Sustainable Development Competences Research Articles

Enhancing sustainable development in education: Reality of cloud computing applications in activating e-learning at King Faisal University

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world turned towards intensifying the implementation of modern educational technologies in general, especially those related to remote teaching and learning. These technologies have proven to save learners considerable time and effort, particularly in emergencies that necessitate a shift from traditional to remote education systems. They offer easy and secure methods for remote teaching and learning. One of the most significant modern technologies in this context is cloud computing, a term that refers to on-demand access to computer resources and systems over the network. Cloud computing can deliver a range of integrated computer services without being constrained by local resources, aiming to facilitate user interaction. The successful use and integration of cloud computing applications in educational institutions are key indicators of achieving outstanding educational quality. This includes attaining the highest possible levels of sustainable development competencies in education. The effectiveness of utilizing these applications is contingent upon the proper management of educational technology applications and their flexible and rapid activation from any location through the Internet. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the current utilization and deployment of cloud computing applications in activating e-learning at King Faisal University and provide insight into realizing the desired outcomes of implementing one of the most crucial e-learning technologies as a means of achieving sustainable development in education. This was accomplished by identifying the problems and challenges facing the use and deployment of this technology in educational institutions in the Kingdom, specifically at King Faisal University. Additionally, the study aimed to propose ways to enhance the utilization of certain applications utilizing this technology in e-learning within educational institutions.

Environmental Content as a Part of Science-Oriented Sustainable Development Goals in Grades 6 and 7 of Slovenian Primary School: An Analysis of Science Textbooks

Slovenian science education in Grades 6 and 7 (11- and 12-year-old students) of primary school focuses on the integration of various science subjects. According to the current Slovenian science curriculum, environmental concepts, as a part of science-oriented sustainable development goals, are an integral part of the subject of science. In 2026, a new science curriculum will be introduced in the education system to provide students and teachers with competences for sustainable development. Consequently, the aim of this study is 1) to analyse old (valid prior to the 2010/2011 school year) and current 6th and 7th-grade Slovenian science curriculum for primary school from an environmental and sustainability perspective, and 2) to investigate textual and pictorial material of four 6th grade and four 7th grade textbooks available for students in the current school year (2023/24) of primary school, that relate to environmental content, as well as their overall structure. The analysis of the textbooks showed that all textbooks explain some environmental topics recommended by the national curriculum. The text is supported by pictorial elements that present phenomena with realistic pictures on the macrolevel. The present study suggests that some environmental content is present in 6th- and 7th-grade science textbooks that are consistent with the learning goals of the curriculum but that a significant amount of sustainability content is missing. For this reason, the curriculum reform currently underway in Slovenia should more clearly include the implementation and thoroughly consider the integration of science-oriented sustainable development goals into the science curriculum in Grades 6 and 7.

Sustainable Development Competencies in Design Education

…there is a gap between the complexity and scale of climate and sustainability challenges and the professional competencies currently taught in most design education programs.Designers are expected to have a key role in addressing looming problems like climate change and sustainability. Examining current curricula and finding gaps in competencies provides a starting point to ensuring that future designers have the skills necessary for the job.

ESD action competencies of future teachers: self-perception and competence profile analysis

Purpose This study aims to analyse the self-perception of future secondary school teachers (FTs) of biology about their education for sustainable development (ESD) competencies and evaluate the competence profile they develop in their educational proposals. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methodological approach was used to analyse 162 FTs’ ESD action competencies as proposed by UNECE. Firstly, a six-point Likert-type scale questionnaire is used to explore their self-perception of the level of acquisition of these competencies. Then, a rubric is applied to analyse the competence profile when designing educational proposals to address socio-environmental issues related to consumption and waste generation. Besides descriptive analysis, inferential statistics were used to assess the significance of the differences detected between the competencies. Findings FTs self-perceive a partial acquisition of ESD action competencies, in line with their competence profile. Where they recognise and show significant difficulties is in assessing learning outcomes in terms of changes and achievements. Similarly, their best perception and competence profile is achieved in the approach to contextualised situations in the students’ lives. There are also some discrepancies between their perception and their profile. In particular, FTs regard themselves as very competent in considering different dimensions and perspectives of the issues, but this is precisely where they reveal a lower competence profile. Originality/value This study applies a fully replicable rubric for the assessment of teachers’ ESD competencies when designing proposals to address socio-environmental issues. This assessment allows one to approach the sustainability competencies that they will promote in their classrooms.

Teaching with A Rounder Sense of Purpose: a survey study on education for sustainable development competences in Latin America

Through support and guidance in fostering competences in ESD, educators can help students to evolve into engaged citizens capable of addressing the current ecological crisis. However, in order to provide effective guidance, educators need to become proficient in sustainability. In this line, this study investigates (i) the depth of knowledge about sustainability (including teaching for sustainability), (ii) stances toward the Sustainable Development Goals, and (iii) competences that Latin American university educators perceive they possess. A survey was designed, including elements from previously validated instruments and using the competences framework A Rounder Sense of Purpose. It was answered by educators from Latin America (N = 197), mainly Colombia and Ecuador. Through a statistical analysis, ranks were developed, and further analyses were made. Although this research is based on the self-perception of respondents, findings suggest that educators have some knowledge about ESD. However, there is room for improvement, particularly in terms of action. Additionally, there are inconsistencies between the competences they aim to develop in their students and the ones they currently possess. Such an assessment had not been done specifically for the Latin American context, and the A Rounder Sense of Purpose framework of competences had yet to be explored with a large sample of educators. The results of this research will allow for the offering of a more adequate and pertinent capacity-building program for university educators.

Research on the Sustainable Development Competences of the Landscape Architect in Practice

The sustainable development of an environment in which people live, work, play sports and relax is among the priorities for the well-being of society. Landscape architecture and the product resulting from their work directly or indirectly influence the achievement of sustainable development goals such as: providing a healthy environment, communicating with nature, improving the well-being of people of all ages. Theirs is the role of creating a sustainable green infrastructure that will provide quality conditions for the realization of the human-nature relationship. Through the quality of the specialized work of the landscape architect, sustainable management of natural ecosystems and limitation of the consequences of climate change, especially in urbanized areas, is achieved. This article presents a study on the landscape architect’s competences in training and in practice to apply the principles of sustainable development, in the context of the subject of his specialized work. The methodology used is aimed at evaluating the acquired and demonstrated competences for sustainable development of the landscape architect.

Formation of sustainable development competencies in Ukrainian English for specific purposes students

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the formation of sustainable development competencies (SDCs) in future primary school teachers during English for specific purposes classes, and to assess the correlation between English proficiency and the development of SDCs, including Collaboration, Strategic thinking, Critical thinking, Modelling sustainable behaviour, Systems thinking and Future thinking.Design/methodology/approachThe research experiment involved the application of content and language integrated learning and facilitation methods in three higher education institutions in Ukraine. The students’ level of English language proficiency was assessed based on the results of the online Cambridge English Language Assessment test, while the level of SDC formation was measured using research methods adapted to the Ukrainian context.FindingsThe experiment revealed positive changes in the levels of SDCs and English language proficiency through integrated learning and the application of facilitation methods.Originality/valueThe study established a correlation between the level of English language proficiency and the formation of competencies, such as Collaboration, Strategic thinking, Critical thinking, Modelling sustainable behaviour, Systems thinking and Future thinking, all of which are vital for sustainable development.

Co-Creation in Contextual Competences for Sustainability: Teaching for Sustainability, Student Interaction and Extracurricular Engagement

Due to the need to achieve the sustainable development of society, the importance of sustainable development competences has reached unprecedented heights. This paper constructed an SEM model and considered the factors of contextual competence for sustainability from teaching, student interaction and extracurricular engagement, by conducting a questionnaire survey among 786 Chinese engineering undergraduates. The results indicated a significant and direct positive influence of teaching on contextual competences for sustainability. In addition, there is an indirect effect on contextual competence for sustainable development through student interaction and extracurricular engagement. An examination of the interlocking mediating effects of student inter-action and extracurricular engagement revealed that student interaction contributes to the development of students’ contextual competence for sustainable development through its positive influence on extracurricular engagement. This paper provides a reference for the cultivation of contextual competences for sustainability from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

Understanding and attitude toward upcycling according to the survey of students of various specialities

The attitude to upcycling technologies of undergraduate students of five specialities (design, clothing industry technology, vocational education and training, industrial pharmacy and psychology) and their teachers was investigated using the questionnaire method. Students’ pReferences practically do not depend on specialities. For all students, subgroups of upcycling enthusiasts and sceptics are observed which regularly resort to upcycling or almost do not use it. An almost complete misunderstanding and imperception of the benefits and importance of upcycling is a key and common problem. Social factors have a minimal influence on the opinion of respondents, which may indicate a lack of understanding in society of the role and importance of waste management. All the shortcomings and problems in understanding upcycling are common to students and teachers. In general, the positive attitude towards upcycling and the intention to use upcycling in life in the answers most likely has an unconscious and artificial character (like a fashion trend) because the attitude towards other formative factors does not support it. The identified problems are related to the shortcomings of secondary school and undergraduate curricula, which hinder the formation of the necessary competencies for sustainable development. Methods of their solution are proposed and discussed.

EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN GEOGRAPHY TEACHING ON THE BASIS OF COMPETENCE-BASED APPROACH

The article analyzes the possibilities of implementing a competency-based approach to education for sustainable development in the process of teaching geography. The authors summarize UNESCOʼs approach to the formulation of the objectives of education for sustainable development, which are the formation of key interdisciplinary competencies and special competencies. Among the key competencies are the following: systemic thinking; prognostic; regulatory; strategic and innovative; teamwork; critical thinking; self-awareness; and integrated problem solving. Special competencies take into account the specifics and context of each of the 17 global sustainable development goals and are divided into educational, cognitive, socio-emotional and behavioral components. A contextual analysis of geography programs in general secondary education has shown that school geography has the best conditions for incorporating sustainable development ideas into the educational process. The cross-cutting content area “Environmental Safety and Sustainable Development” in the primary school geography course focuses geography teachers mainly on the formation of knowledge about sustainable development, to a lesser extent on the formation of behavior adequate to the principles of sustainable development (behavioral and activity component), and in general, insufficient attention is paid to the emotional and value component. Sustainable development issues are most fully covered in the content of the 9th and 11th grade geography curricula, which complete the geographic education of students in primary and high school. The survey of geography teachers of the Poltava amalgamated territorial community showed a high level of understanding of the essence of education for sustainable development and its differences from environmental education, insufficient coverage in the content of school geography textbooks, the need to encourage geography teachers to receive professional training in the context of sustainable development and to increase their motivation to implement a school-wide approach to the implementation of education for sustainable development.
 Keywords: education; sustainable development; competence approach; teaching geography; environmental education; competence; components of education; special competences for sustainable development.

The challenge of education for sustainability in higher education: key themes and competences within the University of the Basque Country.

One of the major challenges for higher education institutions in the last decade has been (and will continue to be) the integration of sustainability into their curricula and the development of sustainability competences in students. Education for Sustainability (ES) can help prepare students to meet the challenges of making societies more sustainable. However, as a first step toward this goal, teachers need to incorporate ES into their teaching. In this regard, this research aimed to analyze if members of the teaching staff have started this integration and, if so, which sustainability-related topics have been introduced and which skills do they consider contribute to the development of future graduates. A questionnaire was administered to teaching staff at the University of the Basque Country in 2022. A total of 403 teachers completed the questionnaire, expressing their perceptions through open-ended questions. In general terms teachers incorporate ES into their teaching (71.22%). However, they do this mainly within the framework of two general themes: "Environmental awareness and energy" - most used by teachers of experimental sciences and engineering - and "Social commitment," most used by teachers of social sciences and those who are familiar with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Regarding the key competences that ES provides for future graduates, those most frequently mentioned were "training of professionals committed to society" and "critical thinking and ethics." These competences were particularly notable in the discourse of teachers who were aware of the 2030 Agenda and who use active methodologies in their classrooms. Finally, the opinion that sustainability has little to do with their teaching (28.78%) was notably expressed by teachers less familiar with the 2030 Agenda. Thus, it can be concluded that, aside from knowledge of the 2030 Agenda, factors such as the sustainability policy of the institution, area of teaching expertise, and the use of active methodologies all play a significant role in determining whether competences for sustainable development are integrated into higher education teaching.

Inner transitions in higher education in Sweden: incorporating intra-personal skills in education for sustainable development

PurposeHumanity is facing an unprecedented challenge of climate crises. Rapid changes to the physical environment and living conditions will be accompanied by challenges to mental health and well-being. Consequently, education for sustainable development should also include coping strategies for stress and anxiety. Adding intra-personal skills to the curriculum, such as self-reflection and mindfulness training, could aid in this education. This case study aims to explore the barriers to and drivers for fostering inner transitions through intra-personal skills training and mindfulness.Design/methodology/approachThis case study from Lund University, Sweden, constitutes a critical case for investigating inner transitions in education. Data collection was designed around semi-structured qualitative interviews, to investigate the barriers to and drivers for intra-personal skills and mindfulness in education for sustainable development at all institutional levels of the university.FindingsThe results indicate that education for sustainable development already includes elements of introspection, albeit informally. However, there is a lack in a fundamental understanding of intra-personal skills and how they relate to other key competences for sustainable development. To make intra-personal skills training a formal component of the education, it must receive the full support from all levels of the university.Originality/valueThe study outlines general recommendations for universities to challenge existing policies while also finding ways to work around them. In the meantime, universities should make intra-personal skills training an informal learning activity. Recognizing that the students’ prior knowledge in this area is a potential asset, universities should collaborate with their students to support student-led intra-personal skills training.

What’s the matter in education for sustainable development? How sustainability stories make matter matter as issues or problems

This study engages with how sustainability stories can assign meaning to sustainability matter in different ways. The study contributes to discussions on how to combine facts, norms, and the democratic action competence in pluralistic approaches in Environmental and Sustainability Education. A special focus is put on how co-created sustainability stories can be used to provide, explore, and expand shared experiences of sustainability. The analysis engages with how content is defined and made relevant through stories, how they represent matter as pre-defined problems and solutions or as an invitation to exploration and reinterpretation, and how competences for sustainable development are made visible through the characters. The method used is a holistic narrative content analysis of 21 sustainability stories, co-created by pre-school teachers and their children. Three selected stories exemplify the results and show how some stories manage to move back and forth between on the one hand assembling sustainability matter as concrete problems to be solved, and on the other hand as open-ended issues promoting critical reflection. The main conclusion is that these, promising but yet uncommon, stories best represent pluralistic perspectives, creativity, and democratic action competence.

Do Students Reflect on Sustainability? Student Development of Competencies for Sustainability in Project-Based Learning

Higher education plays a crucial role in supporting a society based on sustainable development through the facilitation of students’ acquisition of competencies for sustainable development. A suitable arena in which to integrate these competencies can be courses built on project-based learning, though knowing how to support the students’ learning can be difficult and a continued challenge. In this work, we study first and second year bachelor level PBL courses and examine the effect of choosing a project theme related to sustainability. Specifically, we look at the students’ own assessment of integration of sustainability aspects in their projects, and their development of the normative competency, critical thinking competency, and self-awareness competency fromUNESCO’s key competencies for sustainability, as a function of project theme. Through a survey, where students were asked to assess themselves and their own projects on a seven-point Likert scale, we found that while having sustainability-related project themes does have some effect, the effect is limited compared to the development of other competencies in the course. Along with how the project theme affects the development of the investigated competencies, the need for targeted support in order to facilitate the students’ development of sustainability related competencies is discussed.

Integration of education for sustainable development in higher education institution: problems and perspectives

The article examines the problem of implementation of education for sustainable development (ESD) at higher education institution (HEI). The research reveals the role of universities in promotion of the principles of sustainable development in the dimension of the Ukrainian education. Emphasis is placed on the preparation of future teachers for the implementation of ESD tasks in their professional activities. It has been established that a modern teacher should master the best skills how to put into practice the sustainable development goals (SDGs), be able to form the sustainable development competencies (SDCs) in students, develop individual and collective responsibility for the sustainable development of society, etc. The issues of the integration of ESD in higher educational institutions at the present stage of the development of higher education have been studied, in particular: the inconsistency of the content of curriculums for the training of future teachers and the current needs of society, the difficulty of providing application of an interdisciplinary approach in the training of students of pedagogical HEIs, the unpreparedness or lack of motivation of teachers to include the SDGs in their teaching, insufficient educational and methodological support, lack of clear criteria for evaluation of students’ learning outcomes and their readiness to perform professional tasks in favour of sustainable development of society, etc. It has been established that overcoming these barriers lies in the area of transformation of the educational environment of HEIs, reorientation of professional education toward preparation of future specialists to the professional activity according to the principles of sustainable development. Significant changes are required in academic and professional curriculums for training future teachers and in the content of pedagogy and training methods for students of pedagogical HEIs, ensuring the availability of teaching aids, manuals and tutorials aimed at ESD. Also the basic set of SDCs should be established for future teachers to achieve sustainable development of society within the framework of their professional responsibility, and the respective indicators should be identified to monitor and evaluate the progress achieved.

Training Technologies as a Means of Forming Sustainable Development Competencies in Future Primary School Teachers

The article deals with the role of training technologies in teaching higher education students of the educational and professional program "Primary Education" for sustainable development. The research is dedicated to the meaning of the term "training technologies", analyses approaches to the definition of the studied concept. In accordance with the content of the sustainable development concept, it were identified trainings in environmental, economic and social areas and it was developed the training programme called "Challenges of Sustainable Development: Learning Sustainability". The main goal of the proposed trainings is to form in future primary school teachers' knowledge, practical skills and abilities of sustainable development, to develop their ability to make decisions in the interests of sustainable development and to be aware of their own responsibility for its achievement, to increase positive attitude to the role of teachers in achieving sustainable development of society, etc. The focus is made on the methods that are directly related to the formation of sustainable development competences of applicants for higher education. The focus is made on the methods that are directly related to the formation of sustainable development competences in applicants for higher education. It is proposed exercises and tasks for the future primary school teachers’ development systemic and critical thinking skills, self-reliance, collective interaction, professional skills, etc. The author’s training programme was tested during the study of the elective course "Education for Sustainable Development in Primary School". An experimental study was conducted with applicants for higher pedagogical education (students of Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University) with the aim to study its impact on the improvement of sustainable development competences of future primary school teachers. Using the author’s methodology, the levels of key competences of sustainable development (systemic and prognostic thinking, cooperation, critical thinking, modelling sustainable behaviour) are determined before and after the experiment. After implementation the training programme, an increase in future teachers’ the level of development of the studied qualities was revealed. It is proved the positive impact of training technologies on the respondents’ development of sustainable development competencies.

Activity-Based Assessment for Sustainable development in Transforming Engineering Education

Sustainable Development (SD) competencies are an important area in engineering education. Engineers play a major role in working and adapting the latest technology sustainably. Undergraduate students who the future individuals are taking the engineering education towards the development of a modern sustainable world must exhibit certain objectives. The implementations of two of the objectives are being highlighted in this paper. The first is to make the students undergo self and sustainable learning through illustrations and activities which results in the enhancement of knowledge there by improvising the competence levels in acquiring skills and knowledge. The second objective is to reduce the burden of stress by integrating learning with real-time human values through the approach of right thinking, peaceful thoughts, and emotional balance. Applying the activity-based assessment through the course called Universal Human Values is considered which further makes the students learning more joyful through presentation sand interactions in a group which results in enhancing communication skills and finally submitting the report. A very important outcome of a student-centric system is a continuous internal evaluation of student performance. Compared with the last two decades, the internal assessment was based only on class tests which resulted in a lack of a teaching-learning process. In this paper, the continuous assessment through activities-based self-learning is presented with the documented results considering the case study. Exploring the social values at the macro-level and paying attention to the overall development of human values. Finally, the analysis shows the transformation of learning from a teacher-centric to a student-centric method. This helps in improving overall academic performance. Keywords—Activity based Assessment (ABA); Engineering Education; Human Values; Higher Education; Sustainable Development (SD), Universal Human Values, (UHV)

The attitude of future ecologists to the formation of soft skills in the context of achieving sustainable development goals

Ecological specialists have an important role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. To do this, they need not only professional, field-specific (hard), skills but also universal, meta-subject soft skills. The article presents the results of a survey study of the attitude of students, future ecologists (229 respondents), to the formation of soft skills in the educational process. The data obtained are generally consistent with the well-known models of flexible skills (in particular, “4Cs”), as well as with the core competencies for sustainable development proposed by UNESCO. It seems appropriate to intensify the actions of the academic community (university and college administration, teachers, tutors, authors of textbooks, etc.) aimed not only at the development of students' environmental self-awareness, but also at the practical development of their abilities necessary for systematic, critical and creative, individual and team identification, solution and prevention of environmental problems of various scale and level in conditions of uncertainty.

Formation of sustainable development competencies in the training of specialists in the field of physical culture and sports

Formation of sustainable development competencies in the training of specialists in the field of physical culture and sports

Sustainable Development Competencies among More than 1100 Certified Physical Education and Health Teachers in Sweden

School physical education and health (PEH) may not only be an important cornerstone to the holistic development of students but may also contribute to the sustainable development (SD) agenda. Although PEH may have unique characteristics that can contribute to the SD agenda, most research to date has been theoretical. The overall aim of this study was to explore the sustainable development competencies among physical education and health (PEH) teachers in Sweden. An online questionnaire was used to collect data about background and SD competencies. SD competencies was collected through the use of the Physical Education Scale for Sustainable Development in Future Teachers (PESD-FT). Of the 1153 participants, 31% reported being males, and 48% of the participants reported teaching PEH when completing the questionnaire. The median SD competencies score for all the participants was 105 (range: 18-144) out of 144. Virtually no differences were observed across the groups of participants. A stronger correlation was observed between SD competencies vs. long-time interests in health and health issues (rs = 0.343) than for long experience of participating in organized sports (rs = 0.173). In the total sample, 26% reported having taught about SD in PEH, such as using outdoor education, interdisciplinary projects, picking, and sorting waste, as well as paying attention to material issues. Among those who reported teaching PEH when completing the questionnaire, 70% perceived that they are in great need of professional development education in the area of SD. In conclusion, SD competencies were higher for the PESD-FT items that concerned the social dimension of SD compared to the economic and environmental dimensions. Relatively few teachers had taught about SD in PEH, and the majority perceive that they are in great need of professional development education in the area of SD. Future studies are required to understand more of what types of competencies practicing PEH teachers, and PEH teacher education programs, are lacking to fulfil the call for a contribution to the SD agenda.