Special Issue "Effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Kindergarten, School and University: Empirical Educational Research Perspectives"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2021).

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Werner Rieß
E-Mail Website1 Website2 Website3
Guest Editor
Institute of Biology and Biology Education, University of Education Freiburg, 79117 Freiburg, Germany
Interests: education for sustainable development (ESD); empirical research in ESD; competencies for ESD; systems thinking; system competencies; ecology; ecological literacy; science education; biological education
Prof. Dr. Christoph Mischo
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Biology and Biology Education, University of Education Freiburg, 79117 Freiburg, Germany
Interests: teaching and Learning, education for sustainable development ESD, professionalization
Prof. Dr. Katja Scharenberg
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Sociology, University of Education Freiburg, 79117 Freiburg, Germany
Interests: educational effectiveness research, inclusive education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been a topic in educational policy and education for almost 30 years. In a very broad sense, ESD can be understood as the total of all actions by which actors (e.g., educators, teachers, lectures) seek to promote learners’ sustainability competencies, enabling them to shape a sustainable development. Since its beginning, an almost unmanageable number of ideas and concepts for the realization of ESD's goals within the framework of formal education have been developed and published. ESD is now anchored in many educational plans, curricula, and study regulations. Educators in kindergartens, teachers in schools, and university teachers have since then striven to realize the goals of ESD in many different areas. In addition, extensive research on ESD has developed, taking school and extracurricular contexts into focus. This research has led to numerous findings. Studies in this field have shown a wide range of theoretical and methodological positions. We think that it is now time to examine and discuss about empirically proven and evidence-based ESD not only regarding the achievement of the desired goals, but also concerning the forms of practice of ESD in general.  This refers to empirical data concerning variables affecting teaching and learning in ESD (e.g., characteristics of the stakeholders, teachers, pupils, learning methods, content, learning opportunities, learning materials, educational plans).

This Special Issue focuses on all aspects of ESD and the effectiveness of the chosen measures to achieve its goals from an empirical perspective, comprising different formal educational settings from preschool to higher education. Suggested topics include:

- Empirical findings on the recommended and/or pursued learning goals of ESD in kindergartens, primary or secondary schools, and Higher Education (e.g., universities, vocational schools)

- Empirical studies about competence-related characteristics (e.g., knowledge, attitudes, motivation, abilities) of stakeholders of ESD (e.g., teachers, pupils)

- Empirical findings on the state of ESD implementation in educational plans, curricula, and study regulations

- Empirical findings on the state of ESD-related teacher education and teacher training at universities and professional development centers

- Empirical findings on the variety, distribution, and effectiveness of ESD-related teaching methods (e.g. ,teaching procedures, learning opportunities, contents)

- Empirical findings on the variety and effectiveness of ESD-related teaching and learning materials and media (e.g., textbooks, digital media, internet, films)

 - Empirical findings on the variety and effectiveness of teaching ESD-related contents in different school and study subjects

Prof. Dr. Werner Rieß
Prof. Dr. Christoph Mischo
Prof. Dr. Katja Scharenberg
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 papers will be 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 1900 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

  • education for sustainable development (ESD)
  • effectiveness
  • teaching and learning
  • sustainability competencies
  • learning goal of ESD
  • educational technology
  • kindergarten
  • primary education
  • secondary education
  • higher education
  • teacher education

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Applying the Global Change App in Different Instruction Settings to Foster Climate Change Knowledge among Student Teachers
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9208; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169208 - 17 Aug 2021
Viewed by 226
Abstract
This study focuses on learning with the Global Change app, an interactive tool for fostering climate change knowledge. Numerous studies have contributed to the question on what type of instruction is best to achieve learning gains. The findings are mixed. We applied the [...] Read more.
This study focuses on learning with the Global Change app, an interactive tool for fostering climate change knowledge. Numerous studies have contributed to the question on what type of instruction is best to achieve learning gains. The findings are mixed. We applied the app in university courses and investigated which instructional setting a discovery learning approach (no supplementary guidance) or an approach that leans more toward direct instruction is more effective (+ supplementary guidance). Thus, we distinguished between conceptual and procedural guidance within our direct instruction approach. Our study was implemented in a digital learning environment with 110 students participating in the study. We applied a 2 × 2 experimental design with different types of guidance as treatment (conceptual and procedural). An online questionnaire was administered in pretest and posttest to measure climate change knowledge as well as different variables. Our results show that the app provided gains in climate change knowledge in a short period of time regardless of treatment. Further, students who received no supplementary guidance acquired more knowledge about climate change than the groups that received supplemental guidance (either conceptual, procedural, or both). Learning gain correlated significantly negatively with cognitive load across the whole sample, but there were no significant differences between groups. This finding might be interpreted in terms of the renowned expertise reversal effect. Full article
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Article
Predictors of Student Teachers’ ESD Implementation Intention and Their Implications for Improving Teacher Education
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9027; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169027 - 12 Aug 2021
Viewed by 248
Abstract
Recently, the German state of Baden-Württemberg included ESD as a guiding perspective for all school curricula. Consequently, teacher education needs to empower and motivate student teachers to implement ESD in schools. In previous ESD research, however, the motivational dimension rarely has been investigated. [...] Read more.
Recently, the German state of Baden-Württemberg included ESD as a guiding perspective for all school curricula. Consequently, teacher education needs to empower and motivate student teachers to implement ESD in schools. In previous ESD research, however, the motivational dimension rarely has been investigated. Psychological theories stress the importance of developing an intention for the actual realization of a behavior. Therefore, we investigated, in an online survey (N = 366), which factors influence student teachers’ ESD implementation intention. Furthermore, we investigated how student teachers understand the guiding perspectives and what influences the actual ESD implementation from the respondents’ point of view. Via structural equation modelling, we found direct effects of subjective task value, expectation of success and ESD knowledge, as well as indirect effects of SD attitudes and ESD implementation beliefs on ESD implementation intention, but no effects for subjective norm and perceived costs. Analyses of open answers revealed complex understandings of ESD, but also misinterpretations mainly in terms of ESD as equivalent to environmental education. Furthermore, student teachers expected barriers (e.g., lack of time) and formulated support needs (e.g., teaching material) for implementing ESD in schools. Our findings stress the importance of advancing ESD implementation in teacher education. Full article
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Article
Effects of Teacher Training in Systems Thinking on Biology Students—An Intervention Study
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7631; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147631 - 08 Jul 2021
Viewed by 447
Abstract
Systems thinking provides many advantages in solving complex scientific, economic and sociocultural problems in the field of education for sustainable development. Various studies have shown that systems thinking can be promoted in students at all levels of school education. Previous studies have mainly [...] Read more.
Systems thinking provides many advantages in solving complex scientific, economic and sociocultural problems in the field of education for sustainable development. Various studies have shown that systems thinking can be promoted in students at all levels of school education. Previous studies have mainly focused on how to directly develop and support systems thinking in students. The present study focused on biology teachers by investigating the extent that their content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) augments systems thinking in students attending biology classes. On the basis of the finding that content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) are an essential aspect of any type of training, we investigated in a teacher training program the effects of varying amounts of CK and PCK to the ability of biology teachers to foster systems thinking in students. Therefore, a quasi-experimental intervention study was implemented in a pre- and posttest control group design. The results revealed that biology teacher training can sufficiently improve systems thinking in biology students and that PCK plays an at least equally important role as CK in promoting systems thinking. Full article
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