Special Issue "Environmental Education and Green Behavior"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dina Mateus
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Engineering Department, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Estrada da Serra, 2300-313 Tomar, Portugal
Interests: environmental education; environmental biotechnology; sustainability; wastewater treatment and reuse; treatment wetlands
Prof. Dr. Alexandros Stefanakis
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, 73100 Chania, Greece
Interests: ecological engineering; nature-based solutions; wastewater management; circular economy; sustainability; treatment wetlands; environmental education
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Henrique Pinho
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Ci2 – Smart Cities Research Center, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Estrada da Serra, 2300-313 Tomar, Portugal
Interests: water quality monitoring; wastewater treatment and reuse; treatment wetlands; bioenergy; circular economy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Improving access to quality education for sustainable development at all levels and in all social contexts, transforming society through the reorientation of education, and helping people to develop knowledge, skills, values, and behaviors needed for sustainable development are aims of the UN 2030 agenda. In this context, education on regional and global environmental issues and ecological engineering has a predominant role in empowering students not only as professionals but also as agents of change in encouraging green behavior in schools, families, communities, enterprises, and throughout society. Hence, the topic of environmental education is crucial to achieving transformational ambitions.

The aim of this Special Issue is to open a debate and share experiences on environmental education and green behavior, provided by schools and higher education institutions in different contexts and with different societal actors, and on their role in training and preparing current and future generations toward a sustainable and green society. In this context, final submissions are expected to address one or more of the following themes:

  • Inclusion of environmental sustainability content in courses and programs, from primary schools to higher education institutions;
  • Environment-oriented education initiatives such as education for sustainable development;
  • Environmental education using innovative methods, multidisciplinary approaches, different contexts or diverse perspectives;
  • Participation of students in environmental co-creation projects with different stakeholders such enterprises and community;
  • Collaborative projects between higher education institutions and the surrounding school community;
  • Establishing stakeholder engagement to promote environmental education;
  • Grassroots movements and environmental education;
  • Participation of the scholar community in the development of green technologies for environmental sustainability;
  • Contribution of academic and community consortia R&D projects for environmental education;
  • Project-based learning contributions for environmental education;
  • Tools to promote behavioral, social, and cultural changes toward a greener society.

Submissions may include research articles, case studies and research reviews.

Prof. Dr. Dina Mateus
Asst. Prof. Dr. Alexandros Stefanakis
Prof. Dr. Henrique Pinho
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
  • green behavior
  • collaborative partnership
  • sustainability
  • curricula
  • environment protection
  • ecology

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Article
Transportation Accessibility Evaluation of Educational Institutions Conducting Field Environmental Education Activities in Ecological Protection Areas: A Case Study of Zhuhai City
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9392; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169392 - 21 Aug 2021
Viewed by 286
Abstract
With the development of society, an increasing number of educational institutions have adopted field environmental education activities rather than classroom education. Field education can not only enhance students’ environmental awareness but also enable them to fully understand environmental protection knowledge. Ecological protection areas [...] Read more.
With the development of society, an increasing number of educational institutions have adopted field environmental education activities rather than classroom education. Field education can not only enhance students’ environmental awareness but also enable them to fully understand environmental protection knowledge. Ecological protection areas are important bases for educational institutions to organize students to implement field environmental education. Focusing on Zhuhai City, this study explored spatial relationships between educational institutions and ecological protection zones using Kernel density estimation, the two-step floating catchment area method, and Thiessen polygons. Specific actions included measuring transportation accessibility and dividing the service scopes of ecological protection zones to provide field environmental education for educational institutions. These actions provided a helpful reference for educational institutions to conduct field environmental education activities effectively. The results showed the following: (1) Schools in Zhuhai City were mainly located in subdistricts and presented a spatial layout of “one primary and two secondary.” Students were mainly concentrated in villages and towns and presented a spatial layout of “one core and two centers.” Ecological protection zones were scattered in the township area; their spatial relationships with educational institutions were scattered. Meanwhile, their spatial relationship with the number of students was relatively concentrated. (2) In terms of the accessibility of educational institutions to ecological protection zones, the educational institutions in the northeast of Xiangzhou District and the middle of Doumen District had higher accessibility, while the educational institutions in the middle and south of Zhuhai City had lower accessibility, and the educational institutions in the middle of Xiangzhou District had the lowest accessibility. (3) Based on accessibility, the service scopes of field environmental education activities in ecological protection zones were divided into 15 blocks. Here, the educational institutions located in Xiangzhou District, the western part of Jinwan District, and western, middle, and eastern parts of Doumen District had relatively strong spatial dispersions with the ecological protection zones within their blocks, while the educational institutions located in the central and eastern parts of Jinwan District and northern and southern parts of Doumen District had relatively weak spatial dispersions with the ecological protection zones within their blocks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)
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Article
A Critical Survey of Environmental Content in United States Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Curricula
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6961; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126961 - 21 Jun 2021
Viewed by 410
Abstract
This survey examines how mechanical engineers are being prepared to be responsible stewards of the environment by offering a multi-channeled look at a diverse collection of twelve US colleges and universities, with connections to the larger global context. This study enumerates the external [...] Read more.
This survey examines how mechanical engineers are being prepared to be responsible stewards of the environment by offering a multi-channeled look at a diverse collection of twelve US colleges and universities, with connections to the larger global context. This study enumerates the external influences of professional organizations, those responsible for program accreditation (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)), professional conduct (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and licensure (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, National Society of Professional Engineers). At the curricular level, this study presents current mechanical engineering curricula via core courses (required at most institutions) and non-core courses (required at a minority of institutions or elective courses). The curriculum study identifies fifteen core courses and uses the Open Syllabus Project and online bookstores to identify a representative textbook and classify the environmental content therein. Immediate results show the environment receiving sparse treatment in core course textbooks, institutions having zero environment-focused degree requirements, and a tendency towards offering electives that are narrowly focused on green technologies. Elective offerings mirror ABET’s recent move away from emphasizing the “broad education necessary to understand the impact” of engineering solutions to instead “consider the impact of” engineering solutions in an environmental context. Overall, the environmental education mechanical engineers are receiving is insufficient in amount and lacking in scientific and ethical foundation. Ideally, every mechanical engineering program should include coordinated environmental content throughout the curriculum and require at least one course that teaches both environmental design principles and the importance of environmental stewardship. A novel approach eschews the typical artes mechanicae course structure to teach environmental stewardship in the artes liberales educational tradition, emphasizing multi-dimensional thinking by employing great books style discussions of seminal scientific, ethical, and technological works. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)
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Article
Environmental Behaviors of Procymidone in Different Types of Chinese Soil
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6712; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126712 - 13 Jun 2021
Viewed by 480
Abstract
Procymidone is a widely used fungicide in the prevention and treatment of fungal diseases on many crops in China. Part of the procymidone will enter the soil during the application process. Procymidone may exhibit environmental behavior diversity in different soils. Therefore, it is [...] Read more.
Procymidone is a widely used fungicide in the prevention and treatment of fungal diseases on many crops in China. Part of the procymidone will enter the soil during the application process. Procymidone may exhibit environmental behavior diversity in different soils. Therefore, it is extremely important to clarify the environmental behavior of procymidone in soil for its environmental safety evaluation. Here, the degradation, adsorption, and mobility behaviors of procymidone in four typical types of Chinese soil were investigated for the first time. The half-lives of procymidone in the soils ranged from 14.3 d to 24.1 d. The degradation rates of procymidone in the soils were promoted by organic matter content, moisture content, and microorganisms. Furthermore, the degradation of procymidone on the soil surface was promoted by light. The desorption rates of procymidone in laterite soil, yellow brown soil, black soil, and chestnut soil were 27.52 ± 0.85%, 16.22 ± 0.78%, 13.67 ± 1.29%, and 7.62 ± 0.06%, respectively, which were contrary to the adsorption ability. The mobility order of procymidone in the soils was: laterite soil > yellow brown soil > black soil > chestnut soil, with the Rf values of 0.28, 0.22, 0.18, and 0.16, respectively. Three degradation products of procymidone were identified by liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and the degradation pathway of procymidone in the soil was speculated. The results will provide a theoretical basis for the removal of procymidone in the soil environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: A Critical Survey of Environmental Content in United States Undergraduate Mechanical Curricula
Authors: Charles E. Sprouse III; Maximilian Davy; Anna Doyle; Grace Rembold
Affiliation: Benedictine College, School of Engineering
Abstract: This survey examines how mechanical engineers are being prepared to be responsible stewards of the environment by offering a multi-channeled look at a diverse collection of twelve US colleges and universities, with connections to the larger global context. The study enumerates the external influences of professional organizations, those responsible for program accreditation (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology), professional conduct (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and licensure (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, National Society of Professional Engineers). At the curricular level, the study presents current mechanical engineering curricula via core courses (required at most institutions) and non-core courses (required at a minority of institutions or elective courses), identifying fifteen core courses required at most institutions, using online bookstores and the Open Syllabus Project to identify a representative textbook for individual courses and classify the environmental content therein. Immediate results show the environment receiving sparse treatment in core course textbooks, institutions having zero environment-focused degree requirements, and a tendency towards offering electives that are narrowly focused on green technologies. Elective offerings mirror ABET's recent move away from emphasizing the "broad education necessary to understand the impact" of engineering solutions to instead "consider the impact of" engineering solutions in environmental context. Overall, the environmental education mechanical engineers are receiving is insufficient in amount and lacking in scientific and ethical foundation. Ideally, every mechanical engineering program should include coordinated environmental content throughout the curriculum and require at least one course that teaches both environmental design principles and the importance of environmental stewardship. A novel approach eschews the typical artes mechanicae course structure to teach environmental stewardship in the artes liberales educational tradition, emphasizing multi-dimensional thinking by employing great books style discussions of seminal scientific, ethical, and technological works.

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