Advancing Systems Thinking in Higher Education: Frameworks, Pedagogies, Interdisciplinary Practices and Challenges
A special issue of Systems (ISSN 2079-8954). This special issue belongs to the section "Systems Practice in Social Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 204
Special Issue Editors
Interests: systems thinking and systems dynamics teaching and education; modeling energy systems and policies for green and sustainable development; systems approach for sleep health and holistic wellbeing; learner-centered teaching; chemistry education
Interests: systems thinking; system dynamics; economics; higher education; simulation; service science; service dominant logic
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: systems thinking and problem structuring; systemic service design; reorientation of health services; systems approaches to sexual violence prevention; collaborative processes in freshwater management; interdisciplinary and bi-cultural project work
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Systems thinking empowers students to engage with complex and interconnected real-world challenges. By promoting interdisciplinary learning and holistic problem-solving, it enables educators to design curricula that foster critical thinking, collaboration and sustainable solutions across diverse academic fields. This Special Issue invites contributions that explore both qualitative systems thinking approaches and quantitative methods such as system dynamics modeling.
This Special Issue seeks contributions addressing themes including, but not limited to, the following:
- Frameworks and case studies demonstrating the successful integration of systems thinking to address complex, real-world issues in the classroom.
- Theoretical and conceptual frameworks or literature reviews relevant in defining the scope of systems thinking in higher education.
- Frameworks and examples highlighting key skills, tools and concepts for causal modeling within systems thinking.
- Challenges and strategies for implementing systems thinking in the context of sustainability goals.
- Exemplary curricular materials incorporating systems thinking, including innovative pedagogies such as context-based and project-based learning and assessments of learning outcomes.
- Descriptions of interdisciplinary courses and pedagogies that support systems thinking, including cross-disciplinary adaptations, practical applications and barriers to implementation.
Dr. Bellam Sreenivasulu
Prof. Dr. Oleg Pavlov
Dr. Jeff Foote
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 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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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. Systems is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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
- systems thinking
- system dynamics
- curriculum design
- sustainability
- higher education
- interdisciplinary pedagogy
- systems approaches
- systems mapping and modeling
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