Education for Sustainability—Some Bibliometric Insights

Andra-Teodora Gorski, Elena-Diana Ranf, Dorel Badea, Elisabeta-Emilia Halmaghi () and Hortensia Gorski
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Andra-Teodora Gorski: Faculty of Economics, “Lucian Blaga” University, 550024 Sibiu, Romania
Elena-Diana Ranf: Faculty of Military Management, “Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy, 550170 Sibiu, Romania
Dorel Badea: Faculty of Economics, “Lucian Blaga” University, 550024 Sibiu, Romania
Elisabeta-Emilia Halmaghi: Faculty of Military Management, “Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy, 550170 Sibiu, Romania
Hortensia Gorski: Faculty of Military Management, “Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy, 550170 Sibiu, Romania

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 20, 1-17

Abstract: The opportunities and challenges related to sustainability impose not only a societal transformation but also a personal one. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have great potential to promote sustainability and shape future generations’ skills, knowledge, thinking, and actions. Addressing environmental, social, and economic pillars, education for sustainable development (ESD), or education for sustainability (EfS), is a catalyst for quality education towards a sustainable future. This paper aims to analyze the state of the art and prevailing trends in the scientific literature pertaining to ESD/EfS. In this regard, specific objectives were established to identify the following: (1) authors’ productivity over time; (2) countries’ contribution and collaboration; (3) the most relevant keywords; and (4) the most prominent themes—in terms of relevance and degree of development. To fulfill the research objectives, quantitative research employing bibliometric analysis was carried out in April 2023. The research data sample was collected from the Web of Science (WoS) database. By conducting the search using a combined topic (“education for sustainable development” OR “education for sustainability”), a total of 2827 documents in English were identified within a timeframe of 33 years (1989–2023). These documents served as the foundation for subsequent data processing, visualization, and analysis using Biblioshiny/Bibliometrix (version R-4.2.0), as well as Excel (version 2309) software. The visualization and analysis focused on examining the most prolific authors and countries, in addition to generating word clouds based on keywords. Moreover, the thematic map that was delineated into four quadrants—Basic, Motor, Niche, and Emerging or Declining themes—provides an overview of the researched subject. ESD—embracing environmental, social, and economic pillars—implies transformative learning, action-oriented pedagogies, and professional development. As a holistic framework, it requires interdisciplinarity, system thinking, critical and experiential thinking, problem-based learning, and the use of 4IR technologies to enhance the teaching-learning process.

Keywords: education for sustainable development (ESD); education for sustainability (EfS); higher education; sustainable development; sustainability; transformative learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:20:p:14916-:d:1260683

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