Sustainable Education and Approaches
A section of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).
Section Information
Education in diverse forms and multiple contexts provides the means whereby each generation passes on its culture, discoveries, successes and failures to the next. Without inter-generational education, very little in a human context can be sustainable. Education is also important to formulate, challenge and disseminate ideas, knowledge, skills and values within communities, from young to not so young, and between communities, nations and continents. Education is identified as a key element of sustainability-focused strategies in many contexts and levels: signatories to the Talloires Declaration1 promise to “educate for environmentally responsible citizenship”; and Agenda 212 declares that education “is critical for achieving environmental and ethical awareness, values and attitudes, skills and behaviour consistent with sustainable development and for effective public participation in decision- making.” The critical role of education has been reconfirmed recently in the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals3 and the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development4.
And yet, education also provides the means whereby societies can consolidate and perpetuate, or sustain, ways of knowing, being and doing that may nurture economies or individual societies or communities, but may not be sustainable in other respects. The concept of sustainability demands that we consider long time periods, environmental stability, and the needs of people in diverse places and of non-human inhabitants of the planet. A key challenge for this section is, therefore, to help scholarly communities distinguish between educational approaches that seek to sustain the ‘unsustainable’ from those that seek something else, whatever that may be. Research about, or to promote, high-quality education that does not challenge the status quo will not readily find a place within this section.
Accordingly, Section Editors for the section ‘Sustainable Education and Approaches’ are interested in original and scholarly research articles, conceptual articles, review articles and commentaries that link education to environmental, cultural, economic and social sustainability and sustainable development. The section ‘sustainable education and approaches’ welcomes the full range of previously-unpublished scholarly communication indicated within the journal’s aims (https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/sustainability/about). Also, in line with this journal’s policy of having no restriction on the overall length of the paper, Section Editors will expect academic communications to be concise, clear and readable. Authors are advised to make full use of ‘supplementary material’ in their submissions.
1 Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future 1994, The Talloires Declaration 10 Point Action Plan. Accessed 15th December 2017 at http://ulsf.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/TD.pdf.
2 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992): Agenda 21. Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Online at: "http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/agenda21toc.htm".
3 United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2017): Education for Sustainable Development Goals. Learning Objectives. Paris: UNESCO. Online at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002474/247444e.pdf.
4 United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2014): Roadmap for Implementing the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development. UNESCO. Paris.
Editorial Board
Topical Advisory Panel
Special Issues
Following special issues within this section are currently open for submissions:
- SDGs and Undergraduate Learning: A Partnership Approach to Solving Real-World Problems (Deadline: 21 April 2024)
- Industry 4.0 and Hands-On Sustainable Education (Deadline: 30 April 2024)
- Sustainable Education and Approaches in Disaster Recovery (Deadline: 1 May 2024)
- Digital and Sustainable Transformation of Education: Technology Enhanced-Teaching, Learning and Social Inclusion (Deadline: 7 May 2024)
- Towards Sustainable Development Goals: Integrating Technologies into Education in the Digital Era (Deadline: 11 May 2024)
- Sustainable Physical and Sports Education: Observation, Assessment, and Teaching Strategies (Deadline: 14 May 2024)
- Assessing Sustainability in Higher Education (Deadline: 15 May 2024)
- Educative Digital Transition: New Sustainable Learning Approaches from Other Technological Realities (Deadline: 18 May 2024)
- Towards Sustainable Development Goals: Integrating Technology into Business and Tourism Education (Deadline: 19 May 2024)
- Unleashing the Potential of Informatization Teaching for Sustainable Education (Deadline: 21 May 2024)
- Building a Sustainable Future: Innovative Approaches to Learning and Teaching in the Digital Age (Deadline: 25 May 2024)
- Sustainability in Cities and Campuses (Deadline: 27 May 2024)
- Sustainable Education and Sustainability in Education: Policy and Implementation Direction in the Era of SDGs (Deadline: 31 May 2024)
- New Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching and Sustainable Education (Deadline: 31 May 2024)
- Online, Immersive and Distributed Learning for Sustainable Development (Deadline: 31 May 2024)
- Sustainable Education in the Digital Society: Applying Communication Technologies and Digital Tools to Education (Deadline: 5 June 2024)
- Advances in Evaluation of Sustainable Educational Programs 2nd Edition (Deadline: 10 June 2024)
- Psychology and Education for a Sustainable World, Current Advances and Cutting-Edge and Innovative Developments, Especially from the Use of the New Digital Framework (Deadline: 25 June 2024)
- Innovation and Sustainable Development of Seamless Education and Teaching Methods (Deadline: 30 June 2024)
- Virtual Reality/Metaverse Applications in STEAM Education and Creativity: Towards Student Learning Sustainability (Deadline: 30 June 2024)
- Sustainable Education and Technology Development (Deadline: 1 July 2024)
- Education for Environmental Citizenship—2nd Edition (Deadline: 5 July 2024)
- Advances in Engineering Education and Sustainable Development (Deadline: 12 July 2024)
- Educational Assessment: A Powerful Tool for Sustainable Education (Deadline: 31 July 2024)
- Sustainable Education for All: Latest Enhancements and Prospects (Deadline: 31 July 2024)
- Sustainable Education: Innovations and Developments of Educational Technology (Deadline: 5 August 2024)
- Sustainability Education across the Lifespan (Deadline: 15 August 2024)
- Sustainable Higher Education: From E-learning to Smart Education (Deadline: 31 August 2024)
- Sustaining Teacher Beliefs in Higher Education: Status Quo and Future Directions (Deadline: 31 August 2024)
- Pedagogical Models for Sustainable Education: Exploring the Importance of Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, and Motivation (Deadline: 1 September 2024)
- New Trends in Educational Research for Sustainability: A Focus on Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century (Deadline: 4 September 2024)
- Challenges and Future Trends of Sustainable Environmental Education (Deadline: 27 September 2024)
- University 4.0 Sustainable Development in the Way of Society 5.0 (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Advanced Technologies in Digital and Sustainable Transformation of Teaching and Learning (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- The Role of Digital Technologies in Sustainable Education (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Sustainable Education: Theories, Practices and Approaches (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Sustainable E-learning and Education with Intelligence—2nd Edition (Deadline: 30 September 2024)
- Sustainability in Higher Education: Curriculum Design and Materials Development (Deadline: 2 October 2024)
- Exploring Education Management Strategies for Sustainable Development (Deadline: 2 October 2024)
- Education for Sustainable Development: Challenges and Opportunities of Transformative Learning and Teaching (Deadline: 12 October 2024)
- Educational Psychological Perspectives on Sustainable Education (Deadline: 12 October 2024)
- Inclusive Education as an Opportunity to Create More Sustainable Universities (Deadline: 24 October 2024)
- Sustainable E-Learning and Educational Technology (Deadline: 25 October 2024)
- Transformative Pedagogies for Sustainability Competence Development (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Education for Sustainable Development: Transversal Skills in Sustainability in Higher Education (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Inputs of Engineering Education towards Sustainability—2nd Edition (Deadline: 31 October 2024)
- Innovation and Sustainability in Inclusive Education (Deadline: 12 November 2024)
- Digital Technologies in Education: Empowering Teachers and Learners for Collective Well-Being (Deadline: 25 November 2024)
- Sustainability Teaching in the Face of the Global Challenges of the 21st Century (Deadline: 30 November 2024)
- Sustainable Inspiration of Flexible Education—Second Edition (Deadline: 30 December 2024)
- Sustainable Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Sustainability Education through Green Infrastructure (Deadline: 31 December 2024)
- Environmental Education and Sustainable Development: Practice and Challenges (Deadline: 15 January 2025)
- Educational Research in the Era of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 2nd Edition (Deadline: 20 January 2025)
- Digital Teaching and Development in Sustainable Higher Education (Deadline: 22 January 2025)
- Fostering the One Health Approach in Environmental Education: Innovations, Challenges, and Opportunities (Deadline: 22 January 2025)
- Technology-Enhanced and AI-Enhanced Learning for Sustainable Education: Innovations and Pathways (Deadline: 3 February 2025)
- Sustainable Higher Education: Innovative Teaching and Learning, and Leadership for Creating Impacts on Local Society and Globally (Deadline: 21 March 2025)
- Education for Sustainable Development: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities (Deadline: 31 March 2025)
Topical Collections
Following topical collections within this section are currently open for submissions:
- Approaches and Methods of Science Teaching and Sustainable Development
- E-learning and Sustainability in Higher Education
- Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education
- Education, Innovation and Training for Sustainable Development in the Context of COVID-19
- Ensuring Quality Education and Good Learning Environments for Students (Closed)
- Graduate Employment and Sustainability in a Global and Changing Labour Market: Challenges and Opportunities for Higher Education (Closed)
- Higher Education and Sustainable Development of Universities
- Higher Education in Innovation Ecosystems
- Innovative Practices in Education for Sustainability and Their Relation to Evaluation
- Innovative Practices in Engineering Education: Concept and Implementation
- Metacognition, Learning Strategies, and Self-Regulated Learning to Promote Sustained Learning
- Mobile Technology, Gamification and Artificial Intelligence to Improve Sustainability in Education
- Motivation and Evaluation in Education from the Sustainability Perspective (Closed)
- Science Education Promoting Sustainability
- Sustainability in the Era of Mobile Learning (Closed)
- Sustainability, Motivation and the Teaching-Learning Process in Physical Education and Sport
- Sustainable Citizenship and Education
- Sustainable Teaching and Learning Strategies in the Digital Age
- Teacher Professional Development in ESD
- Technology-Enhanced Learning and Teaching: Sustainable Education
- The Challenges of Sustainable Education in the 21st Century
- Towards a Sustainable Future through Innovative STEM Education