This volume focuses on the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), education, to look at sustainability from various angles with the purpose of challenging preconceptions about what sustainable education might entail and how it should be conducted. To this end, the book assembles scholars from various research fields and disciplines, who are willing to be at the cutting edge regarding sustainability and education on all levels with students in the ages of 6-15. Through this approach, the text points towards a “wild pedagogy” in line with post-sustainable thinking. This involves agency and the role of nature itself as a co-educator, and promotes cultural changes, and explorative processes of finding “the wild” – the unknown, and complexity in nature – and thus of challenging the human need for control. This approach is also, in line with the 2030 Agenda, an attempt to move from advocating predetermined behavioural change to embracing a pluralistic perspective on sustainability, based on holistic views on education. Such views include curiosity, wonderment, compassion and agency as guiding lights. The book is structured into three sections, based on three interrelated strands. These strands are, in various ways, dependent on one another and further engaged with bringing education theory and practice together. These strands are 1) Belonging and sensing, 2) Critical thinking, social justice and action competence, and 3) Creating hope in a vanishing world. These strands aim to increase our access to and understanding of the ways in which sustainability can be integrated into education and why. The purpose of the text is to encourage educators of all kinds and levels, as well as scholars in different fields, to explore new perspectives on education for sustainable development. The book examines probes in diverse academic fields and focuses on how to combine different approaches and content, and therefore everyone interested in interdisciplinary and cross-curricular teaching and learning should find this work enlightening.

This volume highlights key moments and movements in this "competence turn" in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and explores the different ways in which competences have been conceptualized and implemented. By marshaling a dialogue between chapters and sections, the book provides a coherent whole that will become a key source on ESD competences. The contributors develop a conceptual map against which to chart existing (and future) ESD competence frameworks, offer new critical case studies that explore the implementation of educator competences in ESD at different structural levels in different European contexts, explore the link between pedagogy and educator competence through hitherto unpublished case studies based on current practices across Europe, and consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ESD and educator competence. The book comprises 23 chapters divided into four sections, with an introduction and concluding chapter. Section One introduces concepts and models related to ESD competences, while the following two sections focus on implementation and pedagogy. In light of the foregoing material, the shorter Section Four is both reflective and forward looking. The primary audience for this book will be academics and students working in the fields of Education, Sustainability Science and related disciplines.

'To summarise, this book has a clear academic justification and is aptly outlined with examples of creative and relevant ideas that could easily be adapted and implemented in many fields - particularly for those subject areas that were intentionally omitted. Readers can easily navigate to their field of interest and the book would be a highly recommended resource for many, including the student market, academics, practitioners, policy makers and senior managers.'Nancy El-Farargy, A Guide to Publications in the Physical Sciences

Drawing on studies in environmental and sustainability education, this book brings together new work that has explored the research-policy interface in varied contexts and from diverse perspectives.It will be beneficial to those interested in understanding the interface between research and policy. The relationship between research and policy has become an increasing focus for theoretical inquiry, empirical investigation, and practical development across many different fields. This volume highlights new empirical insights, theoretical ideas, practical examples, and methodological approaches for understanding, navigating, and developing more productive research-policy relationships. This book will be beneficial to anyone who is interested in understanding the interface between research and policy. The chapters in this book were originally published in the journal Environmental Education Research.

By engaging with education, contemporary art and global sustainability goals, this book connects the artistic way of communication with ecological obligations and social issues and promotes a sense of active citizenship. International, empirical and curricular research presents a case for strong learning communities that take a clear political stand in favour of socially engaged art pedagogies. The main aim of is to show how shared spaces for exchange in the fields of art education and continuous professional development can reflect, inspire and integrate sustainability principles that are becoming crucial in today’s world. The authors propose the idea that coordinated action can lead to a more sustainable future by promoting a sense of community, lifelong learning and confidence in the possibility of changing current conditions. Its three parts combine expertise in visual arts education, education for sustainable development, contemporary art practice and sustainability activism. While Part I focuses on literature in the field and the interrelation of different disciplines, Part II provides concrete examples of professional learning communities and pedagogies that can be used to enrich the field of art education. Finally, Part III presents brief case studies illustrating international projects by contemporary artists, curators, environmentalists and others, providing educators with several inspirational models of concrete and creative action.

This book examines how educators internationally can better understand the role of education as a public good designed to nurture peace, tolerance, sustainable livelihoods and human fulfilment. Bringing together empirical and theoretical perspectives, this insightful text develops new understandings of education for sustainable development and global citizenship (ESD/GC) and illustrates how these might impact on educational research, policy and practice. The text recognizes the ESD/GC as pivotal to the universal ambitions of UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals, and focuses on the role of teachers and teacher educators in delivering the appropriate educational response to promote equity and sustainability. Chapters explore factors including curriculum design, values and assessment in teacher education, and consider how each and every learner can be guaranteed an understanding of their role in promoting a just and sustainable global society. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers, school leaders, practitioners, policy makers and students in the fields of education, teacher education and sustainability.