IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i21p6104-d282886.html

Education for Sustainable Development: A Systemic Framework for Connecting the SDGs to Educational Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Vasiliki Kioupi

    (Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London SW7 1NE, UK)

  • Nikolaos Voulvoulis

    (Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, London SW7 1NE, UK)

Abstract

The UN 2030 agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) envisions a future of inclusive equity, justice and prosperity within environmental limits, and places an important emphasis on education as stated in Goal 4. Education is acknowledged as a means for achieving the remaining Goals, with sustainability as a goal for education in target 4.7. However, the interconnectedness of the SDGs and the complexity of sustainability as a concept make it difficult to relate the SDGs to educational learning outcomes, with what Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) aims to achieve, left in ambiguity. Using systems thinking, we developed a framework that redefines ESD as a tool that can deliver the transformation required for society to reach a sustainable state. Using the SDGs as end points for this state, and through a participatory approach, education stakeholders and learners work together to construct a common vision of sustainability, identify the competences needed, and develop appropriate pedagogies and learning strategies. The framework allows for the development of evaluation tools that can support educational institutions to monitor and manage their progress in transforming societies towards sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Vasiliki Kioupi & Nikolaos Voulvoulis, 2019. "Education for Sustainable Development: A Systemic Framework for Connecting the SDGs to Educational Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:21:p:6104-:d:282886
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/21/6104/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/21/6104/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Christoph Mischo, 2019. "Development and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Student Sustainability Competencies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Joanna Blake & Stephen Sterling & Ivor Goodson, 2013. "Transformative Learning for a Sustainable Future: An Exploration of Pedagogies for Change at an Alternative College," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(12), pages 1-26, December.
    3. Silvia Albareda-Tiana & Salvador Vidal-Raméntol & Maria Pujol-Valls & Mónica Fernández-Morilla, 2018. "Holistic Approaches to Develop Sustainability and Research Competencies in Pre-Service Teacher Training," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-20, October.
    4. Sala, Serenella & Ciuffo, Biagio & Nijkamp, Peter, 2015. "A systemic framework for sustainability assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 314-325.
    5. Lauri Lidstone & Tarah Wright & Kate Sherren, 2015. "An analysis of Canadian STARS-rated higher education sustainability policies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 259-278, April.
    6. Rodrigo Lozano & Maria Barreiro-Gen & Francisco J. Lozano & Kaisu Sammalisto, 2019. "Teaching Sustainability in European Higher Education Institutions: Assessing the Connections between Competences and Pedagogical Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-17, March.
    7. Rodrigo Lozano & Michelle Y. Merrill & Kaisu Sammalisto & Kim Ceulemans & Francisco J. Lozano, 2017. "Connecting Competences and Pedagogical Approaches for Sustainable Development in Higher Education: A Literature Review and Framework Proposal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-15, October.
    8. Stavins, Robert N. & Wagner, Alexander F. & Wagner, Gernot, 2003. "Interpreting sustainability in economic terms: dynamic efficiency plus intergenerational equity," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 339-343, June.
    9. Louise Laumann Kjaer & Daniela C. A. Pigosso & Monia Niero & Nynne Marie Bech & Tim C. McAloone, 2019. "Product/Service‐Systems for a Circular Economy: The Route to Decoupling Economic Growth from Resource Consumption?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 22-35, February.
    10. Clair Bullock & Gregory Hitzhusen, 2015. "Participatory Development of Key Sustainability Concepts for Dialogue and Curricula at The Ohio State University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(10), pages 1-29, October.
    11. Martina Keitsch, 2018. "Structuring Ethical Interpretations of the Sustainable Development Goals—Concepts, Implications and Progress," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-9, March.
    12. Natalia Eernstman & Arjen E.J. Wals, 2013. "Locative Meaning-making: An Arts-based Approach to Learning for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-16, April.
    13. Faham, Elham & Rezvanfar, Ahmad & Movahed Mohammadi, Seyed Hamid & Rajabi Nohooji, Meisam, 2017. "Using system dynamics to develop education for sustainable development in higher education with the emphasis on the sustainability competencies of students," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 307-326.
    14. Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Niklas Gericke & Daniel Olsson & Teresa Berglund, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-25, November.
    15. Christoph Schank & Marco Rieckmann, 2019. "Socio-economically Substantiated Education for Sustainable Development: Development of Competencies and Value Orientations Between Individual Responsibility and Structural Transformation," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 13(1), pages 67-91, March.
    16. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Antje Brock, 2018. "Development of an ESD Indicator for Teacher Training and the National Monitoring for ESD Implementation in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    17. Ellen Carm, 2013. "Rethinking Education for All," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(8), pages 1-26, August.
    18. Rodrigo Lozano, 2013. "Are Companies Planning their Organisational Changes for Corporate Sustainability? An Analysis of Three Case Studies on Resistance to Change and their Strategies to Overcome it," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(5), pages 275-295, September.
    19. John Holmberg & Johan Larsson, 2018. "A Sustainability Lighthouse—Supporting Transition Leadership and Conversations on Desirable Futures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, October.
    20. Robert Laurie & Yuko Nonoyama-Tarumi & Rosalyn Mckeown & Charles Hopkins, 2016. "Contributions of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to Quality Education: A Synthesis of Research," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 10(2), pages 226-242, September.
    21. Daniel Niles & Narifumi Tachimoto, 2018. "Science and the experience of nature," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(10), pages 540-543, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alba Manresa & Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent & Úrsula Faura-Martínez & Juan-Vicente Llinares-Ciscar, 2021. "What Do Freshmen Know about Sustainability? Analysing the Skill Gap among University Business Administration Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    2. Vasiliki Kioupi & Nikolaos Voulvoulis, 2020. "Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Assessing the Contribution of Higher Education Programmes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Ana Alexandra Gora & Simona Cătălina Ștefan & Ștefan Cătălin Popa & Cătălina Florentina Albu, 2019. "Students’ Perspective on Quality Assurance in Higher Education in the Context of Sustainability: A PLS-SEM Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-21, September.
    4. Katja Scharenberg & Eva-Maria Waltner & Christoph Mischo & Werner Rieß, 2021. "Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-22, November.
    5. Miguel Leiva-Brondo & Natalia Lajara-Camilleri & Anna Vidal-Meló & Alejandro Atarés & Cristina Lull, 2022. "Spanish University Students’ Awareness and Perception of Sustainable Development Goals and Sustainability Literacy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-26, April.
    6. Herlambang Herlambang & Amelia Dwi Fitri & Amirul Mukminin & Muhaimin Muhaimin & Marzul Hidayat & Elfiani Elfiani & Nyimas Natasha Ayu Shafira & Anggelia Puspasari & Susan Tarawifa & Ahmad Abdun Salam, 2021. "Quality Assurance for Sustainable Higher Education: Structural Equation Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Francisco Zamora-Polo & Jesús Sánchez-Martín & Mario Corrales-Serrano & Luis Espejo-Antúnez, 2019. "What Do University Students Know about Sustainable Development Goals? A Realistic Approach to the Reception of this UN Program Amongst the Youth Population," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-19, June.
    8. Xiaodan Zhou & Ling-Hsiu Chen & Chin-Ling Chen, 2019. "Collaborative Learning by Teaching: A Pedagogy between Learner-Centered and Learner-Driven," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-14, February.
    9. Carolina Feliciana Machado & João Paulo Davim, 2022. "Higher Education for Sustainability: A Bibliometric Approach—What, Where and Who Is Doing Research in This Subject?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-15, April.
    10. M. Teresa Fuertes-Camacho & Mariona Graell-Martín & Mariana Fuentes-Loss & M. Carmen Balaguer-Fàbregas, 2019. "Integrating Sustainability into Higher Education Curricula through the Project Method, a Global Learning Strategy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-25, February.
    11. Arantza Rico & Elena Agirre-Basurko & Aritz Ruiz-González & Igone Palacios-Agundez & Daniel Zuazagoitia, 2021. "Integrating Mathematics and Science Teaching in the Context of Education for Sustainable Development: Design and Pilot Implementation of a Teaching-Learning Sequence about Air Quality with Pre-Service Primary Teachers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-21, April.
    12. Lukas Scherak & Marco Rieckmann, 2020. "Developing ESD Competences in Higher Education Institutions—Staff Training at the University of Vechta," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-19, December.
    13. Antonia Lozano-Díaz & Juan S. Fernández-Prados, 2020. "Educating Digital Citizens: An Opportunity to Critical and Activist Perspective of Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-14, September.
    14. Eva-Maria Waltner & Katja Scharenberg & Christian Hörsch & Werner Rieß, 2020. "What Teachers Think and Know about Education for Sustainable Development and How They Implement it in Class," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    15. Marieke Versteijlen & Arjen E. J. Wals, 2023. "Developing Design Principles for Sustainability-Oriented Blended Learning in Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, May.
    16. Helen Lee Curtis & Lucas Catalani Gabriel & Marlyne Sahakian & Sandro Cattacin, 2021. "Practice-Based Program Evaluation in Higher Education for Sustainability: A Student Participatory Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, September.
    17. Shuyu Qi & Danning Huang & Qiutong Ma & Mi Zhou, 2023. "Factors Influencing Sustainable Development Literacy among Engineering Undergraduates in China: Based on the College Impact Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-19, January.
    18. Paul Vare & Grete Arro & Andre de Hamer & Giovanna Del Gobbo & Gerben de Vries & Francesca Farioli & Chrysanthi Kadji-Beltran & Mihkel Kangur & Michela Mayer & Rick Millican & Carlien Nijdam & Monika , 2019. "Devising a Competence-Based Training Program for Educators of Sustainable Development: Lessons Learned," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-21, March.
    19. Asa Romeo Asa & Johanna Pangeiko Nautwima & Jesaria Khom-Oabes, 2023. "The Role of Strategic Change Management in Enhancing Academic Institutions’ Sustainability," International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, Inovatus Services Ltd., vol. 9(3), pages 41-53, March.
    20. Lourdes Molera & Eugenio José Sánchez-Alcázar & Úrsula Faura-Martínez & Matilde Lafuente-Lechuga & Juan Vicente Llinares-Ciscar & Joaquín Longinos Marín-Rives & Pedro Juan Martín-Castejón & María Carm, 2021. "Embedding Sustainability in the Economics Degree of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Murcia: A Methodological Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:21:p:6104-:d:282886. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.