Teaching and Learning Practices That Promote Sustainable Development and Active Citizenship

The profound changes that we are experiencing at the political, environmental, economic, social, and cultural levels of our "postmodern" society pose immense challenges to education. In order to empower students to analyse, reflect, and take action for a sustainable world, the learning and educational process must be experienced in the context of citizenship; that is, it must be designed, planned, and implemented having global sustainability as a framework, thus developing societal awareness, values, and principles.

Teaching and Learning Practices That Promote Sustainable Development and Active Citizenship is an essential research book that provides comprehensive research on education as a fundamental factor in empowering citizens to understand and act on the multiple risks and challenges to the sustainability of our society and world. Highlighting a range of critical learning strategies such as global and critical education, development education, and transformational education, among others, this book is ideal for academicians, education professionals, researchers, policymakers, and students.

Sandra Saúde has a Master (1998) and a PhD in Sociology (2008), with specialization in Sociology of Development. She has developed an Intensive Training Program in Team Management and Leadership Skills at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2013, through a grant funded by Banco Santander through the Program: W30. She is Adjunct Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Beja (IPBeja), researcher at CICS.NOVA – Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences and, also, of the IPBeja´ Laboratory of Territorial and Sociocultural Dinamization. Has participated and coordinated several research projects, during the last 20 years, financed by Portuguese and European funds, namely in the areas of Sustainable Development and (Pos)Development. The actual subjects of scientific interest and future development, with some papers and books already published, are: Sustainable Development; Development Education; Evaluation of societal impacts of events.

Maria Albertina Raposo is Coordinator Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Portugal and researcher at MARE NOVA – Centre of Marine Sciences and Environment. With a degree in zootechnical engineering, she has a master's degree in marine and coastal studies and a PhD in environmental sciences. She has been working in Processes of Active Public Participation and in recent years she has developed her research activity in Education for Development and Education for global citizenship in higher education. Among the current themes of scientific interest, the following stand out: active learning methodologies, education for development and sustainable development, always from the perspective of a transdisciplinary approach.

Nuno Pereira holds a diploma (1993) and a MSc (2001) in Physics, from the University of Lisbon, Portugal. In 1996 he became an Assistant Professor at Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Portugal, and since 2001 he is an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, where he has been teaching courses in the fields of Mathematics, Physics and Physical Computing, for graduate courses, and also Astronomy and Renewable Energies to a MSc course for Pre-school and first cycle Teachers. Since 2017 he has been developing and implementing the Antarctica Research & Education Program, with focus on STEM education, and participated in two campaigns at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base, in Livingston (2018, 2019). Since 2018 he is a PhD candidate in Informatics Technologies at University of Extremadura, in the field of Hyperspectral Computing (HSI). He has publications and communications in the field of computational astrophysics, cryptography, renewable energies, applied mathematics, physical computing, and STEM education. His present research interests are: HSI remote sensing for Earth observation, Physical Computing, and STEM Education & Outreach.

Ana Isabel Rodrigues is Adjunct Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Beja (IPBeja), where she teaches Tourism & Leisure since 1997. She holds a PhD in Tourism, University of Algarve; Master degree in Communication, Culture and Information Technologies, University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE/IUL). She has a degree in Social and Cultural Communication, Portuguese Catholic University of Lisbon and Bachelor Degree in Management of Tour Operators, Higher School of Hospitality and Tourism of Estoril, Portugal. She is interested in the use of visual methods & data in qualitative research, in social and human studies, particularly in Tourism. She has been investigating participatory visual research methodologies applied to teaching and collaborating and testing these methodologies with colleagues from other countries. She is keen to explore innovative and transformational approaches in her classes always with an international perspective. Author of international publications in the field of Tourism and Visual Methods.