Creating Sustainable Futures: New Challenges for Higher and Adult Education

Dear Colleagues,

Today there is consensus among researchers and policy-makers that education has a central role in facilitating the transition to a sustainable future. Several higher education institutes have already begun to adapt their curricula in the quest for sustainable development (Venkataraman, 2009). Notably, the role of these institutes is not only to “teach” sustainability. Universities represent organizations that shape new sustainability-related values (Godemann et al., 2014). However, institutes offering higher education adopt varying views of sustainability and prioritize different aspects of sustainable development. In parallel, the teaching philosophies and techniques used have broad impacts on the ways that future professionals understand sustainable development and their roles in it.

On the other hand, adult education can facilitate the pursuit of sustainable development goals (Lovren and Popović, 2018). By bridging science and society, adult education helps individuals and social groups to understand and embrace sustainability and apply sustainability-related knowledge in real-life settings. Arguably, having the potential to promote critical reflection that transforms problematic frames of reference (Mezirow, 2003), adult education not only refers to different professional groups (e.g., farmers, engineers, teachers, social scientists) but also to parents, volunteers, citizens’ organizations, geographical or interest-based communities, and any member of the society.

This Special Issue aims to provide a space for discussing practices, presenting case studies, and developing theoretical frameworks outlining the following:

• the roles that higher and adult education have to play in the transition to a sustainable future;
• the factors that enhance students’ and adult learners’ sustainability-related learning outcomes;
• the actual and potential contribution of innovative educational approaches and/or techniques (e.g., creation of hybrid learning environments, living labs, gamification) to the achievement of the desired learning outcomes;
• the ways that the four pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic, social, cultural) are—or should be—integrated into the curricula of higher education institutes and adult education programs;
• the extent to which higher education and adult education for sustainable development have the potential to transform learners by changing their values, attitudes, and behaviors;
• the ways that seminal learning theories such as experiential learning theory (Kolb et al., 2001), social learning theory (Bandura, 1977), andragogy (Knowles, 1978), transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 2003), and expansive learning theory (Engeström, 2001) can inform the practice of higher and adult education for sustainable development;
• the extent to which current adult education programs and higher education curricula address issues related to cultural and social sustainability (such as cultural capital, heritage, social justice, citizenship, and democracy).

We encourage interdisciplinary empirical and conceptual contributions that open up new lines of inquiry in the field. We also warmly welcome papers from early career researchers that discuss fresh ideas and perspectives.

Dr. Chrysanthi Charatsari
Dr. Evagelos D. Lioutas
Guest Editors

References

1. Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
2. Engeström, Y. (2001). Expansive learning at work: Toward an activity theoretical reconceptualization. Journal of Education and Work,14(1), 133–156.
3. Godemann, J., Bebbington, J., Herzig, C., and Moon, J. (2014). Higher education and sustainable development.Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 27(2), 218–233.
4. Knowles, M. S. (1978). Andragogy: Adult learning theory in perspective.Community College Review, 5(3), 9–20.
5. Kolb, D. A., Boyatzis, R. E., and Mainemelis, C. (2001). Experiential learning theory: Previous research and new directions. In SternbergR. J., and Zhang L. (eds.): Perspectives on Thinking, Learning, and Cognitive Styles. The Educational Psychology Series (pp. 227–247). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
6. Lovren, V. O., and Popović, K. (2018). Lifelong learning for sustainable development—Is adult education left behind? In Leal Filho W., Mifsud M., and Pace P. (eds): Handbook of Lifelong Learning for Sustainable Development:World Sustainability Series (pp. 1–17). Cham: Springer.
7. Mezirow, J. (2003). Transformative learning as discourse.Journal of Transformative Education, 1(1), 58–63.
8. Venkataraman, B. (2009). Education for sustainable development. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 51(2), 8–10.

Manuscript Submission Information

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• adult education
• higher education
• sustainability
• sustainable development goals
• education for sustainable development
• learning
• sustainable futures
• learning outcomes
• knowledge
• skills
• competencies
• learning theories