Education for Sustainability at a Montessori Primary School: From Silos to Systems Thinking

In an era where digital technologies are integral to daily life and sustainable education is increasingly critical, developing higher-order thinking skills with appropriate information and communication technology (ICT) support is crucial for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The purpose of this study was to examine synergies of systems thinking and technology-enhanced learning from the perspective of flow theory within the context of sustainable education. We surveyed more than 65 pre-service preschool teachers engaged in a design, technology, and engineering (DTE) course at the University of Ljubljana. Mapping of systems thinking revealed that pre-service preschool teachers needed support regarding feedback and understanding the interrelationship dimension of systems thinking—essential components of sustainable education. Predictive and mediation analyses yielded noteworthy results. Participants in the ICT-enhanced DTE course rated their cognitive and social engagement above the mid-point of the scale, with this higher engagement correlating with higher systems thinking crucial for sustainable education. In contrast, their aesthetic engagement was below the mid-point of the scale. Experiencing a flow state during ICT activities positively influenced systems thinking, particularly in terms of clear goals and autotelic experiences. Flow theory thus emerges as a solid and appropriate framework to use for studying synergies in technology-enhanced systems thinking for sustainable education. These findings underscore the importance of integrating systems thinking into curricula to enhance learning outcomes and prepare students for future challenges, thereby contributing to the achievement of SDGs through sustainable education.

This paper presents the findings of the first stage of research on the impact of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) at an independent primary school in Western Australia. A longitudinal (20 year) case study is being conducted, utilising data related to Education for Sustainability (EfS) at the school from 1990-2009. 2005 was a critical year for the school because it marked the beginning of participation in the Sustainable Schools Initiative pilot in Western Australia (AuSSI-WA). The research investigates elements of EfS in operation at the school pre- and post- AuSSI-WA, as well as student and teacher outcomes after involvement in the Initiative. An analysis of the initial data suggests that participation in AuSSI-WA enabled the school to engage with a growing commitment to EfS in the context of a whole - school approach.

The opportunities and challenges related to sustainability impose not only a societal transformation but also a personal one. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have great potential to promote sustainability and shape future generations’ skills, knowledge, thinking, and actions. Addressing environmental, social, and economic pillars, education for sustainable development (ESD), or education for sustainability (EfS), is a catalyst for quality education towards a sustainable future. This paper aims to analyze the state of the art and prevailing trends in the scientific literature pertaining to ESD/EfS. In this regard, specific objectives were established to identify the following: (1) authors’ productivity over time; (2) countries’ contribution and collaboration; (3) the most relevant keywords; and (4) the most prominent themes—in terms of relevance and degree of development. To fulfill the research objectives, quantitative research employing bibliometric analysis was carried out in April 2023. The research data sample was collected from the Web of Science (WoS) database. By conducting the search using a combined topic (“education for sustainable development” OR “education for sustainability”), a total of 2827 documents in English were identified within a timeframe of 33 years (1989–2023). These documents served as the foundation for subsequent data processing, visualization, and analysis using Biblioshiny/Bibliometrix (version R-4.2.0), as well as Excel (version 2309) software. The visualization and analysis focused on examining the most prolific authors and countries, in addition to generating word clouds based on keywords. Moreover, the thematic map that was delineated into four quadrants—Basic, Motor, Niche, and Emerging or Declining themes—provides an overview of the researched subject. ESD—embracing environmental, social, and economic pillars—implies transformative learning, action-oriented pedagogies, and professional development. As a holistic framework, it requires interdisciplinarity, system thinking, critical and experiential thinking, problem-based learning, and the use of 4IR technologies to enhance the teaching-learning process.

This research investigated education for sustainability (EfS) at an independent primary school in Perth, Australia. A longitudinal case study involving analysis of data from a 20-year period was conducted to determine the effectiveness of EfS. Historical information about EfS from 1990 to 2005 was examined, with the main focus on the study being on the impact of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) between 2005 and 2009.

This narrative review synthesizes conceptual frameworks, empirical evidence, and pedagogical approaches that support the integration of systems thinking into sustainability education across K–12 and higher education. Publications were purposively selected based on conceptual significance, empirical rigor, pedagogical relevance, and contextual diversity, with searches conducted across Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, and Google Scholar. The analysis identified several recurring instructional patterns, as follows: the use of feedback-loop reasoning to connect scientific and social systems; the role of conceptual modeling and visual representations; and the value of inquiry-based, project-based, and socio-scientific issue frameworks in promoting systems-oriented understanding. Across educational levels, the review highlights consistent evidence that systems thinking can be taught effectively when learning activities scaffold students’ construction of system models, encourage interdisciplinary reasoning, and explicitly address dynamic processes such as accumulation, time delays, and unintended consequences. Case examples from K–12 and teacher education illustrate how visual modeling, simulations, and carefully designed task structures foster deeper understanding of socio-ecological interactions. The review also identifies key implications for curriculum design, teacher professional development, and assessment, emphasizing the need for sustained integration rather than one-time activities. Overall, this synthesis demonstrates that systems thinking is a foundational competency for sustainability education and provides educators with practical frameworks, strategies, and examples for meaningful classroom implementation. The findings underscore the importance of aligning pedagogical design, curricular structures, and assessment practices to cultivate students’ ability to reason about complex systems.

PurposeThe aim of this personal vision research is to analyse the characteristics of physical education subject to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the development of competences in university students. The objective is to reflect on how critical and systemic thinking could be mobilised through the contents and methodologies in physical education to promote the SDGs.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual article is proposed in which an active investigation of how physical education could foster critical and systemic thinking has been carried out. For this purpose, articles were selected that have analysed the potential of physical education for sustainability. Databases such as Web of Science, Scopus or Google Scholar have been reviewed through keywords such as “physical education”, “sustainability”, “critical thinking” or “systems thinking”.FindingsStrategies are presented to enable university students to understand the scope of the subject beyond the physical dimension. This study discusses that it is only through such a change of view of the subject that meaningful learning and learning situations that encourage enquiry and active participation can be introduced. Thus, this paper argues that physical education is a unique area of knowledge for mobilising critical and systemic thinking in the context of sustainable development (SD). Consequently, concrete actions are presented for application in physical education teaching that shows direct connections to specific targets of the SDGs.Practical implicationsThis study presents practical implications for higher education leaders and educational policy designers at the national level, as it would help improve initial and ongoing training programs for physical education teachers, focusing on the development of key competencies for sustainability.Social implicationsPhysical education has the potential to contribute to the development of vulnerable schools and communities, especially to the health and well-being of children and young people and does not require large financial budgets. Therefore, the recommendations presented in this study can have a positive impact on the well-being of these groups.Originality/valueThis document invites reflection on how, through different teaching strategies, we can produce significant learning that contributes to the sustainability of the planet. All this, trying to mobilise critical and systemic thinking and consequently improving awareness for SD.

This study aimed to enhance middle school students’ systems thinking about water systems through a design-based educational intervention grounded in socio-scientific issues. Thirty-two seventh-grade students participated in activities incorporating the iceberg model, relational thinking, and systems thinking maps. Data were collected via students’ systems thinking maps and open-ended questions and analyzed using a rubric developed for this study. Findings indicated notable progress across all eight dimensions of systems thinking, moving from simple associations to complex, dynamic, and cyclical understandings of water systems. The study demonstrates that a socio-hydrologic issue-based unit can foster students’ holistic and interconnected understanding of water, offering implications for curriculum design and sustainability education.

Education plays vital role in sustainable development. Education is permanent modification ofcreativity and behaviour as the result of new experiences through education (Kaushik, 1997). It is not onlya catalyst with potentialities to transform all the aspects of development but contributes in the currentchallenges of sustainability. The aim of education is to ensure and secure the basic purpose of education,to achieve the tasks of life and to attain basic life skills in an integrated and sustainable manner (Azam,2003). According to Singh (2008) “Education is essentially a process of growth and development, whichgoes on throughout the whole life” (p.7). Education for sustainability is less understood and less practicedby teacher educators in Government Colleges of Education offering Associate Degree in education andfour years B.Ed program. It is difficult to assume that whether teacher educators have proper acquaintancewith education for sustainability, skills and willing to incorporate education for sustainability in teachereducation policies and practices. In addition, it cannot be presupposed that through experience teachereducators will attain such skills. Therefore, education for sustainability should be carefully planned andmade as integral part of teacher education programs instead of ad hoc based approach for education forsustainability.This study will investigate how Associate Degree for education teacher training program for prospectiveteachers has been designed or shaped and find out how teacher educators are affianced with educationfor sustainability in their teaching. The purpose of study is (i) to determine the elements of Educationfor sustainability before and after Associate Degree program, (ii) to investigate teacher educatorsknowledge, skills and attitude related to education for sustainability and, (iii) to examine the perceptionand engagement of teacher educators regarding education for sustainability. The focus of this study willbe on five indicators of sustainability which include the social impact of education, education as strategyfor development, financial viability, adaptability and capability to bring socio-economic change. A casestudy approach will be used for this study. Data will be collected through surveys, in-depth interviews andanalysis of over five years documents.

Environmental sustainability is important to public health and of particular significance considering the rapidly growing ageing population. While advancement in chemical science has contributed to enhanced quality of life, increasing levels of chemical pollutions and the impact of chemicals on human health and the environment have led to serious concern. The deterioration of environmental quality has been largely due to chemical pollution and the elderly group are being more susceptible to the hazardous effects of industrial chemicals and airborne pollutants. It has also presented uphill challenges to the promotion of healthy ageing which requires a sustainable clean environment, contributed by the advancement of sustainable and green chemistry. However, innovations in green chemistry require a systems thinking mindset which is also important in realizing the impact of chemicals on human health and the environment. The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations has called for immediate actions in adopting the SDGs as a central concern in the reform of different domains for the invention of a sustainable future. The practice of chemistry has various impacts on many interconnected systems, re-orientation of chemistry education has been proposed with the implementation of inter-disciplinary approaches as informed by systems thinking, with a growing number of reports suggesting its potentials and applications in chemical education. Despite the vast opinions suggesting the promising prospects of applying systems thinking in education, reports on the development of relevant tools and educational resources are only of a limited amount, with recent perspectives identifying the design of educational tools and resources as one of the priority areas. In this study, we report the collaborative work across the disciplines of health and chemical sciences in the pedagogic design of incorporating systems thinking in chemistry education adopting the theoretical framework. The design of a system-oriented concept map extension (SOCME) diagram is described, with reference to a case study of chemicals released from the degradation of plastics. The work presented illustrates the potential of systems thinking in sustainable education and adds to the collections of educational resources for incorporation of systems thinking in teaching and learning.

Biomimicry practice and pedagogy unify biology and design for problem solving inspired by nature. Pedagogy that supports biomimicry practice can facilitate the development of novel solutions to address societal needs and challenges. Even though biomimicry affords the possibility to address sustainability, its current practice does not necessarily lead to doing so, which can result in exploitation of nature and increased unsustainability. Recognition of this risk exists but is not yet widespread in biomimicry pedagogy, and few structured methodologies are available to support learner’s efforts towards sustainability. The difficulties associated with incorporating sustainability within biomimicry are numerous and varied. In this report, we contribute to an understanding of incorporating sustainability in teaching and learning. We describe a pedagogical framing and conceptual scaffolding developed and used to bring sustainability into a biomimicry course for design- and biology-minded engineering students that integrates available biomimicry and design language, tools, and methods. We scaffold consideration of structure-function and conditions conducive to life separately, and then unify these perspectives in a way that is accessible to students. This approach centralizes sustainability in biomimicry practice and asks students to consider the ethics of design practice and responsibility to the natural world. We are encouraged by student outcomes, observing clear signs of creative systemic thinking and higher-level learning from nature. Based on pre- and post-design sprint results, students significantly shifted away from a narrower structure-function practice towards addressing conditions conducive to life. We propose that biomimicry educators and facilitators make a commitment to always include a sustainability approach within their pedagogy or explicitly acknowledge their delivery does not provide for it.

. Environmental education in the national curriculum plays an important role in shaping the awareness of the younger generation towards global environmental issues. This study aims to describe a comprehensive strategic management to integrate environmental education into the national curriculum, considering the local and global contexts of sustainable education towards implementation, obstacles, challenges and supporting and inhibiting factors. The research method with a qualitative descriptive approach, this study focuses on Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Masyarikul Anwar IV Sukabumi, which has successfully implemented environmental education through the Adiwiyata program. Data were collected through observation, documentation, and content analysis of school activities. Data were analyzed using content analysis where researchers analyzed the contents of the documents that had been collected. The stages in data analysis include data reduction; data presentation; and drawing conclusions. The results of the study indicate that the success of the implementation of environmental education is greatly influenced by school commitment, community involvement, and support from teachers. However, there are obstacles in the form of limited resources, lack of teacher training, and dynamic curriculum changes. In conclusion, the strategic management framework can support the integration of sustainable environmental education, with important notes on the existence of policy support, adequate resources, and collaboration between stakeholders so that environmental education can develop optimally and consistently in the national education system.

The concept of key competencies is an important element of education for sustainability. The cornerstone of key competencies is complex systems thinking. Most who argue for the integration of key competencies into various learning processes also suggest that such integration requires critical reflection on traditional paradigms in various disciplines. This article examines the ramifications of such integration as it pertains to economics. It is argued that key competencies can be learned by studying and applying Peter Soderbaum's institutional ecological economics because it is based on complex systems thinking. It is also argued that traditional neoclassical environmental economics is not suited for the task because it is based on simple systems thinking. The article concludes with some thoughts regarding how case studies can be used to teach key competencies.

The concept of key competencies is an important element of education for sustainability. The cornerstone of key competencies is complex systems thinking. Most who argue for the integration of key competencies into various learning processes also suggest that such integration requires critical reflection on traditional paradigms in various disciplines. This article examines the ramifications of such integration as it pertains to economics. It is argued that key competencies can be learned by studying and applying Peter Söderbaum's institutional ecological economics because it is based on complex systems thinking. It is also argued that traditional neoclassical environmental economics is not suited for the task because it is based on simple systems thinking. The article concludes with some thoughts regarding how case studies can be used to teach key competencies.

The purpose of this study is to explore the change in the perceptions of pre-service teachers after participating in a training process on Education for Sustainability. The research was conducted during academic year 2019–2020 in the context of the Master’s Degree in Educational Research for Teachers’ Professional Development. The changes related to Education for Sustainability, the knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals, and methodological strategies to integrate both were analysed. An initial and a final questionnaire as well as the activities developed by the students during the course were used to gather information. An analysis was performed of three dimensions (Education for Sustainability, the Sustainable Development Goals, and methodological strategies) with the help of the NVivo 12 Plus software programme. The results show progress was made in all three dimensions. The most significant changes were detected with regard to the knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the majority of the student teachers indicated they knew them on completing the training process. Their perception of Education for Sustainability evolved towards more complex views, while the methodological strategies proposed at the end of the training process did not differ significantly from the initial ones. This shows it is imperative to insist on training processes that include methodological strategies. By doing so, future educational professionals will be able to incorporate Education for Sustainability into their teaching practice.

Something important has been forgotten in environmental and sustainability education: teaching ecological literacy. The concept was introduced as an educational field by David Orr, who argued for systemic thinking as well as educating for a sense of place. However, Orr’s ecological literacy did not include the basis for understanding functions of the ecosystems: the names of species and other nature phenomena. This knowledge has generally fallen out of education, so that detailed knowledge regarding nature is currently endangered. In this essay, I revisit Orr’s educational programme, and reconceptualise its importance in a Bildung for environmental and sustainability education. In doing so, I emphasize the importance of naming as a tool for relating to nature and communicating about ecology. A conceptual framework for a lexical ecological literacy is constructed around the human-ecological triad of nature, society and person, combined with a classical Didaktik typology of what, why and how to teach.