Purpose: This study aims to diagnose the perception, knowledge, awareness and position of the bioeconomy in university education and research. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on a questionnaire survey conducted at universities in Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal (n = 464). The questionnaire consisted of open-ended,…

Critical thinking as a concept, has a rich history and is central to much of the debate within international educational research and increasingly within environmental and sustainability education (ESE). Currently, it is gaining a foothold in the curriculum and in practice in Nordic countries. However, to date, there has been no proper account of…

A comprehensive chemistry laboratory experiment, including the synthesis of Pt/Al[subscript 2]O[subscript 3] catalysts at different conditions, structure characterization, and the real-world application exploration, has been designed for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students as an expansion and improvement of the professional…

There is an urgent need for global citizens to develop sustainable development competencies (SDCs) if our world is to survive threats to its development and sustainability. These competencies can be developed through education for sustainable development (ESD). However, implementing ESD is challenged by teachers' and students' prioritisation of…

This book shares real-life case studies taken from GreenSCENT, a three-year EU-funded project that promotes sustainability through the development of digital platforms and tools, green education programme, and climate and environmental literacy certification. To date there has been little work published on the application of the European Green…

Purpose: Because food waste is a serious problem today, society is currently aiming for more responsible consumption to minimize it, as defined in the 12th goal of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This study aims to examine whether an informative initiative can help to raise university students' awareness of food waste…

Despite its roots in environmental discussions, sustainability has become a critical term influencing every aspect of organisations. As human-oriented institutions, universities have also embraced the 'sustainable development' concept on the quality of their internal and external services. Two overarching questions are most important for…

Sustainable development as a subject area and learning objective increasingly finds its way into the curriculum from pre-school to university level, and education and learning are emphasized as key drivers for sustainable development. At the same time, the sustainable development discourse has since its inception been met with critique, not least…

Purpose: This study aims to build a model for the analysis of the environmental behavior of university students. Design/methodology/approach: A partial least square method was adopted, and a questionnaire on intelligence, knowledge, attitude and environmental behavior was performed on 480 Spanish university students. Findings: The results indicate…

Japan is facing a problem of depopulation of rural and island communities. This research focuses on the island of Nakanoshima (Ama-cho), which has dramatically declined in population in the past 70 years. In 2007, the High School faced the threat of closure due to declining numbers, and were it to close would have further hastened the decline of…

University teachers funded to engage in educational development projects have been found to become increasingly engaged in the scholarship of teaching and learning. However, research also points to obstacles such as departmental culture, lack of support from management, and unhelpful administrative processes. In this study, I interview university…

Purpose: This viewpoint paper addresses the use of sustainability frameworks in embedding education for sustainability into the curriculum of higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose of this paper is to explore the paradox that sustainability frameworks must facilitate transformation of existing structures whilst also being well-enough…

Purpose: With the increasing demand for sustainable developments, higher education should focus on teaching both sustainable buildings and infrastructure systems. This study aims to investigate the existing sustainable infrastructure (SI) teaching efforts in sustainability courses; identify best practices to integrate SI throughout bachelor's and…

Despite general agreement that a 21st-century learning society must also be a literate society, there is still a long way to go to achieve a broad consensus on how to achieve this within an explicit lifelong learning vision. The Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII -- June 2022) is an excellent opportunity to rethink…

In recent years we have seen increasing youth activism on climate and other sustainability issues. This paper presents a theoretical framework for further research on young sustainability activists as public educators. The point of departure is taken in Latour's argumentation concerning the need to create new attachments to the Earth. In line with…