Bibliometric and Content Analysis of Sustainable Education in Biology for Promoting Sustainability at Primary and Secondary Schools and in Teacher Education

What is it about?

Biology education need to emphasize the main visions of scientific literacy proposed in the literature, supporting students to understand society and everyday socioscientific challenges at the local as well as at the global level, and to deal with differing scientific results and uncertain information. This study addresses this gap via a bibliometric and content analysis of the literature (n = 165 and 131, respectively) based on the categories of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), subject aims, learning objectives, content knowledge, teaching methods, competencies and skills, and assessment methods. The literature analyzed emphasizes the environmental and social SDGs, the development of students’ factual and conceptual knowledge and learning, interactive teaching and learning methods, critical thinking and reflection, and summative and formative assessment methods. There is much less attention on economic and institutional SDGs, scientific skills, environmental attitudes, knowledge creation, strategic thinking and empathy, and diagnostic assessment methods. Overall, the conclusion is that biology education must evolve beyond content mastery to integrate ethical, technological, and transdisciplinary dimensions—empowering learners not only to understand life but to sustain it—aligned with quality education (SDG 4), good health and well-being (SDG 3), and life on land (SDG 15). The findings also suggest that powerful knowledge needs to be emphasized for providing essential insights into ecosystems, biodiversity, and the processes that sustain life on Earth. They also highlight the importance of regular evaluations of teaching and learning for detecting how pedagogical and didactic approaches and strategies have supported students’ learning focused on sustainable development.

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Photo by Priscila Oliveira on Unsplash

Photo by Priscila Oliveira on Unsplash

Why is it important?

There are very few studies from a holistic didactic viewpoint on the implementation of sustainable education (SE) in biology education in the context of teacher education and school education for promoting a sustainable future. This study addresses this gap via a bibliometric and content analysis of the literature based on the categories of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), subject aims, learning objectives, content knowledge, teaching methods, competencies and skills, and assessment methods.