Climate emergency and vocational education and training. Topic of scientific interest: A systematic review of the literature

Emergencia climática y formación profesional. Tópico de interés científico: una revisión sistemática de la literatura

Fátima Poza-Vilches, Universidad de Granada, EspañaFollow
Susana Ripoll Martín, Universidad de Granada, EspañaFollow
Teresa Pozo, Universidad de Granada, EspañaFollow

DOI

10.22550/2174-0909.4149

Abstract

Climate change, the main challenge of the 21st century, demands urgent educational responses and cultural changes. Vocational education and training (VET) is providing an invaluable opportunity to face the climate emergency and stimulate the socio-ecological transition. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the extent to which the climate emergency constitutes a consolidated topic of study in educational research focused on VET. Using the PRISMA protocol, we have undertaken a systematic review of literature (2015-2024) indexed in SCOPUS, WOS, ERIC, TESEO and SciELO. Microsoft Excel has been used for the content analysis. Based on the categorization of the information, we have responded to nine research questions on contextual characteristics, the methodological framework and the interpretive evaluation of the studies. The results have revealed growing scientific production, especially in Europe and the global south, with a predominance of theoretical studies over participatory ones. Although the central theme has pointed towards critical frameworks and comprehensive solutions, most studies have adopted reformist approaches that minimize community participation. It has also become evident there is a greater concern for detecting problems rather than for clarifying key concepts, which are essential for effective implementation of sustainability. Furthermore, the preference for green knowledge and skills to the detriment of teacher training and collaboration networks could be hindering the integration of good practices and affecting educational quality. It has been concluded that most studies do not address the climate emergency from a holistic and transformative perspective that questions our cultural identity and promotes a new development paradigm in which ecological wellbeing and social aspects are placed as core issues.

Financiación | Funding

This article is the product of the research project PID2022-136933OB-C22, “Educating in time in the face of the climate emergency and the socio-ecological transition (RESCLIM@ TIEMPO)”, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the ESF+.

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Author Biography

M.ª de Fátima Poza-Vilches. Lecturer in the Department of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education at the University of Granada and since 2001 member of the research group HUM- 890 “Evaluation in environmental, social and institutional education” of the Andalusian Research Plan. She is currently director of Quality and Accreditation at the International Graduate School of the University of Granada, where she is responsible for the management of procedures for the quality assurance of university master’s degrees. She teaches on official undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees, teaching research methodologies and evaluation of socio- educational programmes, organisations and resources. Her main line of research in these two decades has focused on the evaluation of programmes, centres and resources from the design of criteria and indicators for the improvement of socio-educational quality, the environmentalisation of the curriculum and the professional development of teachers in higher education in line with education for sustainability. She is the author of several works on research methodology and is a member of different professional associations of educational research.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6186-9306

Susana Ripoll-Martín. Predoctoral researcher in the Department of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education at the University of Granada. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Education (2021) and a master’s degree in Research, Social Development and Socio-educational Intervention (2023) from the University of Granada. She has received a collaboration grant (2021) and a research initiation grant (2023). She is currently working on her doctoral thesis thanks to a grant for the training of research personnel (FPI), derived from a pre-doctoral contract associated with the coordinated project RESCLIM@TIEMPO, entitled ‘educating in time in the face of climate emergency and socio-ecological transition’. Her research focuses on the processes of curricular environmentalisation in the face of the climate emergency in vocational training; specifically, on the role of teachers (in practice and in training) and vocational training work tutors, as well as on the crucial role that non-formal education professionals could play in this context.

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7854-3497

Mª Teresa Pozo-Llorente. Professor of the Department of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education at the University of Granada. She teaches in the official undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in Education at the University of Granada. She is currently Coordinator of the Andalusian Joint Master’s Degree in Environmental Education for Sustainability. She collaborates in doctorates of European universities and in the official teachings of other Andalusian universities. Member of the research group “Evaluation in environmental, social and institutional education” of the Junta de Andalucía. Her research career is linked to institutional evaluation and evaluative research of programs, centers and teachers. She is part of several national and international networks linked to research and cooperation projects. She is the author of several works on research methodology and is a member of different professional associations of educational research. From 2007 to 2023 she has been performing management tasks in the field of university quality; first as director of the Secretariat of Evaluation and Quality Improvement of the Vice-Rectorate for Quality Assurance (from 2007 to 2015) and then as director of the Quality, Innovation and Foresight Unit of the University of Granada (from 2015 to 2023). She has participated in different forums, international congresses and debates on quality assessment in higher education held at European (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education - ENQA), national (National Agency for Evaluation and Accreditation) and regional (Canarian Agency for University Quality and Educational Assessment, Government of the Canary Islands) levels.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8120-1474

Citación recomendada | Recommended citation

Poza-Vilches, M.ª de F., Ripoll-Martín, S., & Pozo-Llorente, M.ª T. (2025). Climate emergency and vocational education and training. Topic of scientific interest: A systematic review of the literature [Emergencia climática y formación profesional. Tópico de interés científico: una revisión sistemática de la literatura]. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 83(290), 159-177. https://doi.org/10.22550/2174-0909.4149