Mar 2026· Journal of Education for Sustainable Development· Vol 20, pp. 24 - 41· 0 citations· 53 references
Abstract
Whole-institution approaches (WIA) have become a promising instrument promoting holistic implementation of sustainability in the global discourse on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Yet, the literature often presents idealized models of the ‘sustainable institution’ that may be difficult for institutions to translate into practice. This article reviews the literature on whole-school and WIA to sustainability learnings and practices across all levels of education in order to identify recurring elements that support institutional transformation. The literature review was conducted in 2024–2025 to inform the development of a UNESCO guidance tool on the WIA. The review identifies 14 components that frequently appear as areas of action within WIAs, including leadership, curriculum, pedagogy, governance, institutional culture and community engagement. The article conceptualizes these elements as flexible ‘building blocks’ that institutions can pick and choose to design their version of the WIA, according to the institutional and local context. This component-based perspective moves away from the understanding of the WIA as an ideal state of an institution and aims to support new forms of engagement with the WIA, inform policy dialogues and contribute to further research and institutional practice on sustainability transformation in education systems.
This article critically examines Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) within teacher education, considering its alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals. Adopting a theoretical-critical approach, this study is based on a critical narrative review of national and international publications from 2015 to 2024, combined with thematic analysis. Forty-two works were selected from databases including Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal interrelated gaps across multiple dimensions that hinder the effective implementation of ESD. Conceptually, an anthropocentric and economistic bias predominates, accompanied by a lack of epistemological reflection on alternative frameworks such as planetary health. In the pedagogical dimension, behaviorist approaches emphasize individual actions without critically addressing socioeconomic structures, thereby weakening interdisciplinarity. Institutionally, resistance persists toward breaking with rigid disciplinary curricula, alongside insufficient support for transdisciplinary practices. Politically, the study identifies a disconnect between Brazil’s National Common Curricular Base (Base Nacional Comum Curricular — BNCC) and the effective integration of environmental themes, as well as the hegemony of a competency-based neoliberal logic that depoliticizes education. These gaps are particularly evident in teacher education, which lacks robust curricular components and adequate professional development opportunities. Critical environmental education emerges as a transformative perspective by fostering ecological awareness and socio-environmental justice. The study concludes that overcoming these challenges requires strengthening critical, interdisciplinary, and territorially contextualized training practices that integrate scientific, social, and ethical-political knowledge, thereby preparing educators to transform the structures that perpetuate the socio-environmental crisis.
J. Gomes-Figueiredo, Janete do Rosário Amaro Crisanto· Revista Brasileira de Ciênci...· 0 citations
This study presents a Systematic Literature Review of peer-reviewed research published between 2019 and 2025, guided by PRISMA 2020 standards and employing Gioia, Corley and Hamilton (2013)'s thematic analysis framework.
Mostafa Hamadi, Umera Imtinan, Florence Mwagwabi et al.· ACM Transactions on Computin...· 0 citations
This paper develops a sustainability-by-design framework for school–university partnerships (SUPs) based on the case of the Teaching Clinic (TC), a research-based service-learning (RBSL) SUP. We use the TC's history of scaling and forking to reflect on the framework's sustainability. We argue that sustainability is best understood as a partnership's capacity for adaptive resilience: the ability to remain functional, equitable and generative under changing conditions, rather than merely persisting over time or securing ongoing funding.
We present a conceptual synthesis of the TC's design architecture, collaboration routines and documented implementation lessons across several countries and educational systems from 2019 to 2026. We treat the TC as a modular boundary-spanning infrastructure comprising roles, routines and boundary objects that reduce transaction costs and support continuity beyond individual actors. We position the TC within the broader landscape of research–practice partnerships, professional development schools and existing sustainability frameworks, drawing on comparative design knowledge generated through multiple adaptation and scaling waves of the TC.
We propose (i) six TC building blocks that should remain invariant when scaling, (ii) an “interface” logic that specifies which elements can be adapted without diluting the partnership mechanism and (iii) a six-lever sustainability-by-design framework (reciprocal value, support in-frastructure, governance and role clarity, adaptive modularity, recruitment pipeline and trust and legitimacy) that supports partnership durability and transferability. We discuss equity mechanisms embedded in the model's design and identify persistent limitations, including facilitator dependency and quality variation across projects.
The paper contributes an actionable, leader-facing framework for scaling SUP models internationally without losing conceptual coherence. It advances comparative insight by distinguishing between what must remain stable and what can be localised, offers a definition of sustainability centred on adaptive resilience rather than funding or longevity alone, and critically examines the TC's limitations alongside its affordances.
D. Froehlich, Julia Raberger· School-University Partnershi...· 0 citations
An open-access course that teaches the foundations of advocacy and organisational change to researchers, research software engineers, and research technical professionals, structured around the UNICEF five-step advocacy cycle.
K. Pringle, Lorna Smith, Erinma Ochu et al.· 0 citations
Kenya’s introduction of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) in 2017, renamed Competency-Based
Education (CBE) in 2024, marks a significant reform of the country’s basic education system. The reform
replaced the 8-4-4 structure with a 2-6-6-3 model designed to promote competency development, values
formation, and learner-centered teaching. Nearly a decade into implementation, a growing body of research
has examined the reform across diverse educational contexts; however, findings remain dispersed across
empirical studies, policy documents, government reports, and graduate theses. Using PRISMA-informed
review procedures and thematic synthesis, 198 records were identified and screened, yielding 62 sources
for analysis. The review draws on Fullan’s theory of educational change, Tikly and Barrett’s framework for
quality education in the Global South, and the capability approach of Sen and Nussbaum. Six recurring
implementation challenges were identified: teacher preparedness and pedagogical capacity; infrastructure,
instructional resources, and digital access; assessment design and integrity; parental engagement and
household economic burden; equity and inclusion for learners in marginalized settings; and governance and
policy coherence in the transition to Junior Secondary School. Evidence from Tanzania and Rwanda indicates
that many of these challenges extend beyond Kenya and reflect broader constraints associated with
competency-based reforms in East Africa. The findings suggest that the long-term success of CBE will depend
on sustained investment in teacher development, equitable resource allocation, credible assessment
systems, and meaningful stakeholder engagement. The review contributes to the literature by synthesizing
current knowledge of CBC/CBE implementation in Kenya and identifying areas requiring further research,
policy attention, and leadership support.
Kennedy O. Ongaga· Journal of Education and Hum...· 0 citations
ABSTRACT Teacher education policies have undergone revolutionary changes in response to rapid global transformations in recent years. The present study examined the integration of sustainable development into teacher education using bibliometric indicators. Using VOSviewer, we analysed around 1,300 academic journals to capture research trends and knowledge structures. The findings show that Teacher Education for Sustainable Development (TESD) research has expanded across several interconnected areas, with a large share of publications and citations associated with the United States, Spain, and Australia. The keyword and citation patterns suggest that the field is not organised around one single focus. Rather, it brings together several recurring concerns, including teacher competencies, curriculum implementation, policy and institutional support, interdisciplinary learning, global citizenship, and social justice. These patterns indicate that TESD has moved beyond environmental education alone and is increasingly discussed as part of teachers’ professional learning, curriculum design, and broader educational reform. However, the findings also suggest that TESD remains unevenly developed across contexts. More research is needed to examine how teacher education programmes translate education for sustainable development commitments into concrete courses, pedagogies, and assessment practices, particularly in relation to human well-being, equality, and local cultural contexts.
Yunjung Ku, Chuan‐Chung Hsieh· Asia-Pacific Journal of Teac...· 0 citations