); equity and inclusiveness in education; online and blended learning; adaptive and personalized learning; digital competence

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Guest Editor
Department of Didactics, Organization and Research Methods, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain
Interests: education for sustainable development (EDS); innovative learning; educational technology and artificial intelligence; digital teaching and learning ecosystems (DTLEs); knowledge and innovation management; adaptive and personalized learning; equity in education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Education is a key tool for ensuring sustainable development in all countries of the world, and education for sustainable development (ESD) seeks to ensure the development of the key skills, knowledge, values, and attitudes of citizens, as well as the right kinds of growth across the economic, social, and environmental spheres of all nations. EDS contributes to the individual progress of citizens by ensuring the reduction of inequalities and strengthening inclusiveness, quality, and equity in education. As UNESCO points out, education is a key tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by ensuring the well-being of citizens in different areas and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. EDS means raising the effectiveness and efficiency of education systems through actions and projects that integrate sustainable development issues into the teaching–learning process and seek to transform teaching–learning environments.

Digital technologies play a key role in making education for sustainability a reality. Resources or tools that, driven by emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (GenIA), will play a fundamental role in sustainability and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, fostering the development of digital teaching and learning ecosystems (DTLEs).

This Special Issue seeks to explore the role of digital technologies as a key driver of education for sustainable development (ESD), the aim being to uncover how the possibilities offered by digital teaching and learning ecosystems (DTLEs) are being configured and adopted in schools, universities, and other educational settings, and to analyse their impact on teachers, students, or educational policies.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome, and research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Educational models that use digital technologies to enhance inclusiveness, quality, equity, or sustainability;
  • Digital teaching and learning ecosystems (DTLEs) and their contribution to education for sustainable development (ESD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular the SDG 4—Quality Education;
  • The role of emerging technologies (GenAI, robotics and computational thinking, virtual and augmented reality, etc.) and their contribution to sustainable education;
  • The challenges and ethical implications of digital education in education for sustainable development (ESD);
  • The innovative practices, pedagogies, and content that contribute to education for sustainable development (EDS).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Ana María Pinto-Llorente
Dr. Vanessa Izquierdo Álvarez
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

  • sustainable development goals (SDGs)
  • education for sustainable development (ESD)
  • educational technology
  • digital teaching and learning ecosystems (DTLE)
  • equity in education
  • inclusiveness
  • adaptive and personalised learning
  • generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)
  • educational robotics and computational thinking
  • virtual and augmented reality

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 3941 KiB  
Article
Exploring Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of the Educational Value and Benefits of Computational Thinking and Programming
by Vanessa Izquierdo-Álvarez and Ana María Pinto-Llorente
Sustainability 2025, 17(5), 2164; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17052164 - 3 Mar 2025
Viewed by 782
Abstract
Computational Thinking (CT) and programming encompass a range of skills that are essential in everyday life and play a crucial role in addressing social and environmental challenges. They facilitate the analysis and understanding of global issues, the evaluation of viable solutions, and the [...] Read more.
Computational Thinking (CT) and programming encompass a range of skills that are essential in everyday life and play a crucial role in addressing social and environmental challenges. They facilitate the analysis and understanding of global issues, the evaluation of viable solutions, and the formulation of strategic decisions that contribute to Education for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The primary objective of this study was to examine pre-service teachers’ perceptions of these areas. A quantitative study was conducted with 134 university students from the Faculty of Education and Tourism at the University of Salamanca. The findings indicate that CT and programming significantly contribute to enhancing digital competence, fostering essential skills for the effective use of technological tools, developing problem-solving strategies, and increasing self-confidence in identifying and refining solutions to complex problems. Regarding gender differences, significant differences were observed, with women scoring higher on average in various aspects. These included the ability to actively seek, compare, and select digital information from diverse sources and contexts, assess the potential risks associated with digital tools—such as security and identity concerns—and demonstrate confidence in accessing the necessary resources and training to integrate CT and programming into education. Full article
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18 pages, 548 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Digital Skills on Farm Households’ Vulnerability to Relative Poverty: Implications for the Sustainability of Farmers’ Livelihoods
by Jianling Qi, Huanjiao Li, Wenlong Li, Jing Jin and Feng Ye
Sustainability 2024, 16(19), 8420; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198420 - 27 Sep 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1698
Abstract
Improving farmers’ digital skills is instrumental in reducing the risk of farmer households reverting to poverty and in fostering sustainable livelihood development. This study investigated the impact of digital skills on the relative vulnerability of farm households to poverty and explored the mediating [...] Read more.
Improving farmers’ digital skills is instrumental in reducing the risk of farmer households reverting to poverty and in fostering sustainable livelihood development. This study investigated the impact of digital skills on the relative vulnerability of farm households to poverty and explored the mediating role of social capital. Based on 2022 field survey data from 917 rural households in Yunnan Province, China, we employed a probit model to evaluate how digital skills influence the likelihood of poverty reversion among farm households. The findings indicated that enhancing digital skills significantly reduced households’ vulnerability to poverty, thereby mitigating the risk of poverty recurrence. The heterogeneity analysis revealed that the impact of digital skills was more pronounced among low-income households. Among various digital skills, social digital skills exerted the strongest effect in reducing poverty vulnerability. Further analysis demonstrated that enhanced digital skills strengthened social capital, which subsequently reduced the risk of poverty reversion. To ensure sustainable poverty alleviation and prevent widespread poverty relapse, accelerating the development of digital skills among rural populations in western China is essential. This will create new development opportunities and contribute to long-term livelihood sustainability. Full article
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