Promoting sustainability engagement in primary education
Knowledge, behaviors, and gender differences
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21348481 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jorge Crespo-Martín (0009-0007-0294-5533, Universidad de Extremadura), Aurora Muñoz‐Losa (0000-0003-1475-7031, Universidad de Extremadura), Aurora Muñoz-Losa (Universidad de Extremadura), Isaac Corbacho‐Cuello (0000-0003-1768-8270, Universidad de Extremadura), Isaac Corbacho-Cuello (Universidad de Extremadura, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-9 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Educational Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-0671 • E-ISSN: 1940-0675 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00220671.2026.2630919 |
| OpenAlex | W7130929159 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
This study examines how fifth-grade students engage with Education for Sustainable Development across four dimensions—knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and conative awareness—while also exploring gender-based differences that offer valuable insights for designing more inclusive and effective teaching practices. A sample of 165 students from four Spanish primary schools completed a structured questionnaire addressing their understanding of Sustainable Development Goals and their engagement with environmental, social, and economic sustainability practices. Findings show that students have a strong grasp of environmental issues and report frequent participation in pro-environmental behaviors, such as recycling and conservation. However, engagement with social and economic aspects of sustainability was less robust. Female students demonstrated higher levels of sustainable behavior and stronger intentions to act sustainably in the future. These insights suggest that while current sustainability education efforts are promoting environmental awareness, a more balanced and integrated curricular approach is needed to equally emphasize all dimensions of sustainability
Government (linguistics) · Sustainability · Sustainable development · Work (physics) · Educational Environments and Student Outcomes · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Sustainability in Higher Education
Education for Sustainable Development Goals
Education for sustainable development
Age and environmental sustainability
Childhood Origins of Young Adult Environmental Behavior
The theory of planned behavior
Twenty years after Hines, Hungerford, and Tomera
Be Divergent, Be Green! The Moderating Role of Gender in the Association Between Divergent Thinking and Pro-Environmental Behaviours in Children
Children’s exposure to sustainability practices during the transition from preschool into school and their learning and socioemotional development
Using tourism free‐choice learning experiences to promote environmentally sustainable behaviour
Mind the Gap
The effectiveness of education for sustainable development revisited – a longitudinal study on secondary students’ action competence for sustainability
Nature-based environmental education of children
Approaches to embedding sustainability in teacher education
Definición y medición de la conciencia ambiental
New Ways of Thinking about Environmentalism
Is Eco-Friendly Unmanly? The Green-Feminine Stereotype and Its Effect on Sustainable Consumption
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |