Search Results (1,756)

Sustainability education has become a global priority in educational systems, aiming to equip learners with the knowledge, values, and skills necessary to address complex environmental and social challenges. This study specifically aims to understand the role of science education in promoting students’ awareness of sustainability and their understanding of the interconnected relationship between humans and the environment, based on the perceptions and practices of primary science teachers in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. A qualitative approach was utilized, which included semi-structured interviews complemented by classroom observations as primary data collection instruments. The targeted participants comprised a purposive sample consisting of forty-nine primary-level science instructors from the Al-Ahsa district, located in eastern Saudi Arabia. Emergent concepts from open and axial coding processes by using grounded theory were developed with the gathered data. Based on the findings, teachers perceive science teaching not only as knowledge delivery but as an opportunity to cultivate critical thinking and nurture eco-friendly actions among pupils. Classroom practices that underscore environmental values and principles of sustainability foster a transformative view of the teacher’s role beyond traditional boundaries. The data also highlighted classroom practices that integrate environmental values and sustainability principles, reflecting a transformative perspective on the teacher’s educational role. Full article

This study explores the perceptions of future educators, specifically Early Childhood Education students at the Universities of Cádiz and Gdansk, regarding the interconnections between critical thinking and sustainability. The work aims to provide valuable insights into general teacher training, examining how these students’ experiences are contextualized within their respective educational systems and cultural contexts. To achieve this, eleven group interviews (three in Cádiz, eight in Gdansk) were conducted using a structured and expert-validated script. The transcribed data were qualitatively analyzed using QDA MINER v.6 software. Key findings reveal divergent perceptions of critical thinking among pre-service teachers: while Spanish students leaned towards a subjective understanding, Polish students emphasized an objective, data-driven approach. This distinction has significant implications for the conceptualization and teaching of critical thinking in educator training. Despite these differences, both groups of participants highlighted the necessity of implementing active methodologies in higher education (such as cooperative learning, problem-solving, and debates) to foster critical thinking, both for their own development and for preparing for their future practice with young children. This study also identified an excessive emphasis on theoretical aspects of sustainability in these future teachers’ training and a limited understanding of their practical application in the classroom. Furthermore, explicit connections between critical thinking and sustainability were scarce in student responses, highlighting a gap in current educator training in these areas. Collectively, the results suggest significant weaknesses in current teacher training efforts regarding the development of critical thinking and its effective integration with sustainability competencies. Full article

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education offers novel opportunities to enhance critical thinking while also posing challenges to independent cognitive development. In particular, Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HCAI) in education aims to enhance human experience by providing a supportive and collaborative learning environment. Rather than replacing the educator, HCAI serves as a tool that empowers both students and teachers, fostering critical thinking and autonomy in learning. This study investigates the potential for AI to become a collaborative partner that assists learning and enriches academic engagement. The research was conducted during the 2024–2025 winter semester within the Pedagogical and Teaching Sufficiency Program offered by the Audio and Visual Arts Department, Ionian University, Corfu, Greece. The research employs a hybrid ethnographic methodology that blends digital interactions—where students use AI tools to create artistic representations—with physical classroom engagement. Data was collected through student projects, reflective journals, and questionnaires, revealing that structured dialog with AI not only facilitates deeper critical inquiry and analytical reasoning but also induces a state of flow, characterized by intense focus and heightened creativity. The findings highlight a dialectic between individual agency and collaborative co-agency, demonstrating that while automated AI responses may diminish active cognitive engagement, meaningful interactions can transform AI into an intellectual partner that enriches the learning experience. These insights suggest promising directions for future pedagogical strategies that balance digital innovation with traditional teaching methods, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of education. Furthermore, the study underscores the importance of integrating reflective practices and adaptive frameworks to support evolving student needs, ensuring a sustainable model. Full article

This systematic literature review investigates how the concept of time is taught and learned in early mathematics education. While young children are commonly expected to learn how to tell time, this review explores what additional aspects should be emphasised to foster a deeper and more sustainable understanding of time. Using the EBSCO database, 36 relevant articles published up to December 2024 were identified. To cover different aspects related to the teaching and learning of time, peer-reviewed scientific articles as well as practice-based reports were included in the search. A majority of the articles focused on clock reading as an aspect of time. The aspects duration, sequencing, and measurement of time also frequently appeared whereas expressions of time, or cross-disciplinary aspects were seldom mentioned. Drawing on the findings, this review proposes a comprehensive framework outlining key aspects that should be included in early mathematics education to support the teaching and learning of time. Full article

The sustainable development of teaching expertise in research-intensive universities remains a critical global challenge. This study investigates the distinctive characteristics of expert teachers—exemplary faculty in research universities—addressing their developmental trajectories and motivational mechanisms within prevailing incentive systems that prioritize research productivity over pedagogical excellence. Employing grounded theory methodology, we conducted iterative coding of 20,000-word interview transcripts from 13 teaching-awarded professors at Chinese “Double First-Class” universities. Key findings reveal the following: (1) Compared to the original K-12 expert teacher model, university-level teaching experts exhibit distinctive disciplinary mastery—characterized by systematic knowledge structuring and cross-disciplinary integration capabilities. (2) Their developmental trajectory transcends linear expertise acquisition, instead manifesting as a problem-solving continuum across four nonlinear phases: career initiation, dilemma adaptation, theoretical consciousness, and leadership expansion. (3) Sustainable teaching excellence relies fundamentally on teachers’ professional passion, sustained through a virtuous cycle of high-quality instructional engagement and external validation (including positive student feedback, institutional recognition, and peer collaboration). Universities must establish comprehensive support systems—including (a) fostering a supportive and flexible learning atmosphere, (b) reforming evaluation mechanisms, and (c) facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration through teaching development communities—to institutionalize this developmental ecosystem. Full article

With deepening global higher education reforms, outcome-based education has emerged as the core paradigm for teaching model innovation. This study investigates the structural dependencies and teaching effectiveness of the Environmental Design curriculum at Hubei Engineering University in medium-sized cities, China, addressing challenges of enrollment decline and market contraction critical for urban sustainability. Using network analysis, we construct curriculum support and contribution networks and course temporal networks to assess structural dependencies and teaching effectiveness, revealing structural patterns and optimizing the OBE-based Environmental Design curriculum to enhance educational quality and student competencies. Analysis reveals computer basic courses as knowledge transmission hubs, creating a course network with a distinct core–periphery structure. Technical course reforms significantly outperform theoretical course reforms in improving student performance metrics, such as higher average scores, better grade distributions, and reduced performance gaps, while innovative practice courses show peripheral isolation patterns, indicating limited connectivity with core curriculum modules, which reduces their educational impact. These findings provide empirical insights for curriculum optimization, supporting urban sustainable development through enhanced professional talent cultivation equipped to address environmental challenges like sustainable design practices and resource-efficient urban planning. Network analysis applications introduce innovative frameworks for curriculum reform strategies. Future research expansion through larger sample validation will support urban sustainable development goals and enhance professional talent cultivation outcomes. Full article

Background/Objectives: Strengthening antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs is an invaluable intervention in the ongoing efforts to contain the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), particularly in low-resource settings. This study evaluates the impact of the Telementoring, Education, and Advocacy Collaboration initiative for Health through Antimicrobial Stewardship (TEACH AMS), which uses the virtual Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) learning model to enhance AMS capacity in Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used, which included attendance data collection, facility-level assessments, post-session and follow-up surveys, as well as focus group discussions. Results: Between September 2023 and February 2025, 77 virtual learning sessions were conducted, engaging 2445 unique participants from hospital-based AMS committees and health professionals across the three countries. Participants reported significant knowledge gain, and data showed facility improvements in two core AMS areas, including the implementation of multidisciplinary ward-based interventions/communications and enhanced monitoring of antibiotic resistance patterns. Along those lines, participants reported that the program assisted them in improving prescribing and culture-based treatments, and also evidence-informed antibiotic selection. The evidence of implementing ward-based interventions was further stressed in focus group discussions, as well as other strengthened practices like point-prevalence surveys, and development or revision of stewardship policies. Substantial improvements in microbiology services were also shared by participants, particularly in Malawi. Other practices mentioned were strengthened multidisciplinary communication, infection prevention efforts, and education of patients and the community. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a virtual case-based learning educational intervention, providing structured and tailored AMS capacity building, can drive behavior change and strengthen healthcare systems in low resource settings. Future efforts should aim to scale up the engagements and sustain improvements to further strengthen AMS capacity. Full article

Higher education is increasingly emphasizing sustainable development due to the growing awareness of environmental issues. Educators must be able to integrate sustainability principles into teaching, inspire students to behave responsibly, and promote environmental protection. In this article, we present an innovative approach through the secondary use of recycled electronic components to reduce electronic waste and practically teach students about sustainability. The project of making clocks from E-waste included stages from design to testing, providing students with practical skills and emphasizing the importance of recycling in technical education. Full article

The sustainable integration of technology into educational practices is pivotal for modern teaching and learning. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study explores the psychological and contextual factors that influence technology acceptance among pre-service and in-service teachers. Employing a nonexperimental, cross-sectional design, data were collected from 347 participants to examine the relationships between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward use, behavioural intention, and actual system use. Results indicate that pre-service teachers demonstrate stronger openness to technology adoption, driven primarily by attitudinal factors, whereas in-service teachers’ acceptance is more closely linked to perceived utility and usability. This study advances the TAM by integrating a dual serial mediation model and testing the moderating role of professional status, thereby offering a nuanced understanding of sustainable digital engagement across career stages. Our findings underscore the importance of fostering positive perceptions and providing differentiated support throughout teachers’ professional trajectories to achieve long-term, meaningful technology adoption in education. Full article

Systems thinking (ST) is a foundational cognitive skillset to advance sustainability education but has not been well examined for learners prior to higher education. This case study research in rural middle schools in the Midwestern U.S. examines systems thinking outcomes of a place-based energy literacy unit focused on energy-efficient building design. The unit employs the science of energy-efficient, green buildings to illuminate the ways in which energy flows between natural and built environments. The unit emphasized electrical, light, and thermal energy systems and the ways these systems interact to create functional and energy-efficient buildings. This study focuses on three case study classrooms where students across schools (n = 89 students) created systems models as part of pre- and post-unit tests (n = 162 models). The unit tests consisted of student drawings, annotations, and writings, culminating into student-developed systems models. Growth from pre- to post-test was observed in both the identification of system elements and the linkages between elements. System elements included in the models were common classroom features, such as windows, lights, and temperature control, suggesting that rooting the unit in place-based teaching may support ST skills. Full article

Sustainability has emerged as a prominent concern globally, extending its influence into various domains, including education. It is recognized as of utmost importance to address global environmental challenges. However, there is a critical gap in the perception of innovative teaching strategies, i.e., interdisciplinary collaboration, experiential learning, and targeted approaches, to improve sustainability literacy and its applications. This review analyzes existing environmental and sustainability education frameworks and approaches to determine desired learning outcomes and challenges associated with sustainability education. Also, it explores and identifies concepts, theories, and assumptions found within the literature review, promoting sustainability integration within engineering education. The review was conducted to facilitate the development and improvement of sustainability education within the Architectural Engineering discipline, a field known for emphasizing educational innovation and technical excellence. By synthesizing existing ideas related to sustainability and sustainable development, this work aims to guide curriculum designers and educators in fostering sustainability competencies among engineering students within the built environment. Full article

This study, based on engineering education accreditation standards, addresses the supply–demand imbalance in China’s cybersecurity talent cultivation by constructing a sustainable “education-industry-society” collaborative model. Through case studies at Huaihua University and other institutions, employing methods such as literature analysis, field research, and empirical investigation, we systematically explore reform pathways for an innovative cybersecurity talent development system. The research proposes a “three-platform, four-module” practical teaching framework, where the coordinated operation of the basic skills training platform, comprehensive ability development platform, and innovation enhancement platform significantly improves students’ engineering competencies (practical courses account for 41.6% of the curriculum). Findings demonstrate that eight industry-academia practice bases established through deep collaboration effectively align teaching content with industry needs, substantially enhancing students’ innovative and practical abilities (172 national awards, 649 provincial awards). Additionally, the multi-dimensional evaluation mechanism developed in this study enables a comprehensive assessment of students’ professional skills, practical capabilities, and innovative thinking. These reforms have increased the employment rate of cybersecurity graduates to over 90%, providing a replicable solution to China’s talent shortage. The research outcomes offer valuable insights for discipline development under engineering education accreditation and contribute to implementing sustainable development concepts in higher education. Full article

This study evaluated the effects of teaching multiple alternative responses on the resurgence of a target response and the persistence of an alternative response in an applied setting. Using a between-participants design, we examined how teaching multiple alternative responses impacted resurgence and persistence upon exposure to extinction. Additionally, we investigated the role of preference in response allocation and shifts in participant preference following extinction. Results indicated resurgence across both conditions, with no consistent difference in severity between single and multiple alternative response conditions. However, within-session analyses revealed greater persistence of the alternative response for participants taught multiple alternative responses, suggesting potential benefits for sustained engagement. Future researchers should continue to investigate the role of preference, as teaching order may have impacted findings. Despite mixed findings, this study provides valuable insights into clinical strategies for promoting alternative responding. While teaching multiple alternative responses may not prevent resurgence, it may enhance communication flexibility, particularly when certain responses become unavailable. Full article

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched by the United Nations in 2015, outline 17 interconnected objectives designed to promote human well-being and sustainable development worldwide. Education is recognized by the United Nations as a key factor in promoting sustainable development. To cultivate students with both global perspectives and local engagement, it is essential to integrate sustainability education into elementary curricula. Accordingly, this study aimed to enhance elementary school students’ understanding of the SDGs by designing a structured instructional activity and developing a hybrid digital-physical board game. The game was implemented as a supplementary review tool to traditional classroom teaching, leveraging the motivational and knowledge-retention benefits of physical board games while incorporating digital features to support learning process monitoring. To address the limitations of conventional review approaches—such as reduced student engagement and increased cognitive load—the instructional model incorporated the board game during review sessions following formal instruction. This was intended to maintain student attention and reduce unnecessary cognitive effort, thereby supporting learning in sustainability-related content. A quasi-experimental design was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional intervention and the board game system, focusing on three outcome variables: learning motivation, cognitive load, and learning achievement. The results indicated that students in the game-based Sustainable Development Goals group achieved significantly higher delayed posttest scores (M = 72.91, SD = 15.17) than the traditional review group (M = 61.30, SD = 22.82; p < 0.05). In addition, they reported significantly higher learning motivation (M = 4.40, SD = 0.64) compared to the traditional group (M = 3.99, SD = 0.69; p < 0.05) and lower cognitive load (M = 1.84, SD = 1.39) compared to the traditional group (M = 2.66, SD = 1.30; p < 0.05), suggesting that the proposed approach effectively supported student learning in sustainability education at the elementary level. Full article

In alignment with global educational trends, Australia has adopted a pluralistic approach to initial teacher education (ITE), encompassing traditional university-based programs, employment-integrated models and vocational training routes. This diversification of pathways has emerged as a strategic response to persistent workforce challenges, including chronic shortages, uneven distribution of qualified educators, and limited demographic diversity within the profession. Rather than supplanting conventional ITE models, these alternative pathways serve as complementary options, broadening access and enhancing system responsiveness to evolving societal and educational needs. The rise in non-traditional routes represents a deliberate response to the well-documented global teacher shortage, frequently examined in comparative educational research. Central to their design is a restructuring of traditional program elements, particularly duration and delivery methods, to facilitate more flexible and context-sensitive forms of teacher preparation. Such approaches often create opportunities for individuals who may be excluded from conventional pathways due to socioeconomic constraints, geographic isolation, or non-linear career trajectories. Significantly, the diversity introduced by alternative entry candidates has the potential to enrich school learning environments. These educators often bring a wide range of prior experiences, disciplinary knowledge, and cultural perspectives, contributing to more inclusive and representative teaching practices. The implications for student learning are substantial, particularly in disadvantaged communities where culturally and professionally diverse teachers may enhance engagement and academic outcomes. From a policy perspective, the development of flexible, multifaceted teacher education pathways constitutes a critical component of a sustainable workforce strategy. As demand for qualified teachers intensifies, especially in STEM disciplines and in rural, regional and remote areas, the role of alternative pathways is likely to become increasingly pivotal in achieving broader goals of equity, quality and innovation in teacher preparation. Full article