Solutions-oriented Sustainability Education Research

The publications focus on solutions-oriented sustainability education. They are grouped along the educational 3-steps process: defining learning objectives, creating pedagogies to teach/learn these objectives as well as suitable assessment formats to determine learning success. A final section presents studies on institutionalizing solutions-oriented sustainability education in universities.

Wiek, A., & Redman, A. (2022). What do key competencies in sustainability offer and how to use them. In P. Vare, N. Lausselet, & M. Rieckmann (Eds.), Competences in education for sustainable development – Critical perspectives (pp. 27–34). Springer.
Redman, A., & Wiek, A. (2021). Competencies for advancing transformations towards sustainability. Frontiers in Education, 6, 785163. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.785163
Brundiers, K., Barth, M., Cebrián, G., Cohen, M., Diaz, L., Doucette-Remington, S., Dripps, W., Habron, G., Harré, N., Jarchow, M., Losch, K., Michel, J. O., Mochizuki, Y., Rieckmann, M., Parnell, R., Walker, P., Zint, M., & Wiek, A. (2020). Key competencies in sustainability in higher education—Toward an agreed-upon reference framework. Sustainability Science, 16(1), 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00838-2
Michel, J. O., Brundiers, K., Barth, M., Fischer, D., Mochizuki, Y., Redman, A., & Zint, M. (2022). Sustainability competencies in higher education. In The Palgrave encyclopedia of urban and regional futures. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51812-7_342-1
Wiek, A., Bernstein, M. J., Foley, R. W., Cohen, M., Forrest, N., Kuzdas, C., Kay, B., & Withycombe Keeler, L. (2016). Operationalising competencies in higher education for sustainable development. In M. Barth, G. Michelsen, M. Rieckmann, & I. Thomas (Eds.), Routledge handbook of higher education for sustainable development (pp. 241–260). Routledge.
Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., Redman, C.L., & Banas Mills, S. (2011). Moving forward on competence in sustainability research and problem solving. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 53(2), pp. 3-12.
Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., & Redman, C. L. (2011). Key competencies in sustainability: A reference framework for academic program development. Sustainability Science, 6(2), 203–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-011-0132-6

Schröder, S., Wiek, A., Farny, S., & Luthardt, P. (2023). Toward holistic corporate sustainability—Developing employees’ action competence for sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises through training. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32, 1650–1669. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3210
Foucrier, T., & Wiek, A. (2019). A process-oriented framework of competencies for sustainability entrepreneurship. Sustainability, 11(24), 7250. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11247250
Brundiers, K., & Wiek, A. (2017). Beyond interpersonal competence: Teaching and learning professional skills in sustainability. Education Sciences, 7(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci7010039
Iwaniec, D., Childers, D., VanLehn, K., & Wiek, A. (2014). Studying, teaching, and applying sustainability visions using systems modeling. Sustainability, 6(7), 4452–4469. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6074452

Wiek, A., & Kay, B. (2015). Learning while transforming: Solution-oriented learning for urban sustainability in Phoenix, Arizona. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 16, 29–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2015.07.001
Brundiers, K., Wiek, A., & Kay, B. (2013). The Role of Transacademic Interface Managers in Transformational Sustainability Research and Education. Sustainability, 5(11), 4614–4636. https://doi.org/10.3390/su5114614
Wiek, A., Bernstein, M. J., Laubichler, M., Caniglia, G., Minteer, B., & Lang, D. J. (2013). A global classroom for international sustainability education. Creative Education, 4(4), 19–28. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2013.44A004
Brundiers, K., & Wiek, A. (2011). Educating students in real-world sustainability research: Vision and implementation. Innovative Higher Education, 36(2), 107–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-010-9161-9

Cörvers, R., Wiek, A., de Kraker, J., Lang, D. J., & Martens, P. (2016). Problem-based and project-based learning for sustainable development. In H. Heinrichs, P. Martens, G. Michelsen, & A. Wiek (Eds.), Sustainability science – An introduction (pp. 349–358). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7242-6_29
Brundiers, K., & Wiek, A. (2013). Do we teach what we preach? An international comparison of problem- and project-based learning courses in sustainability. Sustainability, 5(4), 1725–1746. https://doi.org/10.3390/su5041725
Brundiers, K., Wiek, A., & Redman, C. L. (2010). Real‐world learning opportunities in sustainability: From classroom into the real world. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 11(4), 308–324. https://doi.org/10.1108/14676371011077540
Meyer, S., Brundiers, K., Mader, M., & Weiser, A. (2024). Case study. In T. Philipp & T. Schmohl (Eds.), Handbook transdisciplinary learning (1st ed., pp. 31–40). transcript Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839463475-005
Stauffacher, M., Walter, A., Lang, D., Wiek, A., & Scholz, R. W. (2006). Learning to research environmental problems from a functional socio-cultural constructivism perspective: The transdisciplinary case study approach. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 7(3), 252–275. https://doi.org/10.1108/14676370610677838
Scholz, R. W., Lang, D., Wiek, A., Walter, A., & Stauffacher, M. (2006). Transdisciplinary case studies as a means of sustainability learning: Historical framework and theory. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 7(3), 226–251. https://doi.org/10.1108/14676370610677829

Birdman, J., Wiek, A., & Lang, D. J. (2022). Developing key competencies in sustainability through project-based learning in graduate sustainability programs. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23(5), 1139–1157. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-12-2020-0506
Konrad, T., Wiek, A., & Barth, M. (2021). Learning processes for interpersonal competence development in project-based sustainability courses: Insights from a comparative international study. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 22(3), 535–560. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-07-2020-0231
Konrad, T., Wiek, A., & Barth, M. (2021). Learning to collaborate from diverse interactions in project-based sustainability courses. Sustainability, 13(17), 9884. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179884
Konrad, T., Wiek, A., & Barth, M. (2020). Embracing conflicts for interpersonal competence development in project-based sustainability courses. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 21(1), 76–96. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2019-0190
Caniglia, G., John, B., Kohler, M., Bellina, L., Wiek, A., Rojas, C., Laubichler, M. D., & Lang, D. (2016). An experience-based learning framework: Activities for the initial development of sustainability competencies. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 17(6), 827–852. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-04-2015-0065

Romulo, C., Venkataraman, B., Caplow, S., Ajgaonkar, S., Allen, C. R., Anandhi, A., Anderson, S. W., Azzarello, C. B., Brundiers, K., Blavascunas, E., Dauer, J. M., Druckenbrod, D. L., Fairchild, E., Horne, L. R., Lee, K., Mwale, M., Mischler, J., Pappo, E., Patel, N. S., Sintov, N.D., Ramsdell, C.S., & Vincent, S. G. (2024). Implementing interdisciplinary sustainability education with the food-energy-water (FEW) nexus. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), Article 33. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03332-7
King, J., Fischer, D., & Brundiers, K. (2023). A change is gonna come: Designing campus interventions to promote behavior change for sustainable consumption. In D. Fischer, M. Sahakian, J. King, J. Dyer, & G. Seyfang (Eds.), Teaching and learning sustainable consumption: A guidebook (pp. 296–301). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003018537-51/change-gonna-come-jordan-king-daniel-fischer-katja-brundiers
Redman, E., Wiek, A., & Redman, A. (2018). Continuing professional development in sustainability education for K-12 teachers: Principles, programme, applications, outlook. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 12(1), 59–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/2455133318777182
Cohen, M., Schugurensky, D., & Wiek, A. (2015). Citizenship education through participatory budgeting: The case of Bioscience High School in Phoenix, Arizona. Curriculum and Teaching, 30(2), 5–26. https://doi.org/10.7459/ct/30.2.02

King, J., Brundiers, K., & Fischer, D. (2024). Student agency in a sustainability-oriented assessment process: exploring expansive learning in student-led rubric co-design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 49(6), 851–863. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2024.2333031
Foucrier, T., & Wiek, A. (2023, in review). Assessing students’ competencies in sustainability entrepreneurship through in-vivo simulated professional situations. Journal of Management Education.
Redman, A., Wiek, A., & Barth, M. (2020). Current practice of assessing students’ sustainability competencies: A review of tools. Sustainability Science, 16(1), 117-135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00855-1

King, J., Brundiers, K., & Hiser, K. (2024). Needs and opportunities for sustainability programs in higher education: insights from the Global Council for Science and the Environment’s Pathways toward Accreditation initiative. In M. Starik & P. Shrivastava (Eds.), Sustainable Universities And Colleges: Sustainability Advances In Institutions (pp. 15–37). Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035314737.00009
Weiss, M., Barth, M., Wiek, A., & von Wehrden, H. (2021). Drivers and barriers of implementing sustainability curricula in higher education – assumptions and evidence. Higher Education Studies, 11(2), pp. 42-64. https://doi.org/10.5539/hes.v11n2p42
Redman, A., Rowe, D., Brundiers, K. & Brock, A. (2021). What motivates students to be sustainability change agents in the face of adversity? Sustainability and Climate Change, 14(5), 313-322. https://doi.org/10.1089/scc.2021.0024
Beaudoin, F., & Brundiers, K. (2017). A Guide for Applied Sustainability Learning Projects: Advancing Sustainability Outcomes on Campus and in the Community. Version 1.0 Spring 2017. https://hub.aashe.org/browse/publication/15675/A-Guide-for-Applied-Sustainability-Learning-Projects-Advancing-sustainability-outcomes-on-campus-and-in-the-community
Wiek, A., Xiong, A., Brundiers, K., & van der Leeuw, S. (2014). Integrating problem- and project-based learning into sustainability programs. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 15(4), 431–449. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-02-2013-0013

Caniglia, G., John, B., Bellina, L., Lang, D. J., Wiek, A., Cohmer, S., & Laubichler, M. D. (2018). The glocal curriculum: A model for transnational collaboration in higher education for sustainable development. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 368–376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.207
Caniglia, G., Luederitz, C., Groß, M., Muhr, M., John, B., Withycombe Keeler, L., Wehrden, H. von, Laubichler, M., Wiek, A., & Lang, D. (2017). Transnational collaboration for sustainability in higher education: Lessons from a systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 168, 764–779. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.256
Withycombe Keeler, L., Wiek, A., Lang, D. J., Yokohari, M., van Breda, J., Olsson, L., Ness, B., Morato, J., Segalàs, J., Martens, P., Bojórquez-Tapia, L. A., & Evans, J. (2016). Utilizing international networks for accelerating research and learning in transformational sustainability science. Sustainability Science, 11(5), 749–762. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-016-0364-6

Hakkarainen, V., King, J., Brundiers, K., Redman, A., Anderson, C. B., Goodall, C. N., Pate, A., & Raymond, C. M. (2024). Online sustainability education: Purpose, process and implementation for transformative universities. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 25(9), 333–357. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2023-0227
Robinson, J., Alhakim, A.D., Ma, G., da Rocha Brando Fernandez, F., Braune, M., Brown, M., Crocce Romano Espinosa, D., Gorman, D., Hajer, M., Madden, J., Melnick, R., Metras, J., Newman, J., Raven, R., Smith, V., van der Lem, L., Wiek, A. (2023). Odd couples – reconciling academic and operational cultures for whole-institution sustainability governance at universities. Journal of Cleaner Production, 24(8), pp. 1949-1969. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-07-2022-0244
Pašmik, J., Schaltegger, S., & Wiek, A. (2023, in review). Sustainability transformations of universities – insights from a path analysis of Leuphana University of Lüneburg. Journal of Cleaner Production.
Withycombe Keeler, L., Beaudoin, F., Wiek, A., Tamm, K., Seebacher, A., Lerner, A.M., Lang, D.J., Forrest, N., John, B., & Kay, B. (2019). Building transformative capacity for implementing sustainability solutions through city-university partnerships. Ambio, 48(5), pp. 529-538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1117-9
Brundiers, K., Savage, E., Mannell, S., Lang, D. J., & Wiek, A. (2014). Educating Sustainability Change Agents by Design: Appraisals of the Transformative Role of Higher Education. Sustainable Development and Quality Assurance in Higher Education, 196–229. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137459145_10