<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program to alleviate socio-economic conditions in the Philippines, addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 (No Poverty) and 4 (Quality Education). It attempts to address poverty, which is a risk factor to education among Filipinos. However, the program impact on education and economy remains understudied. This paper investigated the recipients of the CCT and analyzed parental involvement and its influence on students’ academic achievement. In this study, parental involvement refers to parenting, learning at home, volunteering, school decision-making, collaborating, and communicating, while academic achievement pertains to the students’ academic performance in the core learning areas: Science, Mathematics, English, and Filipino. Using a descriptive-correlation method, the respondents were randomly selected comprising 306 parents and 306 students in Tarragona District, Davao Oriental, Philippines. The data were analyzed using Spearman Rho Correlation and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The results showed there was no statistical correlation between parental involvement and student’s academic achievement. Parents had low involvement in learning at home, volunteering, and school decision-making. On the other hand, the students demonstrated high academic achievement in the core learning areas. The significant step of the Philippine government for education through the CCT is an effective approach to keeping children in school. Emphasis must be placed on strengthening parental involvement in children’s education to ensure academic success.
</abstract>

Parental Involvement and Academic Achievement: Keys to Translating No Poverty and Quality Education SDGs in Philippine Peripheral Communities

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Blockchain educational technology has created assessment and management tools for learner credentials that are permanent, transparent and sustainable while giving users direct access. Personal encrypted credentials enable users to shape lifelong learning pathways and personalizes education according to individual values and needs. They allow for the permanent documentation of both formal and informal learning based on transversal competencies, adjustable across the economic sector and responsive to situational needs. Badging was the initial response to online credentialing. Mozilla’s open digital badges have become the unofficial global standard and the specifications remain free. They may be viewed in e-portfolios and social networks. Yet, if issuers cease hosting badges, they become invalid even when authentic. Some experiments with blockchain technology remedy this situation by creating a permanent, secure and sustainable infrastructure for learning records. The MIT Media Lab has produced the bitcoin based Blockcerts; whereas the Knowledge Institute, Open University, UK has developed Ethereum’s Smart Contracts to document Microcredentials (Badges). Both are Open Source products. Most EU nations are experimenting with educational blockchain. The technology creates an infrastructure to document, store and manage credentials and provides learners with a sustainable record of achievements they can control. It also benefits universities by reducing administrative costs and bureaucracy.</abstract>

Blockchain and the Future of Digital Learning Credential Assessment and Management

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> In the Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) curriculum, there is no specific content for education for sustainable development (ESD). Thus, it is not possible to get direct guidelines on how to conduct ESD in ECEC from the curriculum. We seek to look at the preferences of Finnish early childhood educators through the model of extended environmental education. Behind this model is Palmer's tree model and an emphasis on empirical, social and ethical components of ECEC. The research method employed a survey. Altogether 924 teams in Southern Finland evaluated their learning environments. By using a factor and reliability analysis, we extracted three factors relevant to the extended Palmer's model. The teachers primarily emphasised the understanding (learning) aspects of ECEC. The second most important aspect comprised the social aspects of education. The third most important aspect included the ethical and participant aspects of ECEC. Potential implications and indications to the practice of ESD are discussed</abstract>

Education for sustainable development in early childhood education in Finland

<abstract xml:lang="en"><title style='display:none'>Teachers as Agents of Societal Change</title>This article discusses theoretical and practical aspects of transformative learning that can become a way for adults to critically evaluate and essentially comprehend themselves and their input in education, whose goal is to create action towards a sustainable society. The review of contemporary literature focuses on sustainability as a holistic concept linked to the idea of vision as significant in engendering alternative transformative power. The framework of a sustainable development has a potential to stimulate teachers' engagement with educational and societal processes with respect to the future development of a society within an ethical framework around values of democracy and active societal engagement. The aim of the research presented here is to explore the effect of critical transformative learning process for revitalizing adults' societal action brought about by engagement with in-service course for adults, aiming to gradually assist adults helping them to become creative producers of self and agents of transformations in education.</abstract>

Teachers as Agents of Societal Change

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Higher education is given increasing recognition by national governments and international agencies throughout the world to become a crucial incentive for sustainable development goals. In the national development of intellectual force at present, the Vietnam policy of education and training, which is of great importance, is the decisive factor for the economic growth and social development as set out by the government. Therefore, the educational development is the responsibility of both the government and the society. It is now clear that the academic staff in higher education institutions is the core force, playing a decisive role in ensuring the quality of higher education as in the case of the International University – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. The paper investigated the research studies by the university academic staff through their annual publications and the number of lecturers with Doctoral degrees and professorship. The results showed their research studies contributed to the development of the institution in particular, and at the same time predicted how much the stakeholders benefited from this in general. This study may contribute to developing the quality of higher education institutions regarding the promotion of international publications by the higher education faculties.
</abstract>

The Professional Development of Academic Staff in Higher Education Institution

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> This study focuses on the experiences of young people who are leaders of change in the environmental field. This study views environmental activism as a personal commitment towards pro-environmental behaviour. The motivations and challenges of such work are viewed as important to learn more not only about volunteering in environmental organisations, but also about pro-environmental behaviour. The main research problem was to explore these individualsí present and past life experiences, in the light of their activism, towards the issue of climate change. Narrative inquiry was chosen as a methodology for this research as it gives importance to experience and facilitates the study of an issue in all of its wholeness and complexity. The research involved in-depth interviews with three participants as well as living alongside the participants in an effort to build a relationship with them and to experience being an environmental activist. The participants were members of a local environmental organisation ñ Friends of the Earth (Malta). The outcomes of this study provide an opportunity for reflection on the factors that affect pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour and their implications on environmental education. This reflection will enable informed efforts to engage more young people in environmental activism. From the narratives produced, it is clear that there is no single factor that is optimal for promoting pro-environmental behaviour and environmental activism. These are, in fact, determined by a combination of interrelated factors.</abstract>

Positive Youth Action Towards Climate Change

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The article investigates sustainable development from the holistic perspective, taking into account the complex nature of the world and the dynamism of the socio-economic systems. The study is interdisciplinary, as it addresses the issues of economics, mathematics and physics with the main focus on the modern perspective of sustainable development offered in the field of education. The article focuses on key questions concerning the expansion of the educational processes and deepening of ideas and knowledge about the dynamism and diversity of the planetary system. The holistic approach implies the interaction of various nonlinear features that have been used in the paper to build a mental model and a causal relationship schema. The understanding of the interaction of energy flows in socio-economic systems has been used by the authors to explain the underlying connection of various processes. The authors of the article propose a systemic dynamic model of sustainability, which can open up an understanding of some of the reasons for changes in the potential of the industrial sector. Modeling results have been obtained and interpreted using historical USA statistical data from 1949 to 2019. In the article, the authors reveal the relationship between nature, society and human from the point of view of promising and methodological approaches of the “new” and “old” world. The diversity of experiences makes it possible to question the dominant approaches of traditional teaching in education. This creates the need to look for new foundations that can promote the development of more sustainable learning for the future.
</abstract>

Nonlinear Natural Scientific Thinking and Ecological Consciousness for Sustainability

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Overcoming the challenges of Covid-19, every person at an educational institution has faced changes in the workplace environment from working time, scope and content to the transformation of psychological, emotional and physical relationships. The attractiveness factors of workplace environment are essential in thinking of, developing and accepting sustainable attitude, sustainable education and sustainable development in everyday life. The aim of the article is to present the results of the research on the attractiveness factors of workplace environment and organizational culture of educational institutions from the point of view of teachers and heads of educational institutions, evaluating them in the context of sustainable development of education, based on theoretical analysis of literature sources and empirical research. Quantitative research method – survey – was used in the study. 97 participants (teachers (n=84) and heads of educational institutions (n=13)) from different educational institutions of one of the biggest cities in Latvia, Daugavpils, took part in the study. The data were processed in accordance with research ethics and personal data protection, visualized on the basis of numerical data units.
The gained data indicate that the most important factors for the attractiveness of the workplace environment for both teachers and heads of educational institutions are relationships, work fit and security. Respondent groups cite ‘responsibility’ and ‘location’ as the least important factors in making the workplace environment attractive. Workplace attractiveness factors are a combination of workplace environment and organizational culture, and they are interrelated concepts. The results of the study show that both teachers and heads of educational institutions value an innovative culture in the organization that is characterized by the following statements: ‘willing to take risks, a result-oriented, creative, stimulating, challenging’ and they appreciate a supportive culture in the organization that is characterized by the statements ‘willing to cooperate, encouraging and sociable, recognizing personal freedom’. There are statistically significant differences in opinions on the attractiveness of the workplace environment (such as ‘contribution’, ‘recognition’, ‘innovation’ and ‘responsibility’) among teachers and heads of educational institutions.
</abstract>

Attractiveness of the Workplace Environment of Educational Institutions in the Context of Sustainable Development

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
This paper reports the study which explored the learning and teaching of the topics of climate change, sustainability and disaster risk reduction in secondary-level teacher education programs in England and Japan. Through interviewing teacher educators, the study particularly probed how teacher education programs used local knowledge and collaboration in discussing the above topics. Geography tends to be the main subject area for these global agendas, but its crammed curriculum is “an ongoing challenge” for teacher education. Some researchers demonstrate that university-based initial teacher education has “ignored” training teachers on how to implement environmental and sustainability education at schools. Besides, the inquiries into how initial teacher education equips geography teachers for the learning and teaching of disaster risk reduction are still scarce. This paper aims to fill this gap by bringing together the fields of geography education, climate change and sustainability education, disaster risk reduction education and initial teacher education.
</abstract>

Learning and Teaching of Climate Change, Sustainability and Disaster Risk Reduction in Teacher Education in England and Japan

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Professional development for sustainability in early childhood care and education (ECCE) has been perceived by experts as education that supports the workforce to acquire the right skills, attitudes, and knowledge that resonate through their practices to the benefit of the sector. Professional development for sustainability is aimed at providing quality and continuing development to the ECCE workforce to equip them with the relevant skills to perform their duties for the benefit of the children and society. This paper discusses practitioners’ (n=211) professional development needs from a sustainability perspective and the impacts of some demographic features. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and questionnaire. The study found that practitioners’ professional development was germane to the sustainability of the ECCE sector. The study further found that practitioners’ perceptions of their professional development needs were independent of their marital status and age. Practitioners suggested that the transformation of communities depended on the sustainable provisioning of ECCE by a highly trained workforce.
</abstract>

Practitioners’ Professional Development Needs From a Sustainability Perspective: The Impact of Some Demographic Features

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The evaluation of teacher’s work has traditionally been a cornerstone of educational systems worldwide, driven by the need to maintain educational standards and ensure teacher accountability. Recognizing the limitations of conventional evaluation practices, a growing movement advocates for a more sustainable and inclusive approach that values the complex nature of teaching.
The aim of the research is to analyse ways for incorporating a more sustainable framework in the assessment of teacher’s daily work.
The data of 73 observed lessons protocols allow concluding that the recorded statistical data provide only a general overview of classroom practices. Qualitative data serve as a valuable tool for gaining in-depth insights into the context of the classroom problems and the direction toward possible solutions.
The main findings of the study: prioritizing student learning and promoting their sustainable development, with an emphasis on independent learning and developing meta-cognitive skills are significant factors of our proposed approach to teacher’s work evaluation, as well as taking into consideration teachers’ beliefs, experience and attitudes in line with the observers’ subjectivity.
</abstract>

A More Sustainable Approach to Evaluating Teacher’s Work

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> Many ministries of education focus on twenty-first century education but unless they are looking at this topic through a sustainability lens, they will be missing some of its most important elements. The usual emphasis on developing skills for employability in the current global economy begs the question whether the global economy is itself sustainable over the course of this century. According to the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) whose membership comprises 29 of the largest, most important companies on the planet, it is not. Continuing on the current development path would require approximately 2.3 planets earth to support existing levels of resource and energy use, and waste production, projected out for a global population which will reach 9 billion by 2050. And yet most discussions of 21st century education are premised on servicing, rather than transforming, the current global economy. This paper explores the opportunities and benefits of connecting the discourse on twentyfirst century education with Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) which seeks to prepare learners for the varied and interrelated environmental, social, and economic challenges they will meet as they confront a changing world. ESD emphasizes futures thinking and strategic planning that will enable learners to help create and flourish in a more sustainable economy. Conventional teaching models must also shift to a “transformative” style of education for the twenty-first century in order for humankind to learn how to live more sustainably on this planet.</abstract>

Twenty-first Century Education: Transformative Education for Sustainability and Responsible Citizenship

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> The current study examined the effect of an online professional development learning experience on teachers’ self-efficacy through 148 (Male=22; Female=126) K-12 teachers and school educators. The Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) developed by Tschannen- Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) was administered twice with a five-week gap. Additionally, all participants’ descriptive self-analysis of their own score change was examined to analyze teachers’ attributions of their self-efficacy change. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that teacher efficacy increased as a result of their online professional development experience. Participants’ self-analysis of their efficacy change provided some possible explanations for mixed reports for the influence of experience on teacher efficacy.</abstract>

The Effect of Professional Development on Teacher Efficacy and Teachers’ Self-Analysis of Their Efficacy Change

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been viewed as education that helps people develop the attitude, skills, and knowledge to make well-informed decisions for the benefit of the present and future generations. It aims at providing quality education through shared understanding and multi-disciplinary approaches in meeting the developmental and environmental apprehension for a sustainable future. Many theorists envisaged ESD as enhancing active involvement of learners both in school and out of school learning initiatives to acquire knowledge about sustainable development issues. The present paper discusses Namibian school teachers’ (n=9) perceptions of ESD and the teachers’ teaching practices using a qualitative-explorative study design. The data were gathered through two semi-structured interviews and lesson observations. The findings have revealed that senior secondary school teachers perceive ESD in terms of knowledge acquisition about the environment in order to use its resources sustainably for the benefit of future generations. The study has also revealed that teachers have positive sentiment toward the inclusion of ESD into the senior secondary school curriculum. Following this, they suggested that ESD should be either implemented as an independent subject or integrated with other existing subjects as a multi-disciplinary subject.</abstract>

Implementing Education for Sustainable Development in Namibia: School Teachers’ Perceptions and Teaching Practices

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>Sustainable education and education for sustainable development (ESD) have witnessed a deserved number of research studies in the recent years. The present article proposes a holistic research framework for the research on sustainable education and education for sustainable development in the 21st century. The article aims to choose a more holistic research perspective by avoiding a piecemeal approach in education research. Moreover, it proposes some strategically important ideas about the use of approaches and methods for sustaining the generational readiness for sustainable development. The paper proposes a general framework for pedagogy and practice for ESD research which is open, holistic, strategic, sustainable, and integrated. A broader perspective has been developed as the relation of the ecological–cultural–social environment aspects seen in a broader adaptive evolutionary sense as a condition necessary for the development of a human species and the development of these conditions in the evolutionary process. The choice of a broader perspective is proposed by relating it to an observational study on Generation Z that many educators, social scientists and the populations have already started recognising as one of the participants in the intergenerational process. The phenomenon of Generation Z is new; its features have not fully revealed in their apparent form, yet. Furthermore, the generation has not reached its maturity yet, but the development of this phenomenon is inextricably related to the issue of generational commitment, which is also related to the evolutionary development. The observational study has been carried out by involving participants from VECC Daugavpils Vocational School. The evaluation of the participants’ real experience in a wider and broader framework has been used to draw strategic conclusions, which will help keep focus on the need to sustain generational readiness for sustainable development in the harmonisation of the choice of pedagogical approaches and methods.</abstract>

Education for Sustainable Development: The Choice of Pedagogical Approaches and Methods for the Implementation of Pedagogical Tasks in the Anthropocene Age

<abstract><title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>The need to focus on a transdisciplinary approach in education for sustainable development (EDS) has been reflected in research and especially action research as a possible solution, which can open a new perspective for understanding and interpretation of the complex phenomenon of sustainability as well as for developing new open continuing education programmes by integrating research and learning activities in the context of open transdisciplinary research.The content structure of the article: (1) it describes the experience that has evolved at one faculty and its subordinate scientific institute and has been proposed to be used within the entire institution; (2) it generalises issues arising from the extensive experience, which in action research manifest themselves as issues relating to the appropriate perspective choice in terms of sustainability, approaches that in education make it possible to understand the sustainability phenomenon, as well as features that help identify sustainability at different levels. Well-known cases in the history of science, philosophy of science, and systems development research have been used to highlight the relationship among the dynamic interaction of complex problems that can systematically appear as sustainable or unsustainable. Therefore, the article provides insight into a specific relationship among science development, integration and Anthropocene phenomena with sustainability / non-sustainability phenomena and their interaction; (3) it offers the experience necessary for the creation of participatory action research ideas and research base to expand the cooperation of university and its graduates using a stakeholder approach and connecting it with a transdisciplinary research framework, which envisages an activity around the sustainability phenomenon and its deep relationship to the openness for the evolution of sustainability consciousness as concerns individuals and societies; (4) it describes the first three activities of the first phase of the undertaken action research, which allowed determining the participants’ motivation to take part in the action research, identifying participants’ attitude and understanding sustainability and Anthropocene phenomena, as well as establishing a strategic vision of open transdisciplinary framework benefits and opportunities through participatory action research to develop open evolutionary study programs for continuing education, which would extend and deepen the cooperation of university and its graduates for social innovation creation and achieving quality education for sustainable development by reorienting the society and education towards sustainability and sustainable development.The present article aims at establishing an open transdisciplinary research framework, which is necessary for undertaking action research, and outlining a strategic vision for developing continuing education programs in the participatory action research that will help reorient continuing education to sustainable development.</abstract>

Sustainability from the Transdisciplinary Perspective: An Action Research Strategy for Continuing Education Program Development

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Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability

The Journal of UNESCO Chair on the Interplay of Tradition and Innovation in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at Daugavpils University, Latvia

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