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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (16 November 2022) | Viewed by 25488

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Dina M.R. Mateus

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Guest Editor

Techn&Art, Centre for Technology, Restoration and Art Enhancement, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Estrada da Serra, 2300-313 Tomar, Portugal
Interests: wastewater treatment; constructed wetlands and water reuse; circular economy; biodegradation of cultural heritage
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Alexandros Stefanakis

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Guest Editor

School of Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, 73100 Chania, Greece
Interests: ecological engineering; nature-based solutions; wastewater management; circular economy; sustainability; treatment wetlands; environmental education
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Henrique J.O. Pinho

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Guest Editor

Ci2, Smart Cities Research Center, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Estrada da Serra, 2300-313 Tomar, Portugal
Interests: wastewater treatment; constructed wetlands; remote monitoring; circular economy; renewable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Improving access to quality education for sustainable development at all levels and in all social contexts, transforming society through the reorientation of education, and helping people to develop knowledge, skills, values, and behaviors needed for sustainable development are aims of the UN 2030 agenda. In this context, education on regional and global environmental issues and ecological engineering has a predominant role in empowering students not only as professionals but also as agents of change in encouraging green behavior in schools, families, communities, enterprises, and throughout society. Hence, the topic of environmental education is crucial to achieving transformational ambitions.

The aim of this Special Issue is to open a debate and share experiences on environmental education and green behavior, provided by schools and higher education institutions in different contexts and with different societal actors, and on their role in training and preparing current and future generations toward a sustainable and green society. In this context, final submissions are expected to address one or more of the following themes:

Inclusion of environmental sustainability content in courses and programs, from primary schools to higher education institutions;
Environment-oriented education initiatives such as education for sustainable development;
Environmental education using innovative methods, multidisciplinary approaches, different contexts or diverse perspectives;
Participation of students in environmental co-creation projects with different stakeholders such enterprises and community;
Collaborative projects between higher education institutions and the surrounding school community;
Establishing stakeholder engagement to promote environmental education;
Grassroots movements and environmental education;
Participation of the scholar community in the development of green technologies for environmental sustainability;
Contribution of academic and community consortia R&D projects for environmental education;
Project-based learning contributions for environmental education;
Tools to promote behavioral, social, and cultural changes toward a greener society.

Submissions may include research articles, case studies and research reviews.

Prof. Dr. Dina Mateus
Asst. Prof. Dr. Alexandros Stefanakis
Prof. Dr. Henrique Pinho
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

education
green behavior
collaborative partnership
sustainability
curricula
environment protection
ecology

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 652 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Advancing Sustainability Education through a Cross-Disciplinary Online Course: Sustainability and Human Rights in the Business World

by Eundeok Kim and Terry Coonan

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4759; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064759 - 7 Mar 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2193

Abstract

The increasing threats of climate change, resource depletion, and human rights crises have led us to realize the impendent need for advancing sustainable development education and to reevaluate the effectiveness of our current strategies and approaches to sustainability and social responsibility education in higher education. Therefore, the purpose of this study was first, to discuss the importance of sustainability education; second, to propose an effective model for sustainability education through a case study of a cross-disciplinary asynchronous online team-teaching model; and third, to discuss the outcomes of the course based on students’ perceptions of various aspects communicated through course evaluations. The course model created by the authors introduces students to the language and evolving norms of the sustainability, social responsibility, and human rights movements. It further challenges students to integrate the concepts and tools to which they are introduced into projects in which they design a non-governmental organization (NGO) and analyze a business entity. This study will help educators better understand the urgency for advancing sustainability and human rights education and its effective approaches and strategies. Furthermore, it will inspire them to adopt them as viable pedagogical approaches to effectively implement into a curriculum. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)

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24 pages, 6578 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Physics of Sound to Raise Awareness for Sustainable Development Goals in the Context of STEM Hands-On Activities

by Maria Cristina Costa, Carlos A. F. Ferreira and Henrique J. O. Pinho

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3676; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043676 - 16 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3250

Abstract

This paper aims to present an interdisciplinary approach intended to raise awareness for Sustainable Development Goals in the context of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) hands-on activities targeted to elementary and secondary school. In particular, contents related to the physics of sound are used to warn about the dangers of noise pollution and its consequences for health, well-being, and productivity. Therefore, it is crucial to inform and raise community awareness on this issue, as well as on the measures needed to prevent its consequences. This research is inserted in a broader pedagogical project that includes primary school and secondary school teachers’ professional development and visits to schools to perform several hands-on activities in class aiming to provide students with 21st-century skills related to STEM education. Based on the literature, questionnaires, and participant observation, an empirical study was conducted with teachers who participated in a professional development programme. It is concluded that teachers and students understood the dangers of noise pollution and the measures to be taken to prevent them. Therefore, higher education institutions have a crucial role in the community, namely, through partnerships with schools and teachers’ training centres to raise awareness and disseminate and increase Sustainable Development practices in the community. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)

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15 pages, 2415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Graduate Student Expansion and Innovative Human Capital on Green Total Factor Productivity

by Hao Yao, Xiulin Gu and Qing Yu

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1721; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021721 - 16 Jan 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2293

Abstract

Using data from 30 provinces and cities in China from 2005–2018, panel regression models, mediation models, quantile regressions and threshold regressions were used to examine the relationship between graduate student size expansion, innovative human capital and green total factor productivity (GTFP) and analyze the influence mechanisms and heterogeneity among them. The results of the study are as follows: First, graduate student expansion and innovative human capital are the driving force for GTFP growth in China, and graduate student size expansion indirectly boosts GTFP by promoting the supply of innovative human capital, with a 73% mediating effect. Second, the effects of graduate student expansion and innovative human capital on GTFP show a trend of diminishing marginal benefits, and the estimated coefficient of the effect of graduate student scale share on GTFP has an inverted U-shaped relationship. Third, there is a significant threshold feature of industrial structure upgrading in the influence of graduate student scale expansion on GTFP. The study makes suggestions in terms of expanding of the graduate students, rationalizing the enrollment structure of universities, optimizing the regional industrial structure and creating a social innovation environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)

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13 pages, 1710 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From Linear to Circular Ideas: An Educational Contest

by Denner Deda, Murillo Vetroni Barros, Constança Rigueiro and Margarida Ribau Teixeira

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11207; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811207 - 7 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2026

Abstract

This work proposes a framework with which to analyse Higher Education Institution (HEI) students’ knowledge and understanding of circular economy (CE) concepts and the potential of the CE to promote sustainability, using a contest. The framework integrates CE principles and business models with sustainable indicators, and it was applied to the accepted projects by the contest jury. The contest was launched in 2021 by the CE Working Group of the Portuguese Sustainable Campus Network to encourage creativity and the development of CE projects at HEIs. HEIs can play an essential role in promoting environmental education and creating partners with new visions for society and the economy concerning sustainability, developing knowledge, values, attitudes, and behaviours regarding the CE. The projects were mostly based on the recovery of secondary raw materials/by-products, the CE business model, and the CE principle of value optimisation. In addition, a strong relationship with environmental indicators was observed, but social and economic indicators of the CE were only marginally considered by the students. Therefore, students considered the CE as mostly mainly being related to product recovery/optimisation; thus, the CE concepts and principles and their relationship to sustainability implementation require reinforcement and transversal approaches to increase this knowledge and its dissemination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)

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15 pages, 277 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Teaching Sustainable Development Goals to University Students: A Cross-Country Case-Based Study

by Clara Vasconcelos, Joana Silva, Cristina S. C. Calheiros, Grzegorz Mikusiński, Katarzyna Iwińska, Ioanna G. Skaltsa and Katarzyna Krakowska

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1593; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031593 - 29 Jan 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4346

Abstract

With the purpose of analysing if case-based teaching methodology could improve higher education students’ knowledge about sustainable development, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in an international project (PASSION—Partnership for Sustainable Development and Social Innovation) and in five countries (Greece, Poland, Portugal and Sweden). Cases were interdisciplinary and focused on sustainable development goals aligned with common worldwide dilemmas like, for example, food consumption, organic farm or nature protection. Our sample consisted of 104 university students aged between 18 and 58 years, where 53% were female. Standardized pre- and post-tests were administered, and a significant improvement in sustainable development knowledge was observed considering three main questions in the pooled dataset (t₁₀₃ = −7.324; p = 0.000). Regarding the four cases applications where results were more significant, an in-depth analysis was conducted, allowing the project team to better understand participants answers to multiple-choice and open questions which are analysed and discussed individually. Our results demonstrate that the case-based teaching improved the knowledge of sustainable development goals, which is expected to induce positive changes in pro-environmental behaviours. We also point out the potential of case-based teaching applied in a cross-country manner. The scheme is particularly valuable in dealing with complex sustainability dilemmas that show better their global perspectives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)

16 pages, 3229 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transportation Accessibility Evaluation of Educational Institutions Conducting Field Environmental Education Activities in Ecological Protection Areas: A Case Study of Zhuhai City

by Chunshan Zhou, Dahao Zhang and Xiong He

Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 9392; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169392 - 21 Aug 2021

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3165

Abstract

With the development of society, an increasing number of educational institutions have adopted field environmental education activities rather than classroom education. Field education can not only enhance students’ environmental awareness but also enable them to fully understand environmental protection knowledge. Ecological protection areas are important bases for educational institutions to organize students to implement field environmental education. Focusing on Zhuhai City, this study explored spatial relationships between educational institutions and ecological protection zones using Kernel density estimation, the two-step floating catchment area method, and Thiessen polygons. Specific actions included measuring transportation accessibility and dividing the service scopes of ecological protection zones to provide field environmental education for educational institutions. These actions provided a helpful reference for educational institutions to conduct field environmental education activities effectively. The results showed the following: (1) Schools in Zhuhai City were mainly located in subdistricts and presented a spatial layout of “one primary and two secondary.” Students were mainly concentrated in villages and towns and presented a spatial layout of “one core and two centers.” Ecological protection zones were scattered in the township area; their spatial relationships with educational institutions were scattered. Meanwhile, their spatial relationship with the number of students was relatively concentrated. (2) In terms of the accessibility of educational institutions to ecological protection zones, the educational institutions in the northeast of Xiangzhou District and the middle of Doumen District had higher accessibility, while the educational institutions in the middle and south of Zhuhai City had lower accessibility, and the educational institutions in the middle of Xiangzhou District had the lowest accessibility. (3) Based on accessibility, the service scopes of field environmental education activities in ecological protection zones were divided into 15 blocks. Here, the educational institutions located in Xiangzhou District, the western part of Jinwan District, and western, middle, and eastern parts of Doumen District had relatively strong spatial dispersions with the ecological protection zones within their blocks, while the educational institutions located in the central and eastern parts of Jinwan District and northern and southern parts of Doumen District had relatively weak spatial dispersions with the ecological protection zones within their blocks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)

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17 pages, 297 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Critical Survey of Environmental Content in United States Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Curricula

by Charles E. Sprouse III, Maximilian Davy, Anna Doyle and Grace Rembold

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6961; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126961 - 21 Jun 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3498

Abstract

This survey examines how mechanical engineers are being prepared to be responsible stewards of the environment by offering a multi-channeled look at a diverse collection of twelve US colleges and universities, with connections to the larger global context. This study enumerates the external influences of professional organizations, those responsible for program accreditation (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)), professional conduct (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and licensure (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, National Society of Professional Engineers). At the curricular level, this study presents current mechanical engineering curricula via core courses (required at most institutions) and non-core courses (required at a minority of institutions or elective courses). The curriculum study identifies fifteen core courses and uses the Open Syllabus Project and online bookstores to identify a representative textbook and classify the environmental content therein. Immediate results show the environment receiving sparse treatment in core course textbooks, institutions having zero environment-focused degree requirements, and a tendency towards offering electives that are narrowly focused on green technologies. Elective offerings mirror ABET’s recent move away from emphasizing the “broad education necessary to understand the impact” of engineering solutions to instead “consider the impact of” engineering solutions in an environmental context. Overall, the environmental education mechanical engineers are receiving is insufficient in amount and lacking in scientific and ethical foundation. Ideally, every mechanical engineering program should include coordinated environmental content throughout the curriculum and require at least one course that teaches both environmental design principles and the importance of environmental stewardship. A novel approach eschews the typical artes mechanicae course structure to teach environmental stewardship in the artes liberales educational tradition, emphasizing multi-dimensional thinking by employing great books style discussions of seminal scientific, ethical, and technological works. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)

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12 pages, 2418 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Behaviors of Procymidone in Different Types of Chinese Soil

by Shuguang Zhang, Lianshan Li, Ge Meng, Xu Zhang, Lina Hou, Xiude Hua and Minghua Wang

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6712; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126712 - 13 Jun 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2723

Abstract

Procymidone is a widely used fungicide in the prevention and treatment of fungal diseases on many crops in China. Part of the procymidone will enter the soil during the application process. Procymidone may exhibit environmental behavior diversity in different soils. Therefore, it is extremely important to clarify the environmental behavior of procymidone in soil for its environmental safety evaluation. Here, the degradation, adsorption, and mobility behaviors of procymidone in four typical types of Chinese soil were investigated for the first time. The half-lives of procymidone in the soils ranged from 14.3 d to 24.1 d. The degradation rates of procymidone in the soils were promoted by organic matter content, moisture content, and microorganisms. Furthermore, the degradation of procymidone on the soil surface was promoted by light. The desorption rates of procymidone in laterite soil, yellow brown soil, black soil, and chestnut soil were 27.52 ± 0.85%, 16.22 ± 0.78%, 13.67 ± 1.29%, and 7.62 ± 0.06%, respectively, which were contrary to the adsorption ability. The mobility order of procymidone in the soils was: laterite soil > yellow brown soil > black soil > chestnut soil, with the R_f values of 0.28, 0.22, 0.18, and 0.16, respectively. Three degradation products of procymidone were identified by liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and the degradation pathway of procymidone in the soil was speculated. The results will provide a theoretical basis for the removal of procymidone in the soil environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Education and Green Behavior)

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