Engaging students-as-partners (SaP) to explore Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in STEM
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Date
2026-06-15
Authors
Coubrough, Katie
Huq, Molly
Wahid, Maheen
Tinto, Kirsty
Neves, Karla
Irfan, Muhammad
Klemm, Nicholas
Currie, Susan
Gibson, Lorraine
Laubscher, Roisin Kelly-
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Editorial Universitat Politecnica de Valencia
Published Version
Abstract
Across the UK, universities pledge alignment with education legislation and global strategies such as NET2030. This case study evaluates a workshop exploring Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in STEM curriculum. Grounded in a Students-as-Partners (SaP) framework, the workshop employed Mural and Mentimeter to examine the relationship between educational inequalities and how ESD principles can be applied to promote equity. Analysis of the data revealed key insights into barriers and effective learning methods. A recurring theme was disproportionate access to educational experiences, identified by 45% of students (n=23). Suggested improvements included participatory workshops and concept-based learning (CBL). While students recognised a wide range of sustainable resources, a common barrier was “too much noise from the university.” Participants’ understanding of sustainability, which includes social factors, highlights the need for a holistic ESD approach in curriculum design, moving beyond passive delivery toward transparent, co-created pedagogical models.
Description
© 2026, the Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Keywords
SDG 4 - Quality Education , SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production , SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities , ESD , STEM Education , Students-as-Partners , Educational equality , [Medicine] , Education
Citation
Coubrough, K, Huq, M, Wahid, M, Tinto, K, Neves, K, Irfan, M, Klemm, N, Currie, S, Gibson, L, Laubscher, R K & Cunningham, M 2026, Engaging students-as-partners (SaP) to explore Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in STEM. in D Brunetto, J Domenech, D M Alvarez-Hevia & A Martínez-Varea (eds), HEAd 2026 - 12th International Conference on Higher Education Advances. International Conference on Higher Education Advances, Editorial Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, pp. 401-409. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd26.2026.21778
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cc_by_nc_sa