Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through Participatory Research (PR): A systematic review

With less than a decade left to achieve the SDGs, developing human capacity and promoting transformative learning is crucial to encourage as many people as possible to become agents of change toward achieving these goals. The literature suggests that Participatory Research (PR)—a host of methods, designs, and collaborative frameworks—has the potential to facilitate inclusive, participatory, and bottom-up approaches to knowledge co-generation and transformative learning in various communities. Using a systematic review approach, this study explored the use of PR in ESD in the recent global literature on education. PR’s efficacy as a participatory tool for ESD among collegiate and adult learners was analyzed. PR’s use and effectiveness in ESD to various stakeholders were also examined. The reviewed studies emphasized the potential of PR in promoting inclusive and participatory approaches to transformative learning and knowledge co-generation among many stakeholders. It highlights the need for academic institutions to adopt participatory and collaborative research methods to enhance their contributions towards achieving the SDGs through ESD. Furthermore, the study investigated how ESD through PR enables individuals to become active social agents and decision-makers in the quest for transformative change and sustainable development. Implications to curriculum and pedagogy enhancement and future directions for using PR in ESD were also presented.