Educational Technology for Advancing Sustainability: Addressing Socio-Environmental Challenges and Controversial Issues
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2026 | Viewed by 20
Special Issue Editor
2. COIDESO Research Center, 21007 Huelva, Spain
Interests: educational technologies; digital citizenship; didactics of social sciences; didactics of history; citizenship education; historical memory; teacher training
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Socio-environmental problems and controversial issues are increasingly shaping contemporary societies, with direct implications for sustainable development and citizenship engagement. These challenges require not only scientific and policy responses, but also educational strategies that foster critical thinking, civic participation, inclusion, and transformative actions.
In this context, educational technology plays a pivotal role in connecting sustainability education with innovative approaches to teaching, learning, and community engagement. Digital tools—such as immersive environments, simulations, artificial intelligence, and participatory platforms—enable educators and learners to explore complex sustainability and socio-environmental problems, visualize local and global case studies, promote dialogue on controversial issues, and co-create solutions through inclusive and democratic processes.
Beyond classrooms, educational technology integrates formal, non-formal, and informal learning, empowering citizens and communities to actively address socio-environmental challenges. This approach directly supports the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
The Special Issue, “Educational Technology for Advancing Sustainability: Addressing Socio-Environmental Challenges and Controversial Issues”, welcomes theoretical, empirical, and practice-based contributions, focusing on (but not limited to) the following themes:
- Climate change education, human activities, and digital technologies.
- Managing controversial issues in social studies from a critical perspective.
- Using digital simulations and immersive experiences for sustainability learning.
- Employing virtual and augmented reality to address socio-environmental challenges in education.
- Artificial intelligence for sustainability education.
- Fostering community participation and inclusive citizenship in the digital age.
- Addressing global challenges and local responses through educational technologies.
- Teachers’ professional development on sustainability-related issues, the management of controversy and the didactical use of technologies.
Dr. Emilio José Delgado-Algarra
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 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
- educational technology
- socio-environmental problems
- controversial issues
- citizenship education
- digital simulations
- immersive learning
- virtual reality
- augmented reality
- artificial intelligence
- community participation
- civic rights
- inclusive education
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