Mapping a Sustainable Future through Conceptualisation of Transformative Learning Framework, Education for Sustainable Development, Critical Reflection, and Responsible Citizenship : An Exploration of Pedagogies for Twenty-First Century Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this research article is to examine how transformative learning has been conceptualised and operationalized in education for sustainable development (ESD) and sustainability learning, as well as to gather evidence on how to promote transformative learning in formal and non-formal settings. The author performed a systematic literature review to create a bibliometric overview that combines a quantitative description of the body of literature with a qualitative study of the learning processes, results, and circumstances. Despite the superficial application of transformative learning theory in numerous researches, the confluence of transformative learning and sustainability has emerged as an emergent area of study. The current investigation shows that transformative learning theory may help in designing and implementation of educational interventions and evaluations of learning towards sustainability by analysing the learning process, results, and circumstances in the core sample of studies. Furthermore, the sustainability context offers empirical evidence for the notion that social learning, the role of experience, and the development of sustainability skills are all intrinsically linked to transformative learning. So far, there have been very few efforts made to better understand how transformative learning theory has been used towards sustainability learning and ESD research. This systematic review allows for a better understanding of how transformative learning theory's concepts and mechanisms are operationalized in sustainability learning and ESD research, and it serves as a source of encouragement for researchers and practitioners working to make sustainability education, teaching, and learning more transformative.