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The Role of Education and Learning in Creating Agents of Change for Sustainability

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 April 2024 | Viewed by 18545

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Alison Greig

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Guest Editor

Director of Education for Sustainability (EfS), Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
Interests: education for sustainability; systems thinking; interdisciplinary learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As a number of scholars have observed, including Schumacher (1997), Orr (2004), Corcoran (2010), and Sterling (2010), that whilst levels of learning and education are rising, so too is our destruction of the planet. Yet, the target 4.7 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals requires that, by 2030, all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to address this apparent discontinuity by exploring how education and learning can support students of all ages develop the knowledge, skills, and values they will need to become agents of change for a more sustainable world. It acknowledges that such an education places special demands on learning, teaching, and assessment, and that these may, for example, fit particularly poorly within the confines of our current educational systems and institutions. Papers in this Special Issue may focus on addressing learning content, learning outcomes, pedagogies, and the learning environment; alternatively, they may wish to address the institutional or political challenges of delivering such an education.

We welcome all types of research, including quantitative and qualitative approaches, case studies, reviews, and well-argued conceptual pieces.

Dr. Alison Greig
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

Interdisciplinarity/transdisciplinarity
Knowledge–action gap
Values–action gap
Transformational learning
Skills and competences for sustainability
Social learning
Affective learning

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 326 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Optimized Fractional Nonlinear Grey System Model and Its Application in the Prediction of the Development Scale of Junior Secondary Schools in China

by Zhenguo Xu, Wanli Xie and Caixia Liu

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3669; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043669 - 16 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 934

Abstract

As part of China’s compulsory nine-year education system, junior secondary education (JSSE) plays a vital role in supporting students’ physical and mental development. The accurate prediction of the development scale trend of JSSE is helpful for the government to estimate the scale of educational development within a chosen time frame so as to aid decision making.Nevertheless, China’s education system is complex, highly dimensional, and largely influenced by policy and other factors, which results in difficulty in modeling the education sample. Based on gray system theory, this paper proposes an improved fractional-order grey prediction model, OCFNGBM(1,1), to predict the development scale of JSSE. We describe the basic expressions of the model, the parameter estimation method, and the optimization method for hyperparameters and construct a scheme for optimizing the background value coefficients. Data collected from official websites from 2011 to 2021 are used to build the forecasting model, and data from 2011 to 2017 are used to evaluate the model’s accuracy. Our experimental results indicate that the OCFNGBM(1,1) model has higher accuracy than the classical nonlinear gray prediction model. The OCFNGBM(1,1) model was employed to forecast the development scale of JSSE in China from 2022 to 2024, which provided useful information. This research provides a resource to help the national education department to develop a comprehensive and long-term plan for the development goals, scale, speed, steps, and measures of relevant education. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Education and Learning in Creating Agents of Change for Sustainability)

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35 pages, 1462 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Higher Education on Student Learning and Agency for Sustainability Transition

by Elizabeth Sidiropoulos

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 3098; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14053098 - 07 Mar 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3374

Abstract

Higher education (HE) has a key role in educating graduates as decision makers and change agents; however, sustainability education (SE) remains on the fringes of mainstream curricula and is conducted on an ad hoc basis. The context of this research is five connected studies that aimed to investigate the influence of SE on tertiary students’ views, knowledge, behaviour, and agency to contribute to sustainability transitions. The mixed-methods study investigated learning for sustainability by focusing on key elements of the “learning system”, namely the learner’s personal context, the teaching context (SE compared to regular education) and learning outcomes. The research was guided by a unique conceptual framework that linked theories in education and learning, environmental psychology, and sustainability transitions. The influence of educational interventions was assessed using online pre-post surveys that consisted of well-established instruments and open-ended questions. Key transversal findings are resistance to SE, converging views and attitudes towards an “anthropocentric environmentalist” perspective, limited empowerment and occasional disempowerment from SE, a focus on personal behaviour change rather than professional action/agency, and a limited incidence of wider agency. Cumulative and deeper learning for sustainability occurred with repetition of SE and a greater connection to a student’s lifeworld. The current ad hoc approach to SE in HE is ineffective in creating widespread agents for change. Influences that foster transformative learning for sustainability and the development of competency and agency for sustainability are identified, and recommendations are provided for educational policy and praxis to enhance student learning and agency for sustainability transitions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Education and Learning in Creating Agents of Change for Sustainability)

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24 pages, 3880 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fostering Equality in Education: The Blockchain Business Model for Higher Education (BBM-HE)

by Semen Son-Turan

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2955; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052955 - 03 Mar 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3748

Abstract

This paper seeks to address which business model in higher education that fosters SDG 4, is adequate for the post-pandemic period. To that end, it introduces the “Blockchain Business Model for Higher Education” (BBM-HE) and a transformed business model canvas framework based on existing literature, concepts, theories and findings relating to most of the pressing issues in higher education from the present study. To determine these issues, secondary data is used in the qualitative research design by applying inductive content analysis techniques to online reports. The originality of this study lies in the “adaptive” perspective to the requirements of the post-pandemic higher education landscape, which consists of modifications to the core elements of higher education, the integration of blockchain technology into the entire system, and a stronger approach to sustainability practice through sustainability tokens. The envisaged model sets out to provide a roadmap for all stakeholders, but most importantly, “decentralized” higher education institutions of the future and the “employable skills-seeking” proactive students all over the world, as opposed to the former “solely degree-focused and affluent” consumers of educational offerings. This study contributes to higher education literature in terms of business models, blockchains, pandemics, and sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Education and Learning in Creating Agents of Change for Sustainability)

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14 pages, 433 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predicting Energy-Saving Behaviour Based on Environmental Values: An Analysis of School Children’s Perspectives

by Wan Nur Hafizah Wan Hussain, Lilia Halim, Mee Yeang Chan and Norshariani Abd Rahman

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7644; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147644 - 08 Jul 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2867

Abstract

Energy-saving behaviours are pro-environment behaviours that help mitigate climate change. Environmental values namely biospheric, altruistic, and egoistic one are related to one’s pro-environmental behaviour. Thus, this research examines the contribution of environmental values to the practice of energy-saving behaviour. This research employed the survey design, in which a questionnaire was administered on 341 children (aged 11 years old) in Malaysia. The data were analysed using descriptive and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that children possess all of the environmental values (biospheric, altruistic, and egoistic) and that energy-saving behaviour is found to be occasionally and often practiced in their daily lives. The students’ altruistic values contribute significantly to their energy-saving behaviour pattern compared to biospheric and egoistic values. It is argued that the children’s personal experiences with climate adversity and socioeconomic background underlie these findings. An implication of this study is that the school curriculum should allow for discourse on the connection between environmental values and pro-environmental behaviour. Relating the cause and impact of one’s action in everyday life on the environment should be inculcated across the curriculum, more importantly at the primary level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Education and Learning in Creating Agents of Change for Sustainability)

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22 pages, 6723 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Plastics as an Educational Resource for Sustainable Development: A Case Study in Ghana

by José-Luis Parejo, María-O Corton-Heras, Alba Nieto-Blanco and Cristina Segovia-Barberan

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6727; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126727 - 14 Jun 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3917

Abstract

The world is going through a climate crisis that is severely impacting the environment and the well-being of the population. The increased consumption of plastics, especially in developing countries, is generating an exponential rise in plastic waste. This article introduces a qualitative investigation in the form of a case study, with data derived from an educational project focused on plastics as a vehicle for environmental education. This project was implemented with a group of 50 children from a Ghanaian school. Our results reveal that the students acquired a high level of knowledge of plastic and its properties, made possible by an active, globalizing, experimental methodology. This knowledge was later reinforced through the fabrication of materials for learning and play made of recycled plastic waste. Through this project, the participating students practiced critical and democratic global citizenship aimed at creating a sustainable world through an ecological perspective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Education and Learning in Creating Agents of Change for Sustainability)

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Review

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31 pages, 691 KiB

Open AccessReview

Learning Processes and Agency in the Decarbonization Context: A Systematic Review through a Cultural Psychology Point of View

by Nicola Stocco, Francesco Gardona, Fulvio Biddau and Paolo Francesco Cottone

Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10425; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810425 - 18 Sep 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2139

Abstract

In the scientific literature on energy transition toward decarbonization, the learning process is often described as a preferred way to achieve change. However, despite a large number of theoretical and empirical endeavors, a systematic understanding of the process is still lacking due to the diversity of disciplines and approaches and to the multi-layered nature of the phenomenon. The aim of this systematic review is to highlight the dimensions of learning processes from a cultural psychological point of view in order to understand and assess different planes of the relation between humans and technology. We thus explore the literature following the PRISMA protocol. Through a narrative synthesis, we critically assess the theoretical and methodological advancement, the presence of cultural determinants, the value ascribed to agency, and the depoliticization risk. We found that: theories and methodologies still lack systematicity and concordance in their application; learning processes are studied with little focus on the context and are mostly treated as facilitators; agency mostly lacks a psychosocial focus, despite the exploration of multi-level problems; and the depoliticization of learning is a matter of fact. Nevertheless, positive examples are present, although they are few. Epistemological and political implications are discussed, and a psychosocial conception of agency is proposed, together with a reflective stance for researchers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Education and Learning in Creating Agents of Change for Sustainability)

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