Target 4.7 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals can provide an opportunity for a more transformative approach to education. To consider this requires a new approach to learning that moves beyond subjects and disciplines to recognise intersectionality as being central to providing a radical rethinking of the purpose of education.…

Self-regulation in the governance of higher education systems is often assumed to improve institutional performance, accountability, and responsiveness. Although studies of higher education governance have addressed the extent of self-regulation across national systems, there has been less investigation of the links between self-regulation and…

In this paper, drawing on an extensive research project across three countries (VET Africa 4.0 Collective 2023), we produce an emerging argument that it is necessary to rethink and reframe VET logics and approaches in a warming future dominated by informality and mass unemployment. Currently, neither the formal VET college or workplace are…

This report describes and reflects upon an approach to embedding psychological literacy within the core Research Methods curriculum in a small university in the United Kingdom. Psychology students were involved in the 'Living Lab: Feeding the Campus' project, an interdisciplinary network of students and staff aiming to find solutions for local…

Purpose: Considering the relevance of education for sustainable development (SD) to enhancing engineers' abilities to contribute towards sustainability-related issues, this study aims to help understand the global context of the insertion of SD into engineering education and to provide guidelines to further evolve research and efforts towards…

This paper offers a rationale for how ESD related learning at postgraduate level can be assessed. It proposes a framework for evaluating whether assessments in Master's level programmes align with the pedagogical approach of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). If assessment is to contribute to the overall learning process, then the nature…

This paper explores one key aspect of marketisation in English universities, the quality-related research funding (QR) system, which central government in the United Kingdom uses to allocate funds to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), based on a system of reviewing and rating the 'quality' of research at different HEIs. Specifically, it focuses…

The climate and ecological emergency is not new. For decades, universities have been at the forefront of efforts to combat climate change and embed sustainability in all areas of life across the UK. But the need for change is now more urgent than ever, and universities are playing their part. Universities are vital in tackling climate change. They…

The concept of education for sustainable development (ESD) has emerged as one of the important educational themes in the past two decades. Advocates of ESD believe that ESD can lead to socio-economic and environmental justice. However, there is lack of research on the influence of teacher education programme on student teachers' conceptions of ESD…

This report has been produced by Douglas Bourn, Director of Development Education Research Centre at UCL and Jenny Hatley from Bath Spa University, on behalf of the Our Shared World Coalition of organisations. The focus of Our Shared World is to lobby UK government and other policymakers on why Target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals…

This study focused on people in Dorset and Somerset with low qualifications, meaning those with at most a lower secondary qualification who experience a high risk of poverty and social exclusion, and explored green job opportunities that exist for them, including those that would require reskilling (training to obtain different skills) or…

As schools seek to implement frameworks of education for sustainable development it is inevitable that they will encounter contradictions between their own aspirations and external demands. To analyse these contradictions through the lens of teachers-in-context, this research uses Cultural-historical Activity Theory that views schools as activity…

This paper considers an Action Research project which was implemented to establish a shared understanding of the term 'Education for Sustainable development' within the context of an Early Childhood Studies degree. Students engaged in projects with children and local early years' providers, and the research aligns with previous work undertaken by…

This article contends that in England, where the status of science as a core subject has been weakened due to a focus on high-stakes accountability testing, a global learning approach reignites science as a subject that can nurture active global citizens. It argues that teacher knowledge and teachers' personal and professional commitment to global…

It is widely recognized that education plays a key role in addressing current global challenges. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) combines local actions with global thinking. In Virtual School Garden Exchanges (VSGEs) primary and secondary students from the Global South and North interact and communicate digitally about their school…