Sustainability consciousness among nursing students in Egypt: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Recognizing nurses as pivotal change agents and urgent preparation for the next generation is crucial for addressing sustainability issues and cultivating a sustainable healthcare system. Reports highlight gaps in the integration of sustainable development goals (SDGs) into nursing curricula, prompting the International Council of Nurses to stress the importance of sustainable development in nursing education. The extent to which nursing students are aware of sustainability issues remains to be determined. This study addresses a global and Egyptian research gap by evaluating and comparing Sustainability Consciousness (SC) levels among nursing students at three universities, providing insights into awareness, attitudes, and behaviors related to sustainability. METHODS: This descriptive comparative study was conducted across three nursing faculties within three Egyptian public universities. The target population for this study was undergraduate nursing students enrolled in these universities during the academic year 2022-2023. This study used the extended version of the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ-L) to measure individuals' knowingness, attitudes, and behaviors related to the three dimensions of sustainable development: environmental, social, and economic. RESULTS: More than half of the nursing students across the three universities expressed unfamiliarity with the SDGs. Social media was the most common source of information across the three universities. Sohag University recorded the highest median (IQR) scores in sustainability knowingness (72.0, IQR: 70.0-81.0), attitudes (56.0, IQR: 53.0-61.5), and behavior (65.0, IQR: 60.0-69.0) across their respective dimensions, as well as in overall SC (195, IQR: 184.5-208.5). This was followed by Damanhour University, with a median score of 179.0 (IQR: 124.5-194), and then Alexandria University, with a median score of 116.0 (IQR: 85.5-153), all of which were significantly different (all with p values=0.000). Older students from rural areas exhibited higher SC median scores, while students with insufficient family income and no familiarity with the SDGs had lower SC scores. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlighted the prevalent reliance on social media for information among nursing students across these universities, emphasizing the pivotal role of academic institutions in integrating sustainability development concepts in nursing education. Sohag University's notable commitment to sustainability practices has contributed to the higher SC of its students compared to Alexandria and Damanhour Universities. The study also identified age, place of residence, family income, and familiarity with the SDGs as consistent predictors of sustainability consciousness.

University Students as Change Agents for Health and Sustainability: A Pilot Study on the Effects of a Teaching Kitchen-Based Planetary Health Diet Curriculum.

Global dietary habits are one of the main drivers of climate change. At the same time, they contribute to 11 million premature deaths every year. This raises the question of how the urgently needed transformation of food systems can be realized. Regardless of their degree paths, all university students, in their role as potential future experts and leaders in their fields, can serve as important change agents in society. In this paper, we (a) introduce a university curriculum in a teaching kitchen setting that is based on the planetary health diet (PHD) of the EAT-Lancet Commission, (b) investigate its feasibility, and (c) analyze its effects on the planetary health diet literacy of a pilot cohort of university students enrolled in various degree programs. We developed seven flipped classroom teaching kitchen sessions based on social cognitive theory (SCT), each consisting of a one-hour seminar with student presentations on various nutrition- and sustainability-related key topics, followed by corresponding two-hour hands-on cooking classes. To assess feasibility, specific questions from the official teaching evaluation of the University of Göttingen were analyzed. Changes in self-assessed planetary health diet literacy were measured using a pre- and post-survey. During the pilot phase, 26 students successfully completed the course. A total of 25 participants responded to the teaching evaluation and expressed high satisfaction with the course, the learning outcomes, and the level of demand. A total of 26 participants completed the pre- and post-survey. At the post-intervention, the students rated their planetary health diet literacy as 21 to 98% higher than before their course participation. The findings of this pilot study indicate that the curriculum was well-received and feasible with the target group, and they demonstrate that the course participation increased the university students' self-assessed ability to disseminate strategies for more sustainable and healthy diets. Through replication at other universities worldwide, the teaching kitchen-based planetary health diet curriculum might foster a social shift towards healthier and more climate-friendly food systems.

La Educación Física desde la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible

La Educación Física está presente en los currículos de los sistemas educativos en casi todos los países y reporta reconocidos beneficios a la educación integral de los estudiantes, pues en las visiones actuales está al servicio del desarrollo humano; sin embargo, los enfoques de enseñanza-aprendizaje predominantes obvian los postulados fundamentales de la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible y enfatizan solo en la dimensión ambiental. De ahí que este artículo tuvo como objetivo realizar una aproximación a la relación entre la Educación Física y la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible, desde las diferentes tendencias, las aportaciones a los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible y el vínculo competencial entre ambas. Se empleó el análisis documental, en particular el análisis de contenido, en función de conformar la estructura interna de la información desde la inferencia, a partir de datos no cuantificables y se emplearon métodos complementarios como el análisis, la síntesis, deducción-inducción, el análisis histórico lógico y la educación comparada. Entre los resultados obtenidos estuvieron la determinación de una nueva tendencia de la Educación Física, asociada a la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible, se identificó el marco legal que fundamenta la relación entre ambas áreas, se determinaron las concepciones de la Educación Física, desde la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible y se encontraron metas específicas, potencialmente pedagógicas de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible que vinculan las competencias entre ellas.

A Educação Física está presente nos currículos dos sistemas educacionais de quase todos os países e traz benefícios reconhecidos à formação integral dos alunos, pois nas visões atuais está a serviço do desenvolvimento humano; Contudo, as abordagens de ensino-aprendizagem predominantes ignoram os postulados fundamentais da Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável e enfatizam apenas a dimensão ambiental. Assim, este artigo teve como objetivo fazer uma abordagem sobre a relação entre Educação Física e Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável, a partir das diferentes tendências, das contribuições para os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável e do vínculo de competências entre ambas. Utilizou-se a análise documental, em especial a análise de conteúdo, para formar a estrutura interna das informações oriundas da inferência, com base em dados não quantificáveis, e foram utilizados métodos complementares como análise, síntese, dedução-indução, análise histórica lógica e comparativa. Educação. Entre os resultados obtidos estiveram a determinação de uma nova tendência na Educação Física, associada à Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável, foi identificado o quadro legal que fundamenta a relação entre ambas as áreas, foram determinadas as concepções de Educação Física, desde a Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável e específicas, foram encontradas metas potencialmente pedagógicas dos Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável que vinculam as competências entre eles.

Physical Education is present in the curricula of educational systems in almost all countries and brings recognized benefits to the comprehensive education of students, since in current visions it is at the service of human development; however, the predominant teaching-learning approaches ignore the fundamental postulates of Education for Sustainable Development and emphasize only the environmental dimension. Hence, this article aimed to make an approach to the relationship between Physical Education and Education for Sustainable Development, from the different trends, the contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals and the competency link between both. Documentary analysis was applied, in particular content analysis, in order to form the internal structure of the information from inference, based on non-quantifiable data and complementary methods were used such as analysis, synthesis, deduction-induction, historical analysis logic and comparative education. Among the results obtained were the determination of a new trend in Physical Education, associated with Education for Sustainable Development, the legal framework that bases the relationship between both areas was identified, the conceptions of Physical Education were determined, from Education for Sustainable Development and specific, potentially pedagogical goals of the Sustainable Development Goals were found that link the competencies between them.

Promoting ocean literacy among students in Brazilian schools.

Promoting the principles, concepts, and dimensions of Ocean Literacy (OL) among children and youth is essential for enhancing society's understanding of the ocean's complexity and the causes and consequences of its degradation. This study details a project conducted over a year with 235 students from a public school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, aged 8 to 15. Developed in partnership with schoolteachers, the activities encompassed theoretical lessons, laboratory experiments, field trips, and reading circles. These were grounded in the students' local context and integrated into the school curriculum. The project was evaluated through questionnaires and focus group interviews. Findings revealed not only learning and changes in attitude but also increased student engagement and a revitalized school environment. This project can be adapted for other regions and audiences.

Climate change and health: Changes in student environmental knowledge and awareness due to the implementation of a mandatory elective at the Medical Faculty of Ulm?

Background and objectives: According to the World Health Organization, climate change constitutes the single greatest threat to human health. However, the health care system contributes to climate change worldwide through its high CO2 emissions. In order to make future physicians more aware of this issue and to expand medical education to include climate-related aspects, the mandatory 28 academic hours elective "Climate Change and Health" for students of human medicine in the preclinical study stage was implemented at the Medical Faculty of Ulm in the 2020/21 winter semester. Our accompanying study investigated 1. in what form the topic of climate change can be successfully integrated into the study of human medicine in a manner that includes student opinions and2. whether being required to take an elective on the topic led to changes in student environmental knowledge and awareness. Methodology: Personal individual interviews were conducted with all n=11 students after the course in a pilot that was carried out in the 2020/21 winter semester to determine course feasibility and student acceptance. The students were also able to evaluate the course using an evaluation form and were asked to complete a questionnaire on their environmental knowledge and awareness before and after the course. The course was revised on the basis of the results and offered again in the 2021 summer semester with an intervention group (n=16, participation in the mandatory elective) and a comparison group (n=25, no participation in the mandatory elective). The intervention group was asked to evaluate the course on the evaluation form. Both groups completed the environmental questionnaire at the same time. Results: The positive feedback from students for both semesters indicates a good feasibility and acceptance of the course. Student environmental knowledge was increased in both semesters. However, there were only few observable changes in student environmental awareness. Conclusion: This paper illustrates how the topic of climate change and health can be embedded into medical studies. The students considered climate change an important topic and drew added value from the course for their future work in healthcare. The study shows that knowledge transfer at the university level is an effective way to educate the young generation on climate change and its impacts.

Reducing SDG complexity and informing environmental management education via an empirical six-dimensional model of sustainable development.

Effective environmental management higher education programs are essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet SDG complexity means many educators focus on environment and avoid critical but challenging social, economic and governance aspects. This undermines the calls for comprehensive environmental management education that effectively integrates all key sustainability dimensions. Various sustainability models, mostly founded on the pillars of sustainability, have consequently evolved. They are generally conceptual and/or involve subjective categorization of the SDGs, which has led to demands for more empirically based models. This study has consequently used a mixed-method approach to model Australian university students' SDG perceptions. The qualitative research identified three items (on average) for each SDG, and a quantitative survey then measured their perceived importance. Factor analysis generated a robust six-dimensional sustainable development model comprised of 37 SDG items, which validates environment and governance aspects of some traditional pillar-based sustainability models. It has also uncovered new social and economic dimensions: social harmony and equality; sustainable consumption and socioeconomic behaviors; sustainable production, industry and infrastructure; and acute poverty reduction. These findings can help educators, organizations and citizens to categorize and integrate SDGs via better understanding of their key dimensions and impacts.

Designing "Tiny Forests" as a lesson for transdisciplinary urban ecology learning.

The sustainability and livability of urban areas call for the next generation of scientists, practitioners and policy makers to understand the benefits, implementation and management of urban greenspaces. We harnessed the concept of "Tiny Forests©" - a restoration strategy for small wooded areas (~100-400 m2) - to create a transdisciplinary and experiential project for university forestry students that follows an ecology-with-cities framework. We worked with 16 students and a local municipality in the Munich, Germany metropolitan region to survey a community about its needs and desires and then used this information alongside urban environmental features and data collected by students (e.g., about soil conditions) to design a Tiny Forest. In this article, we describe the teaching concept, learning outcomes and activities, methodological approach, and instructor preparation and materials needed to adapt this project. Designing Tiny Forests provides benefits to students by having them approach authentic tasks in urban greening while experiencing the challenges and benefits of transdisciplinary communication and engagement with community members. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11252-023-01371-7.

Marine litter education: From awareness to action.

Marine litter is a global problem. Education has been acclaimed as a potential tool to tackle this issue, yet, integrative, student-centered, and over weeks studies to raise awareness on the theme that compares pre- with post-intervention results are limited in the literature. Furthermore, almost no studies rely on the basis of previous experience on the theme and local reality. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of an educational intervention to raise awareness and educate students (1st cycle to high-school) about marine litter. Different learning skills were fostered through theoretical, laboratorial, and hands-on activities and students participated in a beach clean-up to summarize the classroom's learnings in loco. Pre- and post-questionnaire results indicate that students' knowledge, perceptions, and behavioral intentions changed. Identification of marine litter estimated degradation times and observation of microplastics in local sand samples were activities highly appreciated by youngsters. This intervention positively impacted schoolchildren's literacy, contributing to advancing education in marine litter and can be further adapted to other educational areas.

Student conceptions of the production of cow's milk-An exploratory interview study with 6th- and 10th-grade students.

The production of food and the associated livestock farming contribute significantly to climate change and the global loss of biodiversity, hindering the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To promote responsible consumption and production of food (SDG 12), ensuring that students understand the production of our food, the associated livestock farming, and the interrelatedness of production and consumption is essential. Thus, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an important tool for achieving the SDGs. To develop effective teaching and learning strategies to educate students about the production of food from livestock, it is important to identify students' existing conceptions of this topic. Thus, this study examined sixth-grade (n = 4; M Age = 12 years; SD Age = 0.7 years; 50% female) and tenth-grade students' (n = 4; M Age = 16 years; SD Age = 0 years; 50% female) conceptions of milk production, focusing on dairy farming, the milking process and techniques, and the production of cow's milk. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students from Osnabrück (Lower Saxony) to elicit student conceptions. The evaluation of the students' conceptions was carried out using qualitative content analysis. The results largely indicated that both sixth and tenth graders had realistic conceptions of dairy farming and the milking process and techniques. However, some students also expressed romanticized conceptions of pasture grazing and calf rearing. In addition, unrealistic statements regarding the formation of milk were identified. The conceptions of the sixth and tenth graders were compared, and with a few exceptions, no significant differences were found between the two cohorts. However, the tenth graders tended to have more differentiated conceptions about milk production than the sixth graders. In conducting the analysis, it became clear that students' conceptions of the production of milk are influenced by individual primary experiences with dairy farms. Finally, based on these results, educational recommendations for the school teaching framework in the context of ESD and implications for further research are presented.

Impacts of integrating engineering design process into STEM makerspace on renewable energy unit to foster students' system thinking skills.

Currently, science education systems around the world are faced with global challenges, especially in anticipating environmental changes related to sustainable development programs. Complex system problems related to climate change, reduced fossil-based energy reserves, and social environmental problems that have an impact on the economy have made stakeholders aware of the Education for Sustainability Development (ESD) program. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of STEM-PBL integrated Engineering Design Process (EDP) in renewable energy learning units to improve students' system thinking skills. The quantitative experimental research with a non-equivalent control group design was conducted on 67 high school students in XI grades. The results showed that the performance of students who were taught with STEM-EDP was better than students who studied with traditional STEM learning approach. In addition, this learning strategy also encourages students to be actively involved in every EDP process so that they show good performance in mind-on and hands-on activities which have an impact on increasing students' system thinking abilities. Furthermore, the STEM-EDP learning is implemented to develop students' ability to design through applied technology and engineered activities, paying special attention to design-based theory. It does not require students and teachers to prepare super-sophisticated technology, because the integration of technology in this learning design used cheap, simple and 'easy to find' equipments, to create more meaningful learning packages. In the critical pedagogy, STEM-PBL integrated EDP can be used to systematically foster students' STEM literacy and thinking skills through the engineering design thinking process, thus expanding students' cognitive building and perspectives in reducing the routine in conventional pedagogy.

Using Species Knowledge to Promote Pro-Environmental Attitudes? The Association among Species Knowledge, Environmental System Knowledge and Attitude towards the Environment in Secondary School Students.

Scientists and conservationists suggest species knowledge as a possible starting point when it comes to creating deeper knowledge and awareness of nature, the environment, and biodiversity. The aim of this work was to analyze secondary school students' species knowledge of vertebrates and invertebrates. This is one of the first studies that also draws on invertebrates. Furthermore, we investigated whether knowledge of species forms a basis for the formation of environmental knowledge and attitude towards the environment. For this purpose, a questionnaire on species knowledge was developed. In addition, a questionnaire was used to measure environmental system knowledge, and the 2-MEV Attitude Scale to measure attitude towards the environment. The questionnaires were completed by 103 seventh and eighth-grade (age: 12-13) students of a secondary German school (Gymnasium, highest stratification level). The students identified more vertebrates than invertebrates (50.15% vs. 36.7%). The structural equation model with the latent variables species knowledge, environmental system knowledge, and attitude towards the environment showed that species knowledge has a highly significant influence on the two other latent variables. More precisely species knowledge explained 28% of the variance in environmental systems knowledge and 17% of the variance in attitude towards the environment. This study can therefore draw attention to the relevance of teaching species knowledge in the sense of Education for Sustainable Development, in order not to promote decreasing biodiversity through dwindling species knowledge.

Content analysis of health-related subjects in the K12 school curricula of Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Guam, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, and Fiji.

BACKGROUND: As a component of health promoting school, a school curriculum for health education was considered a fundamental. This survey aimed to identify the components of health-related topics and in which subjects were they taught. METHODS: Four topics were chosen: (i) hygiene, (ii) mental health, (iii) nutrition-oral Health, and (iv) environmental education related to global warming in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Before gathering the curricula from partner countries, school health specialists were gathered to discuss the appropriate components of a curriculum that required evaluation. The survey sheet was distributed to and answered by our partner in each country. RESULTS: About hygiene, individual practices or items that improve health-related were widely covered. However, items that imparted health-related education from an environmental perspective were not widely covered. About mental health, two types of country groups were identified. The first group included countries that taught mental health topics mainly as part of morals or religion; the second group included countries that imparted mental health topics mainly as part of health. The first group focused mainly on communication skills or coping methods. The second group focused not only on communication and coping skill but also on basic knowledge of mental health. About nutrition-oral education, three types of country groups were identified. One group imparted nutrition-oral education mainly in terms of health or nutrition. Another group imparted this topic mainly in terms of morals, home economics, and social science. The third group was the intermediate group. About ESD, a solid structure for this topic was not identified in any country. Many items were taught as part of science, while some were taught as part of social studies. Climate change was the most commonly taught item across all countries. The items related to environment were relatively limited compared to those related to natural disasters. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, two different approaches were identified: the cultural-based approach, which promotes healthy behaviors as moral codes or community-friendly behaviors and the science-based approach, which promotes children's health through scientific perspectives. Policymakers should initially  consider the findings of this study while making decisions on which approach should be taken.

Drug delivery as a sustainable avenue to future therapies.

Climate change and the need for sustainable, technological developments are the greatest challenges facing humanity in the coming decades. To address these issues, in 2015 the United Nations have established 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Anthropogenic climate change will not only affect everyone personally in the coming years, it will also reinforce the need to become more sustainable within drug delivery research. In 2021, I was appointed professor for pharmaceutical biology at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg. Our research is at the interface between developing biogenic therapies and understanding of bacterial infections. In this contribution to the Orations - New Horizons of the Journal of Controlled Release, I would like to underline the need for future sustainable approaches in our research area, by highlighting selected examples from the fields of infection research, natural product characterisation and extracellular vesicles. My aim is to put into perspective current issues for these research topics, but also encourage our current student-training framework to contribute to education for sustainable development. This contribution is a personal statement to increase the overall awareness for sustainability challenges in drug delivery and beyond.

One Health Education Nexus: enhancing synergy among science-, school-, and teacher education beyond academic silos.

Introduction: The fact that the daily lives of billions of people were affected by the medical, social, and political aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic shows the need to anchor the understanding of One Health in society. Hence, promoting awareness and deepening the understanding of the interrelation between human health, animal health, and ecosystems must be accomplished through quality education, as advocated by UN Sustainable Development Goal 4. The often-questioned and discussed measures taken by governments to control the global pandemic between 2020 and 2023 can be seen as an opportunity to meet the educational needs of civil society solutions in multi-stakeholder settings between public, universities, and schools. Methods: This paper focuses on the integration of One Health principles in educational frameworks, particularly within the context of the higher education teaching framework "Teaching Clinic." This master-level course in the domain of pre-service teacher education serves as a potent vehicle for facilitating One Health Education, bridging the gap between research, higher education, and schools. Through the presentation of two case studies, this article demonstrates how the Teaching Clinic approach fosters interdisciplinary perspectives and provides a dynamic learning environment for pre-service teachers, as well as for pupils involved in the educational process. Results: In both cases, the integration of educational One Health school teaching-learning settings effectively enhanced pupils' understanding of complex topics and engaged them in active learning experiences. Pre-service teachers played a crucial role in developing, implementing, and evaluating these interventions. In Case I, pupils demonstrated proficiency in analyzing data and evaluating mathematical models, while in Case II, the chosen instructional approach facilitated One Health knowledge acquisition and enjoyment among pupils. These results underscore the potential of the One Health Teaching Clinic as a valuable educational framework for enhancing teaching and learning outcomes for pre-service teachers and fostering pupil engagement in socio-scientific One Health-related topics. Discussion: The discussion delves into the significance of breaking down disciplinary silos and the crucial role of teacher education in promoting a holistic approach to education, emphasizing the intersectionality of One Health Education and Education for Sustainable Development. This article underpins the significance of collaborative efforts across multiple (scientific) disciplines and across secondary and tertiary education levels to reach a nexus. Moreover, it emphasizes the alignment of this approach with the 2030 Agenda, Education for Sustainable Development, and Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting the potential for collective action toward a more sustainable future.

Teachers' profile in sustainability: association with personal and social responsibility in physical education classes / Perfil dos professores em sustentabilidade: associação com responsabilidade pessoal e social nas aulas de educação física

ABSTRACT This study aims to identify in a sample of future teachers the profiles of their perceptions, attitudes, and values towards sustainable development and to determine whether a specific profile is related to personal and social responsibility and positive behaviors in Physical Education classes. The sample comprised 372 students (Mage = 22.02±3.16 years; 66.67% girls) from the subject of Physical Education of the Degree of Teacher of Primary Education (Universities of Granada and Zaragoza). An initial cluster analysis revealed the existence of two different groups among future teachers: Cluster 1, "negative perception," represented by 36.3%, and Cluster 2, "positive perceptions" with 63.7% of the sample. Thus, almost 40% of the sample does not perceive the current environmental crisis. The relationship between the groups and the rest of the target variables was analyzed through one-factor ANOVA, finding that Cluster 2 students had higher values in all the dimensions of personal and social responsibility and positive behaviors than those of Cluster 1. Lastly, a discriminant analysis revealed that belonging to a certain university determined belonging to one of the two Clusters, with the values obtained by the sample from the University of Granada being higher than those from the University of Zaragoza.

RESUMO Este estudo tem como objetivo identificar em uma amostra de futuros professores os perfis de suas percepções, atitudes e valores em relação ao desenvolvimento sustentável e determinar se um perfil específico está relacionado à responsabilidade pessoal e social e a comportamentos positivos nas aulas de Educação Física. A amostra foi composta por 372 alunos (idade = 22,02±3,16 anos; 66,67% meninas) da disciplina de Educação Física do curso de Licenciatura em Educação Básica (Universidades de Granada e Zaragoza). Uma análise inicial de agrupamento revelou a existência de dois grupos diferentes entre os futuros professores: O Grupo 1, "percepção negativa", representado por 36,3%, e o Grupo 2, "percepções positivas", com 63,7% da amostra. Assim, quase 40% da amostra não percebe a atual crise ambiental. A relação entre os grupos e o restante das variáveis-alvo foi analisada por meio de uma ANOVA de um fator, que revelou que os alunos do Grupo 2 tinham valores mais altos em todas as dimensões de responsabilidade pessoal e social e comportamentos positivos do que os do Grupo 1. Por fim, uma análise discriminante revelou que o fato de pertencer a uma determinada universidade determinava o pertencimento a um dos dois grupos, sendo que os valores obtidos pela amostra da Universidade de Granada eram mais altos do que os da Universidade de Zaragoza.

Sustainable Development Competencies among More than 1100 Certified Physical Education and Health Teachers in Sweden.

School physical education and health (PEH) may not only be an important cornerstone to the holistic development of students but may also contribute to the sustainable development (SD) agenda. Although PEH may have unique characteristics that can contribute to the SD agenda, most research to date has been theoretical. The overall aim of this study was to explore the sustainable development competencies among physical education and health (PEH) teachers in Sweden. An online questionnaire was used to collect data about background and SD competencies. SD competencies was collected through the use of the Physical Education Scale for Sustainable Development in Future Teachers (PESD-FT). Of the 1153 participants, 31% reported being males, and 48% of the participants reported teaching PEH when completing the questionnaire. The median SD competencies score for all the participants was 105 (range: 18-144) out of 144. Virtually no differences were observed across the groups of participants. A stronger correlation was observed between SD competencies vs. long-time interests in health and health issues (rs = 0.343) than for long experience of participating in organized sports (rs = 0.173). In the total sample, 26% reported having taught about SD in PEH, such as using outdoor education, interdisciplinary projects, picking, and sorting waste, as well as paying attention to material issues. Among those who reported teaching PEH when completing the questionnaire, 70% perceived that they are in great need of professional development education in the area of SD. In conclusion, SD competencies were higher for the PESD-FT items that concerned the social dimension of SD compared to the economic and environmental dimensions. Relatively few teachers had taught about SD in PEH, and the majority perceive that they are in great need of professional development education in the area of SD. Future studies are required to understand more of what types of competencies practicing PEH teachers, and PEH teacher education programs, are lacking to fulfil the call for a contribution to the SD agenda.

Impact of Cooperative Learning and Project-Based Learning through Emotional Intelligence: A Comparison of Methodologies for Implementing SDGs.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a holistic and transformative form of education that seeks action-oriented pedagogy using self-directed learning, participation, and collaboration, among other aspects, and is suitable for developing active methodologies. Since affective-emotional aspects can contribute in the teaching-learning process, this work studies, through a case study, the comparison of the influence of two active methodologies: Cooperative Learning (CL) and Project-Based Learning (PBL) in student emotions and learning processes, as well as their awareness of ESD. For that purpose, a survey was conducted at the fourth secondary level in the science laboratory, subjected to the innovation project e-WORLD, which developed the content of the 7 and 13 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the 2030 Agenda. Results of ANOVA and Tukey's tests carried out showed that both methodologies improved skills and knowledge related to climate change and energy, and triggered major positive emotions in students. Furthermore, CL allowed students to acquire more individual and group responsibility than communication skills developed with PBL. It is necessary to continue working on the involvement of students in these methodologies in order to improve their social skills and to reveal life changes towards more socio-sustainable ones.

Effects of Self-Construction of Materials on the Ecological Awareness of Physical Education Primary School Students.

Physical Education (PE) has unique features to expand the students' sustainability awareness. Being active in natural environments has been described as an opportunity to contribute on this matter. However, there is lack of related research. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a didactic proposal for PE based on the self-construction of materials on the ecological awareness of primary school students. A total of 111 students participated in this quasi-experimental study that lasted 4 weeks (eight sessions). The Mann-Whitney U test was applied for comparisons between groups, experimental and control, (SELF vs. CON) on two factors (PRE and POST). No significant differences were observed in any of them (p ≤ 0.05). On the other hand, to compare the data from the pre and post questionnaires within the same group (PRE vs. POST), the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used. No significant differences in any of the groups were observed (p ≤ 0.05). Although SELF improved on some scores such as reusing things after picking up litter from yards, the differences were not significant. This could be explained by the brevity of the intervention. These results could contribute to increasing research on the integration of sustainability in PE.

The impact of COVID-19 on university students and competences in education for sustainable development: Emotional intelligence, resilience and engagement.

As the Covid-19 pandemic brought most in-person activities to a halt, radical and visible changes were imposed in all social interactions, including teaching and academic activity in general. This challenging setting tested the education system's capacity to successfully address the Sustainable Development Goals. The success of education for sustainable development (ESD) requires training in the specific skills needed to face the highly emotionally demanding post-pandemic context. In this line, this study focuses on university students' capability to understand and manage emotions, an issue considered to be a key factor in ESD. The aim of this study is to show how students' emotional intelligence influenced their resilience, with repercussions on their engagement and subsequent academic performance. The research model was tested through a questionnaire addressed to 340 students from three different universities during the full lockdown of March-May 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Results show that emotional intelligence was positively related to resilience, which in turn was related to engagement, and consequently, resulted in better academic performance. This finding should spark interest in developing emotional intelligence in education, not only because it produces healthy citizens in the long term, but also because of its short-term positive impacts in the classroom, particularly in such adverse situations as those described here. This study provides a model that links classic variables on educational and positive psychology research with ESD in times of COVID-19.

Responding to the need of postgraduate education for Planetary Health: Development of an online Master's Degree.

Planetary Health has emerged as a new approach to respond to the existential risks that the clime and global environmental crises pose to human societies. As stated by various stakeholders, the challenges involved in Planetary Health are of such magnitude that education must be at the forefront to obtain a meaningful response. Universities and higher education institutions have been specifically called to embed the concept of planetary stewardship in all curricula and train the next generation of researchers and change makers as a matter of urgency. As a response to this call, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) developed the first online and asynchronous Master in Science (MSc) in Planetary Health. The aim of the programme is to train a new generation of academics and professionals who understand the challenges of Planetary Health and have tools to tackle them. This article describes the development of the curriculum of this MSc, presents the main characteristics of the programme and discusses some of the challenges encountered in the development of the programme and its implementation. The design of this MSc was based on: the alignment of the programme with the principles for Planetary Health education with a focus on human health; a multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary approach; the urgency to respond to the Anthropocene challenges; and the commitment to the 2030 Agenda. The MSc was recognized as an official degree by the Agency for Quality of the Catalan University System, included in the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education, and the Spanish National Academic Coordination body in April 2021 and launched in October 2021. There are currently more than 50 students enrolled in the program coming from a broad range of disciplines and geographic locations. The information presented in this article and the discussion on challenges encountered in developing and implementing the programme can be useful for those working in the development of similar programs.