Special Issue "Education for Sustainable Development and Teaching: Challenges, Practice and Research"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Dunja Anđić
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Rijeka, Rijeka 51 000, Croatia
Interests: education for sustainable development; preschool and teacher education; environmental education; connectedness to nature; sustainability
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Nena Rončević
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Education, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka, Rijeka 51 000, Croatia
Interests: education for sustainable development; methodology in social sciences
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Michele Biasutti
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology (FISPPA), University of Padova, Via Beato Pellegrino, 28, 35137 Padova, Italy
Interests: teaching and learning; teaching; pedagogy and education; professional development; academic writing; learning; qualitative analysis; teacher training
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

SDG 2030 includes 17 global goals that are not achievable without education for sustainable development (ESD). Modern approaches to ESD include interdisciplinary sciences, transformational learning, and the active role of students [1–3].

The implementation of ESD in systems at all levels of education depends on a number of factors, most notably the role of teachers. The final report of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, titled "Shaping the Future We Want" [4], explicitly emphasizes that when it comes to the continuous professional development of preschool and primary school teachers and overall educators, it is necessary to more significantly work on this aspect of education and develop it further. Therefore, it is necessary to review the existing models of education and professional development of educators [5,6]. Educators, namely teachers, are the most important components between students and ESD, and their role is to foster connections with nature, empathy, and positive attitudes about the environment, which are values, attitudes, and behaviors that will be the foundation for more sustainable lifestyles and thus will contribute to SDG 2030 [7].      

This Special Issue of Education Sciences attempts to answer significant questions encompassing a number of factors that are an integral part of ESD-focused practice and that influence initial teacher education and professional development. [8]

  • What are the preconditions for the successful implementation of ESD in education systems at all levels? 
  • What do they depend on, or what factors? How can a more significant connection of children/pupils/students with nature be encouraged, and thus the development of knowledge, values, attitudes, and behaviors meeting the SDG 2030?
  • What are the characteristics of a modern teacher who implements ESD?
  • What are his/her personality traits, values, abilities, and competencies? 

How can we improve teacher education and lifelong professional development for ESD? What are some examples of good practice and research of modern ESD in kindergartens, schools, and universities?
How can digital technology-based education systems respond to these challenges in the context of the “pandemic experiences” of ESD implementation? What are these new pedagogies and new ways of teaching and learning in ESD during the time of COVID-19?

Such a broad goal of this issue of Education Sciences provides an opportunity to view and analyze the problems of modern ESD and professional development of educators in facing the challenges of SDG 2030, but also the challenges of the current era, which are influenced by digital technologies and the global pandemic of COVID-19. 

We invite all interested scientists, practitioners, researchers, and stakeholders who are considering and researching these topics to contribute to the actualization of these complex and significant issues in a world that is undoubtedly changing and seeking new approaches to dealing with ESD. 

References 

  1. Biasutti, M. An intensive programme on education for sustainable development: The participants’ experience, Environmental Education Research, 2015, 21(5), 734–752. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2014.921805
  2. Biasutti, M., T. De Baz, & H. Alshawa. Assessing the Infusion of Sustainability Principles into University Curricula, Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability, 2016, 18 (2), 21–40. https://doi.org/10.1515/jtes-2016-0012
  3. Biasutti, M. & Frate S. A validity and reliability study of the Attitudes toward Sustainable Development scale, Environmental Education Research, 2017, 23 (2), 214–230, https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2016.1146660
  4. UN (2012). The future we want. Outcome document of the United Nations conference on sustainable development. UN https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/733FutureWeWant.pdf (accessed 2 December 2020).
  5. Biasutti, M, Concina E, & Frate S. Social Sustainability and Professional Development: Assessing a Training Course on Intercultural Education for In-Service Teachers, Sustainability, 2019, 11 (5), 1238, https://doi.org/10.3390/su11051238
  6. Biasutti, M, Makrakis, V., Concina E, Frate S. Educating academic staff to reorient curricula in ESD. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2018, 19 (3). http://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-11-2016-0214
  7. Vukelić, N.; Rončević, N. Vinković, A. (2019) Competencies for Education for Sustainability: Student Teachers’ Perspectives // Collection of papers "Quality of Education: Global Development Goals and Local Strategies" / Orlović Lovren, V. ; Peeters, J. ; Matović, N. (Ed.). Beograd, Srbija: Univerzitet u Beogradu (Srbija) i Ghent University (Belgija), 2019. pp 83–96.
  8. Anđić, D. (2020). Continuing professional development of teachers in Education for Sustainable Development – case study of the Republic of Croatia. Teacher development, 2020, 24, 1–22. https://www.bib.irb.hr/1051020

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Education Sciences.

Prof. Dr. Dunja Anđić
Prof. Dr. Nena Rončević
Prof. Dr. Michele Biasutti
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
  • teacher education
  • educators
  • connectedness to nature
  • personal traits
  • schools
  • lifelong education
  • professional development

Published Papers (1 paper)

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

Research

Article
Determining Pre-Service Teachers’ Intention of Using Technology for Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL)
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7568; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147568 - 06 Jul 2021
Viewed by 481
Abstract
The advancement of technology has led to a paradigm shift in the educational system, especially in classrooms. Technological tools have been used for language teaching in recent years, and it is proven that the use of technology enhances teaching and learning experiences. However, [...] Read more.
The advancement of technology has led to a paradigm shift in the educational system, especially in classrooms. Technological tools have been used for language teaching in recent years, and it is proven that the use of technology enhances teaching and learning experiences. However, the researchers lamented the lack of use of technology by pre-service to teach English as a second language (ESL). This study aims to investigate factors that influence pre-service teachers’ intention of using technology for teaching ESL. This research applied the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with some modifications to the constructs. Using simple random sampling, this study distributed questionnaires to 257 ESL pre-service teachers in Malaysia. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to analyse the data. The findings showed that technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) had a significant positive effect on the intention to incorporate technology in teaching. This study provides knowledge on the factors that influence ESL pre-service teachers’ intention to use technology in the classroom. It is hoped that this study can provide information for teacher training institutions to develop strategies and a new framework to address pre-service teachers’ concerns in technology utilisation for teaching ESL. As a conclusion, further study could be conducted qualitatively to better understand the subject matter. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop