The urgency of cutting carbon emissions and the lagging implementation of transformative, climate-friendly measures has been firmly expressed by climate scientists. In this context, schools are called upon to organise processes which can lead to more climate-friendly schools. In search of solutions to this challenging task, high school students, teachers and the research team in the transdisciplinary project k.i.d.Z.21_aCtiOn2 sought to reduce carbon emissions in partner schools in Germany and Austria. The collaboration built on the young people having previously been involved in a climate change education programme which prepared them to become agents of change in their schools. Alongside the project's attempts to transform the schools into more climate-friendly organisations, various hindering aspects have been identified through Situational Analyses, a qualitative approach building on Grounded Theory which made use of participants' and researchers' mappings of situations. The mappings captured all involved actors, their roles in the transformation processes, carbon emission sources, the students' proposals and to what extent these were considered or implemented. Overall, this situated, participatory approach identified 15 types of barriers. Building on previous organisational research on schools, a coupling theory approach has been adopted to analyse the extent to which the interrelations of involved actors contributed to these barriers. The study provides detailed descriptions of how barriers to carbon reduction measures arise in schools. Other initiatives of creating climate-friendly educational institutions can build on the outlined importance of capturing all involved actors and their couplings in order to understand, and potentially prevent, barriers.

This follow-up study presents a design-based research (DBR) setting implemented over a three-year project called 'eKidZ - Teach Your Parents Well' which uses research-based learning and follows the four phases of DBR. In an iterative cycle, 20 teenagers aged 14-16 took on the role of researchers and investigated intergenerational learning and the multiplier effects of students participating in the Climate Change Education project 'k.i.d.Z.21 - Competent into the Future' on their parents, using the complete research process. Simultaneously, scientists implemented and tested the DBR setting to validate student research findings and to evaluate the quality of the educational setting. In this fully integrated DBR, using multiple methods (quantitative and qualitative), educational and scientific perspectives are brought together to evaluate students' findings and draw conclusions regarding their learning effects. These research results demonstrate that not only did students generate valid and reliable research, but - when changing perspectives - teenagers also contribute to the discussion about closing the gaps in science education and practice. By examining young people's research on Climate Change Education and recognising their contribution in scientific discourse, this paper offers a host of new insights.HighlightsTeenagers take on the role of researchers and perform reliable and valid research results on intergenerational learning and multiplier effects in Climate Change Education, by completing all phases of research-based learning.Design-based research is an effective method to combine science and education and thus delivering novel insights into science education and practice.High-quality Climate Change Education fosters constructive cooperation among all participants with inter - and intragenerational learning and multiplier effects.Constructivism, transdisciplinarity and research-based learning form the basis for effective design-based research and Climate Change Education.

Bridging the gap between climate change knowledge and climate-friendly behavior remains one of the biggest challenges in the twenty-first century. Traditional approaches to behavior change have tended to focus on expanding evidence-based knowledge, with limited translation into action. New methods to increase action must be explored, and self-regulation in encouraging climate-friendly behavior presents an interesting approach. We applied the Risk, Attitudes, Norms, Ability, and Self-regulation (RANAS) model, a systematic approach to facilitate behavior change, to the context of climate-friendly behavior. Determinants of climate-friendly actions among high school students (n = 386) from Austria and Germany were investigated. From the data collected, Everyday- and Proactive Action (PA) was identified as two types of climate-friendly action. To gain further insights into the role of self-regulation in facilitating these types of action, the subfactors of self-regulation of the RANAS model were used and tested for their construct validity. These subfactors showed a positive correlation with Everyday- and Proactive Action. Using a two-level linear model including control variables, we show that Action Planning (AP), Action Control (AC), and Commitment are significant for Everyday Action (EA). For PA, AP and Commitment show a significant effect. Overall, self-regulation is worthy of further investigation in context of climate-friendly behavior.

In this chapter the author discusses the relationship between digitalization and education from the perspective of the concept of education for sustainable development. The aim is to counter a development that sees digitalization as a natural phenomenon or as inevitable technological “progress” to which education must respond. The starting point of the discussion cannot be the many possible applications of digital technologies and the question of how they can best support current educational practice, but instead an understanding of education that needs to be made explicit along with the educational goals associated with it. The international as well as national education policy benchmark for an education that prepares us to meet the challenges of the future is the concept of education for sustainable development. In this chapter is it shown, based on this concept of education, both the potential and the limitations of the use of digital technologies for the design of educational processes.

Purpose Higher education and its leadership are not yet using their potential impact for a sustainable future. This paper aims to focus on UN developments and the long history of university involvement in sustainability might create more interest and understanding that sustainably oriented universities are actually possible and a much stronger role for higher education is needed when nations are discussing their future. Design/methodology/approach Literature review with a focus on international treaties and declarations on the UN level and international university networks, literature review of the background and potential of the whole-institution approach and the need/suggestions for further research, also to measure advancement. Findings History shows a strong engagement of higher education with sustainability from its beginnings. There have been strong calls/offers from within university networks to take a crucial role in moving towards sustainable development that involves more than teaching about sustainability. The international community calls for higher education to be involved in policymaking rather than simply implementation, have been limited and the full potential of higher education institutions using all opportunities such as being living labs for sustainability has not as yet been realized. Currently, calls for engagement are often still limited to training and providing research when scientific evidence is wanted. Research limitations/implications Literature review focused on UN level treaties/declarations English- and German-language review national developments limited to samples of members of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 subcluster in the Higher Education and Research for Sustainable Development (HESD) Global Cluster by the International Association of Universities (IAU). Practical implications Guidance for university leaders and other stakeholders to become aware of and consider a whole-institution approach. Practitioner relevance as countries is encouraged to embed UN recommendations, treaties and declarations. Defining opportunities for further research. Presenting the HESD Cluster by the IAU as a sample for new approaches of higher education to interact with the SDGs. Social implications Strengthening the role of higher education in the pursuit of a better future would focus on science and research as a neutral basis for decision-making and policy development. Sustainability embedded in all streams of university can help universities to be a practical example of the possibilities of sustainability at work. Originality/value Composition of authors with UN background and involvement. Focus on UN treaties/declarations and guidance for academics and practitioners in leadership on adopted UN and other international documents. Summarizing the background of the whole-institution approach as a genuine development over time but including limitations and implications for future roles for higher education leadership. IAU SDG 4 Subcluster is unique in its own approach and with its connections to a global network of higher education institutions and UNESCO.

Ways towards sustainable development will require mutual learning processes and processes of change across disciplines and stakeholders and between the Global South and North. The new Institute for Sustainable Development and Learning aims to meet these requirements ‐ through transdisciplinary learning as evidence-generating and evidence-supported learning processes on the individual, organizational and societal levels, thus fostering fundamental system transformations. It invites scholars and other societal actors from the Global South and North to collaborate and partner.

Die Entwicklung des Begriffs Nachhaltigkeitskommunkation geht einher mit der Forderung eines verantwortungsvollen Umgangs des Menschen mit seiner natu?rlichen und sozialen Umwelt. Dazu bedarf es eines gesellschaftlichen Verständigungsprozesses, der sich mit den Ursachen wie auch mit Lösungsansätzen dieser Entwicklungen befasst. Die Aufgabe von Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation besteht darin, das Verständnis von Welt bzw. das Mensch-Umwelt-Verhältnis reflektiert in den gesellschaftlichen Diskurs einzubringen und die Problemwahrnehmung zu schärfen, zu reflektieren und in Relation zu gesellschaftlichen Werten und Normen zu setzen. Neben der Charakterisierung sowie theoretischen Einbettung des Verständnisses werden im Folgenden Themen, Konzepte und Methoden der Nachhaltigkeitskommunikation beschrieben.

This chapter discusses the relationship between education and sustainable development. Sustainable development is about such pressing global challenges as climate change, biodiversity loss, marine pollution, unemployment and the unjust division of wealth between developed and developing countries. A sustainable development involves comprehensive and far-reaching transformations and fundamental shifts in perspective. There is consensus in academia that these changes can only be brought about through drastic changes in lifestyle and the dominant patterns of production and consumption. Educational processes should promote a greater awareness of issues concerning the sustainable development of society and develop competences allowing individuals to participate in coming up with innovative solutions to the economic, social, technological and cultural problems threatening the Earth's ecosystem. Education for sustainable development opens up new perspectives on traditional educational subjects. An education oriented towards a respect for human dignity and democracy is thus extended to include recognition of the natural bases of life on Earth.

Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Auseinandersetzung um umweltbezogene und ethische Fragen im Bildungssystem und zeichnet den Weg von den Anfängen der Umweltbildung bis zur Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung nach.