Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.8
3.9
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Educational Psychology for Sustainable Development
sustainability-logo
Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Educational Psychology for Sustainable Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 22029

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kaarina Määttä

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Yliopistonkatu 8, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland
Dr. Satu Uusiautti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Yliopistonkatu 8, 96101 Rovaniemi, Finland

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of the Special Issue on Educational Psychology for Sustainable Development is to focus on key findings that promote individuals’ and communities’ ways of enhancing favorable development and sustainable behaviors in the rapidly changing growth environments, societies, and communities. Therefore, sustainable development pursues change also in individuals’ and communities’ action. The basic elements of sustainable development are ecological, economic, social, and cultural sustainability, to which educational psychology can introduce tools for positive change.

The approach of the Special Issue is multidisciplinary, where various scientific perspectives on development and educational psychology can be combined in innovative manners. Sustainability in educational psychology aims to improve the quality of life of every human being through educative viewpoints. What are the most recent findings that can broaden our understanding about the development of the human–nature relationship, sustainable communities, and education? How can we promote understanding about best practices that enhance the well-being of human beings in a sustainable manner?

Sustainability is an interesting field of research for educational psychology. How can we foster positive sustainable behaviors? By focusing on positive psychological features, such as positive emotions and strengths, together with their positive psychological outcomes, such as well-being, which can link sustainable behavior with pro-environmental actions1. Our perspective is that educational psychology may offer not only prevention-focused information but also ideas of positive psychology of sustainability and its educational perspectives.

The focus of your article may be on sustainable development, sustainable behavior, education of sustainability, and individual and communal well-being. We welcome all types of research including quantitative and qualitative approaches, case studies, reviews, and multimethod research.

Reference

1 Corral-Verdugo, V. (2012). The positive psychology of sustainability. Environment Development and Sustainability 14(5). doi: 10.1007/s10668-012-9346-8

Dr. Kaarina Määttä
Dr. Satu Uusiautti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable development
  • educational psychology
  • well-being
  • sustainable behavior
  • sustainability education
  • educational psychology of sustainability

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

6 pages, 210 KiB  
Editorial
Educational Psychological Perspectives on Sustainability Education
by Kaarina Määttä and Satu Uusiautti
Sustainability 2020, 12(1), 398; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010398 - 3 Jan 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3199
Abstract
What is the role of educational psychology in the development of sustainability education? In this editorial article, we argue that human happiness and life satisfaction could be the keys to positive education and adapting to pro-environmental behaviors. We discuss the perspective of sustainable [...] Read more.
What is the role of educational psychology in the development of sustainability education? In this editorial article, we argue that human happiness and life satisfaction could be the keys to positive education and adapting to pro-environmental behaviors. We discuss the perspective of sustainable happiness education being the guiding principle of sustainability education. Sustainable happiness education can provide a means to educate people about ways of considering their own well-being and that of others simultaneously, while keeping in mind the sustainability aspect of their actions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Educational Psychology for Sustainable Development)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

15 pages, 584 KiB  
Article
Finnish Students’ Knowledge of Climate Change Mitigation and Its Connection to Hope
by Ilkka Ratinen and Satu Uusiautti
Sustainability 2020, 12(6), 2181; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12062181 - 11 Mar 2020
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5382
Abstract
Climate change is a global concern, and the need to address it is urgent. Therefore, climate change education has been developed in recent years. Meaning making, coping strategies, and solution-oriented climate education tasks enable and maintain hope for positive results with regard to [...] Read more.
Climate change is a global concern, and the need to address it is urgent. Therefore, climate change education has been developed in recent years. Meaning making, coping strategies, and solution-oriented climate education tasks enable and maintain hope for positive results with regard to climate change. However, there is still uncertainty as to how students’ knowledge of climate change mitigation measures affects their attitudes. In the present study, elementary and secondary students in Finland (n = 950) responded to an online questionnaire. A principal component analysis, a hierarchical regression analysis, a correlation coefficients, a t-test, and a Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance were used for the analysis to understand what kind of hope students had towards climate change and how their knowledge and optimism regarding climate change affected their hope. The data revealed that the students had a relatively high constructive hope rather than denial hope when it comes to climate change. Additionally, this hope was not built on a minimisation of climate change. The results indicated that the significant predictors for climate change mitigation were gender, climate change knowledge, and constructive hope. A typology of student positions with regard to climate change is introduced as conclusions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Educational Psychology for Sustainable Development)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 283 KiB  
Article
Facilitating the Participation of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Development Centres in Malawi: Developing a Sustainable Staff Training Programme
by Anita Soni, Paul Lynch, Mike McLinden, Jenipher Mbukwa-Ngwira, Mika Mankhwazi, Emma Jolley, Bhavisha Virendrakumar, Juliet Bedford and Ingrid Gercama
Sustainability 2020, 12(5), 2104; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12052104 - 9 Mar 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6106
Abstract
This article explores the development of a sustainable training programme supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood, education and care (ECEC) centres in Malawi. This programme is based on a review of literature of curriculum, pedagogy and teaching approaches in [...] Read more.
This article explores the development of a sustainable training programme supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood, education and care (ECEC) centres in Malawi. This programme is based on a review of literature of curriculum, pedagogy and teaching approaches in ECEC in sub-Saharan Africa, alongside a review of national policy documents. The training was designed to enable staff to value the inclusion of children with disabilities in ECEC centres, as well as suggesting practical ways to do so. We set out our response to the gap in training of ECEC staff through the development of a supplementary integrated training programme, which, whilst respectful of the curriculum, policy and practice of Malawi, challenged staff to consider ways of including children with disabilities (CWD) and their families. We suggest this is a pragmatic and sustainable model that could be applied to training in other ECEC settings across the region in sub-Saharan Africa. It concludes with guiding principles for training those working in ECEC with young children with disabilities in low-income countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Educational Psychology for Sustainable Development)
10 pages, 426 KiB  
Article
Adaptation and Validation the State Mindfulness Scale (SMS) to Physical Education in a Spanish Context
by Rubén Trigueros, Jose M. Aguilar-Parra, Adolfo J. Cangas, David Mullor, Joaquín F. Álvarez and Alexandre García-Mas
Sustainability 2019, 11(20), 5681; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205681 - 15 Oct 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2572
Abstract
The aim of this study is to validate and adapt to the Spanish context of Physical Education (PE) the State Mindfulness Scale (SMS). The study included 1428 students aged 13–19. In order to analyse the psychometric properties of the SMS, an exploratory factorial [...] Read more.
The aim of this study is to validate and adapt to the Spanish context of Physical Education (PE) the State Mindfulness Scale (SMS). The study included 1428 students aged 13–19. In order to analyse the psychometric properties of the SMS, an exploratory factorial analysis was carried out to confirm the presence of two factors, a confirmatory factorial analysis that has offered support for both the structure of two factors. We also included an analysis of temporal stability, an analysis of invariance across gender, an analysis of internal consistency and an analysis of predictive validity through a t-test in which mental health (β = −0.28, p < 0.001) and physical or bodily experience (β = −0.16, p < 0.001) negatively predicted anxiety, respectively. The structure of the questionnaire was valid and reliable, gender-neutral and with adequate levels of temporal stability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Educational Psychology for Sustainable Development)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research

15 pages, 632 KiB  
Review
Five Basic Cornerstones of Sustainability Education in the Arctic
by Kaarina Määttä, Sanna Hyvärinen, Tanja Äärelä and Satu Uusiautti
Sustainability 2020, 12(4), 1431; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041431 - 14 Feb 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3255
Abstract
The Arctic region faces many threats but also opportunities due to economic, climate, environmental, cultural, social, professional, educational, and institutional changes, which also necessitate new perspectives on sustainable education. When implementing sustainable education in the Arctic, it is important to increase knowledge and [...] Read more.
The Arctic region faces many threats but also opportunities due to economic, climate, environmental, cultural, social, professional, educational, and institutional changes, which also necessitate new perspectives on sustainable education. When implementing sustainable education in the Arctic, it is important to increase knowledge and understanding of the special features of Arctic areas—their opportunities and vulnerabilities. In this article, the model of Arctic sustainable education (ASE) has been introduced. It is based on a new kind of lifestyle that illustrates respectful and responsible attitudes toward other people and nature. What are the special features of the teaching and learning of ASE and how to organize it? In this theoretical article, we have discussed the challenges and goals, and possibilities and significance of ASE by leaning on the five cornerstones, concerning learning and teaching of SE in schools and organizations: why, what, how, who, and when. The ASE may provide new ideas to develop sustainable education not just in the Arctic region but also elsewhere as it gets its special opportunities and expectations in a context- and time-bound manner. In conclusion, the role of educational psychology in ASE has been viewed and discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Educational Psychology for Sustainable Development)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop