Curricular Practices Towards Sustainability and a Transformative Pedagogy

Abstract

In the 21st century, international organizations such as the United Nations and UNESCO have been pointing out the education role in the development of competencies to live in line with the sustainability and the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. The pedagogical/curricular practices aligned with a transformative pedagogy that mobilizes the agency power of the students constitute adequate procedures for the sustainability and the development of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. Through a questionnaire, a study collected data from the pedagogical/curricular practices of 20 teachers from six countries, Denmark, Cyprus, Portugal, Italy, Latvia, and the Republic of North Macedonia, who belong to a European project aiming for sustainability and the development of skills. The analysis of the practices planned and developed by these teachers revealed that critical thinking was one of the most developed skills in the students. Although teachers valued the learning aspects of social issues and the strategies that lead to reflective questioning, the students’ agency power was underestimated. Therefore, considering that these practices were stimulated by belonging to a project, the study showed the need to continue projects that, based on a transformative pedagogy, encourage teachers to value pedagogical/curricular practices that develop the agency power of students.