The urgency of environmental problems requires not only consciousness; it requires people to take action. However, many people strive to make their values consistent with daily behavior. This gap between people’s beliefs and behaviors is usually called “internal and external gaps”, which is a key challenge for those who advocate sustainable lifestyles. Researchers at the University of Munri Maximilian and the University of Benbertopordrich, Dr. Barbara Meyer, Dr. Elena Gaertner, and Christian Elting recently published a comments that sustainable development may be the three -way structure. A valuable tool for educators to make up for this gap. Their research was published in the magazine of “Sustainable Development”, revealing the factors affecting sustainable behaviors and how to use education to encourage more environmentally friendly actions.
Researchers have analyzed a large number of studies for more than ten years to better understand why people have failed to transform environmental protection intentions into action. The motivation of this study is to find effective methods to reduce this disconnection and help individuals make more sustainable choices. Through the use of sustainable development of the three -way structure model, researchers divide different motivations into three categories: individuals, society and general attention. They have also studied how these motivations are triggered -whether it is stable internal factors, external effects, or automatic reactions.
Dr. Meyer and her colleagues found that paying attention to their own interests (such as personal goals and instant rewards) often expand the gap between values and action, making it more difficult for people to take sustainable action. On the other hand, when people pay attention to the well -being of others or the environment, they are more likely to act in a more favorable way to the earth. Social impact, such as peer pressure or cultural norms, will have a complex impact, depending on whether the social environment supports sustainable behavior. Dr. Meyer pointed out: “The gap between values and action is caused by many different factors. By understanding these factors, we can create a better education system and encourage people to take more sustainable actions.”
The three -way structure of the sustainable development framework divides human behavior into three main categories: self -concern, social impact, and universal drive. Self -centered behavior is driven by personal interests, and the behavior affected by society is determined by a person’s community considering acceptable or expected behavior. On the other hand, the universal drive is out of widespread attention, such as the well -being of the descendants or the entire earth. For example, those who are concerned about universal problems, driven by compassion and care of others, are more likely to make sustainable choices when obtaining correct support. On the other hand, those who are driven by their own interests may make green choices only if they have strong returns (such as economic incentives or social recognition). “But people seem to have many different motivations and weigh them in their hearts -often they don’t even realize” Dr. Mayer explained.
Researchers have studied how these motivations are activated, which can happen through many ways. Some motivations are stable and internal, such as long -term values or attitudes, or the self -development stage of behavior over time affecting behavior over time. These may include the impact of personal beliefs or cultural norms on the environment. Other motivations are affected by external trigger factors, such as rewards, punishment or peer pressure, which can temporarily promote people to move or stay away from sustainable behavior. In contrast, many decisions are formed by automatic response (unconscious habits or tendencies, such as reaction without thinking), and they either support or hinder the efforts of sustainable development. The convention is usually not conducive to sustainable development. In order to overcome this problem, Dr. Miye suggested that educators need to help people recognize these unconscious habits and guide them to make more considerate and purposeful decisions. “By improving the understanding of these hidden impacts, educators can help people make better and consistent sustainable choices,” Dr. Miye said.
Dr. Meyer and her colleagues also emphasized that fundamental changes need to be made in teaching methods that develop sustainable development. Education should not only focus on recycling or energy saving skills, but should be committed to developing personal personal growth and values. Paying more deep attention to long -term development (“vertical development”) is the key to cultivating the mentality of truly embracing sustainable development. “The current education system should not only focus on training work skills, but also focus on helping individuals grow and guide them to care about the environment and society,” Dr. Miye explained.
The conclusion of the research team is that the education system needs to surpass the facts of the environment. In order to truly play, schools and universities need to encourage students to internalize values to take sustainable action. For those who are concerned about descendants or the earth, the goal is to create long -lasting behavior changes. This involves the design education experience not only informs students, but also inspires students to practice these values in daily life. Dr. Meyer added: “This is why we call for the development of internal growth teaching design as an important next step in education.”
On the whole, the sustainable development of the three -way structure provides educators with a clear framework for encouraging sustainable behaviors. Through understanding the deep, situation and automatic factors that affect behavior, and focusing on helping students transcend their own interests, and turn to a general perspective, educators can play a vital role in narrowing internal and external gaps. As Dr. Meyer summarized, “If we want to see real changes, we need not only pay attention to people’s understanding of sustainable development, but also pay attention to how they transform these knowledge into action.”
https://enecyclopedia.pub/video/video_detail/1325
Journal reference
Meyer, BE, GAERTNER, E. and Elting, C. “Re narrowing: Sustainable development as a tool for sustainable education -System Document Summary.” Sustainable development, 2024.
Other reference
Meyer, Barbara E. (2023): “Sustainable three -way structure: a new educational method aims to bridge the gap between wise and sustainable action.” Before. educate. 8. Artikel 1224303.
About the author
Dr. Barbara E. Meyer It is a senior educational scientist and lecturer at the University of Maximilian University in Munich, and teaches teachers at all levels and universities at all levels, all types of schools and university lecturers. Due to her research on sustainable development education, she is interested in how schools and universities will transform to support students’ inner development. Other areas of interest include self -development, Quanna education, classroom management, cross -culture and local education.
In the past, Barbara Mayer also served as a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the University of Alexander, Alexander, Ellanagan, and was a temporary professor at the University of El Sattathstart. She has a master’s degree in psychological linguistics, education and psychology at the University of Munich. In her doctoral dissertation, she proposed the root cause of the key situation in the practice of the school’s practice.
Dr. Elena Gatner He is a senior lecturer at the University of Maximilian at Munich Road. She is a member of the University of General Education and Education at the university. She teaches future teachers in all types and levels of schools and focuses on the development of transformation education and future skills. Her research interest revolves around future social challenges and how to solve these challenges in the background of education. In this regard, she specially studied the skills and value system of teachers, as well as systematic social connections.
Elena has a master’s degree in comparative literature at the University of Kanterbred. She also completed the first national examination taught at the University of Munich at the University of Munich, specializing in English, history and psychology. Her doctoral dissertation discusses the relationship between classroom management skills and teacher health.
Christian Eltine He is a researcher at the Chief of Primary Education at the University of Benbero Friedrich. At the School of Humanities, he teaches future primary education and teaching methods for primary school teachers. His responsibilities also include support for early vocational researchers and contributing to the development of the chairman’s research overview. In addition to sustainable development of education, his empirical research mainly focuses on the diversity and inclusiveness of elementary school. These research projects involve the professionalism and professional spirit of primary school teachers, the quality of teaching, and the learning and personal development of elementary school students.
In 2014, Christian Elting completed his studies at the University of Alexander Alexander in Evanen-Newlyburg Fedrich, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in education, and passed the first primary school teaching national examination. From 2014 to 2021, he served as an associate researcher at the Primary School Education Research Institute and engaged in research and teaching in the field of elementary education and teaching law. His doctoral dissertation has studied the influence of the diversity of students in inclusive primary school and the quality of teaching quality on the social ability and social integration of elementary school students.
