Integrating education for sustainable development in physical education: fostering critical and systemic thinking

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this personal vision research is to analyse the characteristics of physical education subject to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the development of competences in university students. The objective is to reflect on how critical and systemic thinking could be mobilised through the contents and methodologies in physical education to promote the SDGs. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual article is proposed in which an active investigation of how physical education could foster critical and systemic thinking has been carried out. For this purpose, articles were selected that have analysed the potential of physical education for sustainability. Databases such as Web of Science, Scopus or Google Scholar have been reviewed through keywords such as “physical education”, “sustainability”, “critical thinking” or “systems thinking”. Findings Strategies are presented to enable university students to understand the scope of the subject beyond the physical dimension. This study discusses that it is only through such a change of view of the subject that meaningful learning and learning situations that encourage enquiry and active participation can be introduced. Thus, this paper argues that physical education is a unique area of knowledge for mobilising critical and systemic thinking in the context of sustainable development (SD). Consequently, concrete actions are presented for application in physical education teaching that shows direct connections to specific targets of the SDGs. Practical implications This study presents practical implications for higher education leaders and educational policy designers at the national level, as it would help improve initial and ongoing training programs for physical education teachers, focusing on the development of key competencies for sustainability. Social implications Physical education has the potential to contribute to the development of vulnerable schools and communities, especially to the health and well-being of children and young people and does not require large financial budgets. Therefore, the recommendations presented in this study can have a positive impact on the well-being of these groups. Originality/value This document invites reflection on how, through different teaching strategies, we can produce significant learning that contributes to the sustainability of the planet. All this, trying to mobilise critical and systemic thinking and consequently improving awareness for SD.

Education for Sustainability—Some Bibliometric Insights

“…Each cluster is automatically assigned a name based on the concept with the highest frequency within it. The respective cluster names are as follows: "sustainable development" (2428), "transformative learning" (316), "sustainable consumption" (64), "environment" (59), "case study" (58), "global citizenship education" (33), and "transformative education" (16).…”

“…With regard to the educational curriculum, a topical article demonstrated that the physical education discipline approached correctly forms critical and systemic thinking conducive to sustainable development with a focus on concrete application actions in the teaching of physical education that have direct links to specific goals of the SDGs [33]. A challenge was linking sustainable development to ICT in the context of higher education.…”

“…In the Niche Themes quadrant, the Global Citizenship Education Cluster is a small cluster (33) that is characterized by the highest RankDensity (7). The cluster is centered around the concept of "global citizenship education" (18), with another closely related concept, "global citizenship" (15), also prominent within the cluster.…”

Environmental, Social and Economic Attitudes and Sustainable Knowledge on the Sustainable Behaviour of Engineering Students: An Analysis Based on Attitudes towards Teachers

“…In this context, ESD seeks to strengthen knowledge of sustainability from a global perspective, covering the main Sustainability 2023, 15, 13537 2 of 20 dimensions of sustainable development: economy, society, and environment [4]. In addition, ESD encourages students to think critically and solve global problems or challenges [5]. Therefore, including ESD in university curricula is vital for future professionals to make decisions based on sustainability [6].…”

Service-Learning as an Approach to Educating for Sustainable Development

“…The literature on education for sustainable development calls for pedagogical innovations that provide interactive, experiential, transformative, and real-world learning that mobilizes critical and systemic thinking in the context of sustainable development [20,22,[26][27][28][29]. It is expected that this change in viewpoint will inspire researchers and educators of all disciplines to further the development of pedagogies and teaching resources for sustainable development.…”