Advancing Sustainable Development Goal 4 Through a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: The Development and Validation of a Student-Centered Educational Quality Scale in Developing Countries

Yan Wang, Zhihua Liu () and Chenglin Tu
Additional contact information
Yan Wang: Academy of Guangzhou Development, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Zhihua Liu: School of Politics and Public Administration, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510613, China
Chenglin Tu: Academy of Guangzhou Development, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: Aligned with the 2030 Agenda’s call for inclusive, quality education, this study bridges Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)—both committed to equitable, evidence-based education. We address the challenge of SoTL practice and of implementing SDG4 targets in top–down systems prevalent in developing countries by centering student voices. By centering student perspectives as a reflective lens, we develop and validate a student-driven five-dimensional SoTL evaluation scale. Utilizing a three-phase mixed-methods approach—the initial construction of a 48-item scale (Stage 1), pilot testing with 202 students and exploratory factor analysis (Stage 2), and confirmatory factor analysis with 468 responses in the main survey (Stage 3)—we established a robust framework encompassing teaching practice, teaching effectiveness, knowledge base, the multi-relationship, and teaching interaction. This study provides a scalable tool for monitoring progress toward the SDG4 targets across diverse educational contexts, bridging global sustainability imperatives with the localized pedagogical reality.

Keywords: SDG4; the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL); student-centered evaluations; scale validation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4369/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4369/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:10:p:4369-:d:1653758

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().