The Press as a Resource for Promoting Sustainability Competencies in Teacher Training: The Case of SDG 7

Given the seriousness of the socio-environmental situation we are facing, this study aims to contribute to the involvement of teachers in education for sustainability through the use of non-formal education, particularly the press. The main objectives of the present study are to analyse the use of the press in science education, as well as the design, implementation and evaluation of tools aimed at teachers and trainee researchers in order to encourage and promote attention to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and more specifically SDG 7 (clean and affordable energy for all) in science education. The proposals are carried out using a constructivist methodology in sessions structured in small collaborative groups. The initial results show that attention to the press is still insufficient, but that, nevertheless, the strategies designed contribute to raising awareness of the importance of SDG 7 and to the classroom treatment of the energy issue among the participants in the study who attend a Master’s degree program in secondary education teacher training (specialising in physics and chemistry) and a Master’s degree program in research in specific didactics (specialising in experimental sciences).

Sustainability Recommendations and Practices in School Feeding: A Systematic Review

Considering the importance of schools for sustainable food offers and the formation of conscientious citizens on sustainability, this systematic review aimed to verify the recommendations on sustainability in school feeding policies and the sustainability practices adopted in schools. The research question that guided this study is “what are the recommendations on sustainability in school feeding policies and the sustainability practices adopted in schools?”. This systematic review was prepared according to PRISMA, and its checklist was registered in PROSPERO. Specific search strategies for Scopus, Web of Science, Pubmed, Lilacs, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global were developed. The included studies’ methodological quality was evaluated using the Meta-Analysis Statistical Assessment and Review Instrument (MASTARI). A total of 134 studies were selected for a full reading. Of these, 50 met the eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. Several sustainability practices were described. The most cited are school gardens and education activities for sustainability. However, actions carried out in food services were also mentioned, from the planning of menus and the purchase of raw materials (mainly local and organic foods, vegetarian/vegan menus) to the distribution of meals (reduction of organic and inorganic waste: composting, recycling, donating food, and portion sizes). Recommendations for purchasing sustainable food (organic, local, and seasonal), nutrition education focused on sustainability, and reducing food waste were frequent; this reinforces the need to stimulate managers’ view, in their most varied spheres, for the priority that should be given to this theme, so that education for sustainability is universally part of the curricula. The importance of education in enabling individuals to promote sustainable development is reaffirmed in Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). The development of assessment instruments can help monitor the evolution of sustainable strategies at schools and the main barriers and potentialities related to their implementation.

Active Methodologies in Education for Sustainability and Development of Action Skills

This chapter revolves around the value and relevance of the use of active methodologies in education for sustainability, focusing especially on non-university levels of education. It begins with a conceptualization of active methodologies and exposes what are the most used, recognized, and best valued active methodological tools among teachers. It also reviews the origins of these methodological tools, their evolution, their potentialities and limitations, and the demands that arise in the educational context in view of the need to find a solution from the educational spheres to environmental problems. This chapter analyzes the actual use made of these methodologies in educational centers and finds a justification in the advances that neuroeducation and constructivism have contributed to the educational field in recent decades.

“La Voz del Rehén”

In this chapter, the authors describe the characteristics of an interdisciplinary programme based on the SDGs called “La Voz del Rehén” [The Voice of the Hostage]. This programme aims to develop the transversal competence of creativity in teacher training at the Faculty of Education of the University of Zaragoza (Spain). It is a consequence of the imminent collective transformation that must modify the university education system, which cannot be oblivious to the education for sustainability and change agendas foreseen worldwide. Therefore, this type of innovative methodological initiative aims to stimulate learning processes from collective involvement, which moves the apogee of the ego to second place, promoting a relational and extended existence.

Research Study on Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development in Mongolia

There is scientific consensus that Mongolia is already facing the negative consequences of climate change. Raising public awareness and increasing education initiatives is one of the most important ways to adapt and mitigate climate change. The paper consists of two main sections. The first section reviewed the policies and provisions in support developing climate change education for sustainable development and analyzed the level of teachers' knowledge of climate change education for sustainable development and determined the needs for teacher training. The second part assessed the coverage level of climate change education for sustainability in national educational standards, curricula and textbooks in Mongolia. To evaluate the coverage level, the team defined the concepts and coverage of Climate change education (CCE), Disaster risk reduction (DRR) and Education for sustainable development (ESD) and developed the indicators to analyze CCE/DRR/ESD content coverage on the curricula and textbooks.

Student Sustainability Disposition: Where Are Students’ Levels?

<p class="Abstrakabstract">Education for sustainability development (ESD) is a way to realize that every individual lives interdependently with each other and their environment. Research has been conducted with survey methods to reveal the level of students’ disposition/attitude to sustainable living, being a basis for the development of appropriate learning. The research sample was 95 students at SMPN Garut. The data in this study is primary data, which is obtained directly from the research subject. The research was conducted by delivering questionnaires to students consisting of 51 closed question items. The results of the study obtained the average of student disposition score from several ESD themes, namely the environment, waste, water, energy, natural disasters, and health respectively is 2.99, 3.15, 3.24, 3.11, 3.08 and 3.33. The average of these all themes is 3.15. Based on this study, the results were obtained that students' sustainability disposition/attitude are at a high level. The positive response given by students shows the attitude of students who support the efforts to realize sustainable development. In this case, there is no guarantee if someone who have good sustainability disposition will have good sustainability practice. Sustainable disposition/attitude must be supported by sustainable behaviors and practices so that sustainable living goals can be achieved. The last, Indonesia government can make the policy and guidelines related to how to do effective sustainability education in Indonesia to support sustainability awareness of students and society.</p>

Walking the Walk: Democratizing Change in Teacher Education

In this essay, as a group of teacher educators, we discuss our experience of “walking the walk” of teacher education transformation at a time of urgent change. We reflect upon our process of integrating three key priorities in our preservice teacher education courses: education for sustainability; trauma-informed practice; and Indigenizing curriculum. Specifically, we reflect on how these processes were adapted according to the needs of individual courses and units, while at the same time making space for our strengths and our “unlearnings” as academics, and for the ethical considerations that troubled us. In this essay, we explore walking the walk of change and integrating social, environmental, and cultural justice principles in our work together toward equipping and enabling new teachers to be themselves agents of change.

Study of STEM for Sustainability in Design Education: Framework for Student Learning and Outcomes with Design for a Disaster Project

STEM has successfully introduced an interdisciplinary education model that can be used for training students to develop skillsets for the 21st century. STEM Education for Sustainability (STEM4S) expands the scope of education to meet rapidly changing global challenges, such as climate change and SDGs by the United Nations, which require the multidisciplinary curriculum to be integrated into STEM. Design-based tasks play a significant role in STEM education by promoting students’ critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. While STEM successfully employs design, design education currently conducts subjective procedures and lacks the framework for adopting the critical-thinking process. Therefore, design education can develop students’ cognitive skills by reflecting on STEM learning experiences. This study articulates the framework for design education by investigating problem-based and project-based learning and the double-diamond diagram for innovation. The goal of this study was to apply these observations and formulate the framework for STEM4S. This study examined the framework adopted at the National Taiwan Normal University in the Department of Design, with qualitative analysis of participants and quantitative analysis of questionnaire results. Finally, the researchers discuss the research questions and future applications of this framework.

Human–nature relationships in early childhood education for sustainability: Metaphysical analysis and reshaping

Popular instructional approaches in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability (ECEfS) are co-construction learning, transformative learning and ecological learning. These rely on constructivism that could challenge human–nature relationships of ECEfS. In this study, we aim to discover and reshape human–nature relationships embedded in the approaches. To do so, we deconstruct the approaches through a metaphysical analysis with ontology, epistemology and axiology. As a result, we confirm that they are likely to view humans and nature as two separate entities. For sustainability, we distinguish an ontological view (‘N’ature) and an epistemological view (‘n’ature) and justify the distinction based on posthumanists’ concepts of non-humans and more-than-humans. We present a metaphysically reshaped human–nature relationship and argue that this new model enables teachers to critically review ‘human-made/observed natures’ and participate in the reconciliation between ‘N’ature and humanity. We also apply the model into a waste-recycle activity to clarify its potential practicality.