Systematic review of the scientific literature on the inclusion of Sustainable Development Goals in the Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. The link between development and education goes back a long way, and is now understood as an inseparable binomial. Since the publication in 2015 of the 2030 Agenda, sustainable development as a political, economic and cultural project has become stronger than ever. This social demand represents a real challenge for the Spanish education system, which needs to promote learning in key competences in order to advance towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this sense, this paper presents a systematic review of the scientific literature on the inclusion of development education in the Compulsory Secondary Education in Spain. METHOD. A two-phase analysis was carried out following the guidelines and orientations of the PRISMA Declaration. Eighteen articles were analysed after a screening of 119 papers. RESULTS. Among the main results, we found a certain thematic bias in the approach to the SDGs, as well as a predominance of specific and incipient curricular proposals. Higher Education is particularly involved, being directly responsible for the training of future education professionals. The SDGs cannot be achieved in isolation; the support of all the agents involved in the educational process is necessary. DISCUSSION. The need to continue working in a sustained manner on curricular experiences and practices defending social participation and planetary citizenship as educational values on the rise is pointed out. As higher education is particularly committed to the SDGs, universities are called upon to commit to sustainable management while strengthening their curricular and extracurricular programming. As the achievement of the SDGs is a task for society as a whole, transdisciplinary and community-based approaches are called for.