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Education, Sustainability and Consumption

Code: 101639 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Social Education OT 3
Social Education OT 4
Education Studies OT 4
Early Childhood Education OT 4
Primary Education OT 4

Contact

Name:
Neus Banqué Martínez
Email:
neus.banque@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

There are no previous requirements.


Objectives and Contextualisation

The world faces global, complex and interrelated challenges and problems that affect lifestyles, values, social equity and also demand complex responses. Challenges arise from values that have created, and create, unsustainable societies. We have the knowledge, technology and skills needed to reverse the situation, so we need to mobilize our potential to take every opportunity to improve action and bring about change towards a necessary transformation. Education is key in this transformative process.

A transformative education must be a quality education, which facilitates the clarification of values, promotes holistic,critical and creative thinking, the construction of knowledge, the development of attitudes and skills necessary to participate in the positive and effective transformation of society. Education for Sustainability is, therefore, a key process in the construction of new imaginaries and alternative models based on social and economic justice, food sovereignty, responsible consumption, ecological integrity, the solidarity economy, the sustainable livelihoods, respect for all forms of life and strong values that promote social cohesion, democracy and participatory action. Education for Sustainability have to take on this challenge and highlight the interdependence between the environment, the economy, society and cultural diversity, from the local to the global level, and take into account the dimension of time (past, present, future).

The course will focus on the role of educators in Education for Sustainability, as well as the exploration of different professional profiles that link education, sustainability and consumption. Within this framework, the course sets out the following objectives:

  • Exploring the concept of environment and sustainability.
  • Approaching the conceptual and methodological framework of Education for Sustainability.
  • Encouraging holistic thinking and critical and creative thinking as fundamental aspects of Education for Sustainability.
  • Recognizing the importance and need to develop Education for Sustainability and Consumption processes in various educational contexts (formal, non-formal, informal, citizen participation, community intervention, ...).
  • Analizing the implications of Education for Sustainability and Consumption in relation to professional skills.
  • Approaching the design, elaboration and evaluation of projects and / or didactic materials in Education for sustainability and Education in responsible consumption.

 

 


Competences

    Social Education
  • Contextualize educational action based on the different theoretical paradigms that have developed in science and education in accordance with the socio-historical context of individuals, groups and institutions.
  • Maintain a respectful attitude to the environment (natural, social and cultural) to promote values, behaviour and sustainable practices that address gender equality, equity and respect for human rights.
    Education Studies
  • Identify educational approaches and problems, inquire about them: obtain, record, process and interpret relevant information to issue supported judgments that enhance education and training.
  • Maintain a respectful attitude for the environment (natural, social and cultural) to promote values, behaviours and practices that address gender equality, equity and respect for human rights.
    Early Childhood Education
  • "Critically analyse and incorporate the most relevant issues of contemporary society that affect family and school education: social and educational impact of audiovisual languages and of screens. changes in gender relations and intergenerational changes; multiculturalism and interculturalism; discrimination and social inclusion and sustainable development."
  • Develop educational proposals in relation to the interaction between science, technology, society and sustainable development.
  • Maintain a respectful attitude for the environment (natural, social and cultural) to promote values, behaviours and practices that address gender equality, equity and respect for human rights.
  • Promote interest and respect for the natural, social and cultural environment through appropriate educational projects.
  • Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
    Primary Education
  • Appreciate individual and collective responsibility in the achievement of a sustainable future.
  • Maintain a respectful attitude to the natural, social and cultural environment to foster values, behaviours and practices that attend to gender equality, equity and respect for human rights.
  • Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse the indicators of sustainability of academic and professional activities in the areas of knowledge, integrating social, economic and environmental dimensions.
  2. Apply systemic thinking to analysis of environmental problems and issues.
  3. Being able to establish links between environmental knowledge and actions and sustainable consumption.
  4. Recognising the different sustainability models in educational proposals.
  5. Weigh up the risks and opportunities of both one's own and other people's proposals for improvement.

Content

  • Conception of Environment - Sustainability - Sustainable Development Goals 2030
  • From Environmental Education to Education for Sustainability in the SDG 2030: historical perspective, evolution and mapping of various currents
  • Education for sustainability: purpose, objectives, key components and methodological approaches
  • Environmental issues and holistic thinking
  • Critical thinking in Education for Sustainability and Consumption
  • The dimension of futures in Education for Sustainability
  • Strategies in education for sustainability and consumption in different areas of intervention: formal, non-formal and informal education
  • Professional skills in Education for Sustainability and Consumption
  • Design, elaboration and evaluation of a Education for Sustainability and / or Consumption project.

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Explanation by teacher staff of the content and key issues of the module program. It is done with the whole group class and allows exposure of the main content through an open and active participation by students. 38.5 1.54 2, 4, 3
Type: Supervised      
Workspace in small groups supervised by teachers for analysis or processing activities and / or curriculum materials, study and / or resolution of cases, field activities and / or laboratory in order to go deep into the themes proposed. 27.5 1.1 2, 4, 3
Type: Autonomous      
Analysis of readings, educational innovation proposals, design of activities, preparing reports, analysis and resolution of cases, field work 75 3 2, 4, 3

This course aims to provide the foundational principles of Education for Sustainability. Emphasis will be placed on developing the necessary perspectives to understand the theoretical foundation, scope, and potential of educational work across diverse contexts and with varied groups.
The range of planned activities includes lectures presenting theoretical perspectives and foundations, discussion of readings and articles, field trips to explore relevant phenomena from a sustainability perspective, sessions with experts and/or real educational intervention experiences in the field of sustainability, and small-group sessions for reflection on readings and didactic proposals.

The teaching methodology is structured around three key principles:

(a) enabling students to experience, in their own educational process, that learning is simultaneously a social and personal act, engaging both rational and emotional aspects;
(b) maintaining an interactive dynamic and a relaxed atmosphere that fosters participation and personal commitment to one’s own learning and that of fellow group members;
(c) the teaching team acts as a facilitator of the students' learning process, expecting an active and autonomous role in tackling the proposed challenges.

The course is based on the premise that students are the central agents of the teaching-learning process, and the methodology is therefore designed to be participatory and interactive. A wide variety of activity types is proposed to ensure attention to diversity—both in connecting students with individual and group competencies, and in balancing out-of-class work with in-class activities. Face-to-face sessions are primarily conducted in large groups, although strategies for small-group work, such as seminars or workshops, are also incorporated.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Cooperative group work 50% 4 0.16 1, 2, 5, 4, 3
Individual face exam 40% 2 0.08 1, 2, 5, 4, 3
Individual work and participation 10% 3 0.12 1, 2, 5, 4, 3

Continuous Assessment of the subject takes place throughout the teaching period and is structured with a weighting of 50% for individual assessment and 50% for group assessment. This is carried out through the submission of three assessment tasks, of various types, distributed throughout the course as follows:

  1. Individual Reflection Task (35% of the final grade). This is a written assessment task based on reflection and in-depth analysis of the contents and readings covered in the course. It will be carried out on the following date: 09 January 2026.
  2. Ongoing Individual Tasks (15% of the final grade). This assessment task requires ongoing work throughout the course, through the submission of practical assignments, with the aim of reflecting on and/or applying resources and/or readings related to Education, Sustainability, and Consumption. Tasks will be submitted one week after the session requiring the practical task.
  3. Group Task: Design and Presentation of a Sustainability Education Project (50% of the final grade). This task requires the design, presentation, and co-assessment of educational resources for Sustainability Education that incorporate the didactic principles addressed in the course. The group materials will be submitted on the following dates: 12 and 19 December 2025.

 

The course includes the option of Single Assessment, which consists entirely of individual assessment (100%). This mode involves the submission of four assessment tasks as follows:

  1. Reflection Task (35% of the Single Assessment grade). Written task based on reflection and in-depth analysis of the course content and readings.
  2. Design and Presentation of a Sustainability Education Project (50% of the Single Assessment grade). Task requiring the design, presentation, and co-assessment of educational resources that incorporate the didactic principles addressed in the course.
  3. Oral Argumentation Task (15% of the Single Assessment grade). This is an oral interview to argue and defend the previously submitted tasks, as well as to demonstrate mastery of the course content.

Submission date for Single Assessment tasks:09 January 2026.

The characteristics and specific instructions for all activities will be explained at the beginning of the course. Assessment tasks will be graded and returned by the teaching team within a period not exceeding 20 working days according to the academic calendar. Students wishing to review their grades may do so during a specific assessment and review tutorial arranged in advance by the teaching staff.

NOT ASSESSED. A student will be considered "not assessed" if they fail to meet the attendance requirement and have not provided sufficient assessment evidence (must have submitted at least two-thirds of the required assessment tasks). In this case, the student will not be eligible for the recovery process.

Requirements and criteria to pass both continuous and single assessment:

  • Students must pass each of the 3 (continuous assessment) or 4 (single assessment) tasks (after the recovery process, if applicable), with a minimum grade of 5, in order for the average to be calculated and to obtain the final grade.
  • Students must have attended at least 80% of the course sessions. If this attendance requirement is not met, the student will be marked as "not presented." Justifications for absences serve only to explain the absence and do not exempt students from mandatory attendance.
  • Students must demonstrate general communicative competence, both oral and written, and a good command of the Catalan language. All assessment tasks (individual and group) will be evaluated for linguistic, orthographic, and grammatical correctness, as well as quality of writing and formal presentation. An activity may be returned as 'not assessed' or failed if the teacher considers it does not meet these requirements.
  • Students must exhibit a professional attitude consistent with the teaching profession. Competencies that will be considered include active listening, respect, participation, cooperation, empathy, kindness, punctuality, non-judgmental attitude, argumentation, appropriate mobile phone use, etc. In group work, one or more inappropriate attitudes may lower the individual grade. Therefore, members of the same group may receive different grades for the same activity.
  • Assessment tasks must meet the formal requirements of an academic paper. For example, it is recommended to ensure that sources, footnotes, textual citations, and bibliographic references are correctly formatted according to APA 7 standards.

 

Recovery. According to UAB academic regulations, to be eligible for the recovery process, the following criteria must be met:

  • All course assessment tasks are recoverable, provided the student has been previously assessed for the corresponding task.
  • However, to access the recovery process, a minimum average grade of 3.5 is required. If this condition is not met, recovery is not possible and the course will be automatically failed.
  • The student must have complied with the course assessment requirements.
  • The student must have met the transparency criteria regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). *
  • The student must not have violated any rules regarding cheating or plagiarism. **
  • The maximum grade that can be obtained in the recovery process is 5 out of 10 for the recovered task. This grade will be averaged with the rest of the assessment results.

Planned recovery date:30 January 2026.

* In this course, the use of AI technologies is only permitted for the field trip activity and the didactic seminar activity. Its use is limited to support tasks such as information or bibliography searches, text correction, or translation of articles into a language different from the usual language of instruction. If AI is used, students must clearly identify which parts were generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced the process and the final outcome. Lack of transparency in AI use will be considered academic dishonesty and may lead to partial or total penalties on the task grade or more serious sanctions in severe cases.

** According to UAB academic regulations, copying or plagiarism in any assessment task constitutes a serious offense. It will be sanctioned with a grade of 0 for the entire course and loss of the right to recovery, whether the work is individual or group-based (in which case all group members will receive a 0). If a student is found attempting to copy or using unauthorized materials or devices during an in-class activity, the activity will be graded with a 0, with no option for recovery, and the course will be failed. A task is considered "copied" when it reproduces all or a significant part of another student's work. A task is considered "plagiarized" when it presents a part of a text by another author as one's own without citing sources, regardless of whether the original source is in print or digital format.

SYNTHESIS EXAM. From the second enrollment in the course onwards, a synthesis exam may be taken to assess the learning outcomes defined in this Course Guide. In this case, the final grade for the course will correspond to the grade obtained in the synthesis exam. The exam will take place on 09/01/2026.


Bibliography

Bibliography elaborated with perspective of gender: 

BIANCHI, G.; PISIOTIS, U., CABRERA, M. (eds) GreenComp_The European Sustainability Competence Framework. Y. Punie & M. Bacigalupo (eds). EUR 30955 EN, Publication Offiece of the Eurpean Union, Luxembourg. https://doi:10.2760/13286

CEBRIAN, G.; JUNYENT, M. (2014) Competencias profesionales en Educación para la Sostenibilidad: un estudio exporatorio de la visión de futuros maestros. Enseñanza de las ciencias, 32 (1), 29.49.  https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/ensciencias.877

GARCIA, M.R., JUNYENT, M., & FONOLLEDA, M. (2017). How to assess professional competencies in Education for Sustainability? An approach from a perspective of complexity. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 18(5), 772-797. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-03-2016-0055

GARCÍA DÍAZ, J. E., FERNÁNDEZ-ARROYO, J., RODRÍGUEZ-MARÍN, F. Y PUIG GUTIÉRREZ, M. (2019). Más allá de la sostenibilidad: por una educación ambiental que incremente la resiliencia de la población ante el decrecimiento/colapso. Revista de Educación Ambiental y Sostenibilidad, 1(1), 1101. https://revistas.uca.es/index.php/REAyS/article/view/4782

GIL-PEREZ, D.; VILCHES, A. (2019). La comprensión e impulso de la Sostenibilidad: un requisito imprescindible para una acción educativa y ciudadana eficaz. Revista de Educación Ambiental y Sostenibilidad, 1 (2), 2101. https://doi.org/10.25267/Rev_educ_ambient_sostenibilidad.2019.v1.i2.2101

HICKS, D. (2002) Lessons for the future. The missing dimension in education. London and New York: Routledge.

HICKS, D. & HOLDEN, C. (2007). Remembering the future: what do children think? Environmental Education Research, 13, pp. 501-512.

SAUVÉ, L. (2004) Una cartografia de corrientes de educación ambiental. En Sato, Michèle, Carvalho, Isabel (Orgs). A pesquisa em educação ambiental: cartografias de uma identidade narrativa em formação. Porto Alegre: Artmed. http://www.ecominga.uqam.ca/PDF/BIBLIOGRAPHIE/GUIDE_LECTURE_3/1/2.Sauve.pdf

SAUVÉ, L. (2014) Educación ambiental y ecodiudadanía. Dimensiones claves de un proyecto político-pedagógico. Revista Científica, 18, 12- 23. Bogotá. https://revistas.udistrital.edu.co/index.php/revcie/article/view/5558

SLEURS, W. (coord) (2008) Competencies for ESD (Education for Sustainable Development)- Teachers. Leuven, Bèlgica. https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/inf.meeting.docs/EGonInd/8mtg/CSCT%20Handbook_Extract.pdf

TILBURY, D.; WORTMAN, D. (2004) Engaging people in sustainability. Commission on Education and Communication, IUCN, Gland,Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. https://portals.iucn.org/ñibrary/efiles/documents/2004-055.pdf

UNECE (2012) Learning for the future. Competences in Education for Sustainable Development. Génève, Switzerland: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/esd/ESD_Publications/Competences_Publication.pdf

UNESCO (2017) Education for Sustainable Development Goals. Learning Objectives. Paris. 67pp. Education for Sustainable Development Goals: learning objectives; 2017 (unesco.de)

Educación para los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible: objetivos de aprendizaje; 2017 (unican.es)

UNESCO (2020) Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible. Hoja de ruta. París, França. 64 pp.  https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374802

WALS, A.E.J.; van der HOEVEN, N; BLANKEN, H. (2007) The acoustics of social learning: designing learning processes that contribute to a more sustainable world. Utrecht: SenterNovem- https://arjenwals.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/acoustics-digital.pdf

NOTE :other bibliography may be recommended throughout the course


Software

There is not specific software in the subject.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PLAB) Practical laboratories 401 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 4 Catalan first semester morning-mixed