Introduction to the Four Dimensions of Sustainable Development

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has defined Education for Sustainable Development: ‘Education for sustainable development develops and strengthens the capacity of individuals, groups, communities, organizations, and countries to make judgments and choices in favour of sustainable development. It can promote a shift in people’s mindsets and in so doing enable them to make our world safer, healthier, and more prosperous, thereby improving the quality of life. ...

General Competencies for Sustainable Development Education

Competencies for Sustainable Development are defined like the interlinked set of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that enable effective, embodied action in the world with respect to real-world sustainability problems, challenges, and opportunities, according to the context (cf. Wiek et al., 2011; UNESCO, 2017; Bianchi, 2022). It underlines the idea that education is a way to equip teachers and students with the necessary set of competencies throughout their lives to enact sustainable dev ...

Knowledge, Systems and Strategies, Emotions, Ethics, Values, and Action for Sustainable Development

Sustainability issues are intricate because social, economic, and ecological aspects are strongly interwoven. Simple predictions based on linear causal relationships are therefore very rare. Five competences that support deeper learning have been identified. The competences in ESD described by UNECE are those of educators and not of learners, although both are intricately related. They go beyond the competences that individual educators would have to provide a good quality education in their dis ...

Problem-Based Learning, Active Learning, Active Didactic and Cooperative Learning

Active Learning involves students directly and engages them actively in the learning process itself. Therefore, as opposed to the traditional teaching/learning system, when using active didactic methodologies and strategies students show a higher interest and motivation, and they become more involved in the teaching/learning process. Besides, enables developing higher level thinking skills as well as a plethora of competencies, such as key competences for sustainability. Therefore, in the framew ...

Planning Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Interventions

Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary educational approaches and interventions are essential in the field of education for sustainability since real world problems rarely are confined to the artificial fragmentation of academic disciplines. In fact, global problems have increased in complexity and connectivity, especially those with environmental basis (water crisis, climate change, loss of biodiversity, energy demand, population growth, etc.) which forces to focus them as complex, inseparable ...