AN INNOVATIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERPRETATION OF EDUCATION’S ROLE IN SUSTAINABILITY

Authors

  • Mikhail Kurushkin ITMO University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46754/ps.2025.01.001

Keywords:

Education, Formation, Training, Worldview, Teaching and learning, Values, Hands-on learning, Experiential methods, Artificial intelligence, Career development

Abstract

The concept of “education” varies across cultures and languages, with the Russian term “образование” encompassing both “education” and “formation”. This dual meaning reflects different approaches to understand education’s purpose. While education often implies the development of curiosity and a broad worldview, training is oriented toward acquiring practical, job-specific skills. These differences underscore the importance of distinguishing between the two concepts, as they serve complementary but distinct roles. Education involves not only teaching and learning but also instilling values and shaping an individual’s perspective on the world. Unlike training, which focuses on immediate applicability, education fosters a deeper understanding of systems and relationships, preparing individuals for lifelong growth. Observations of natural learning processes in animals and traditional learning techniques in human cultures highlight the value of hands-on and experiential methods, often overshadowed by contemporary practices. Despite the growing influence of technology on teaching and learning processes, the essence of education as a means of shaping worldviews remains unchanged. While students may prioritise career-oriented training, education provides a foundation for long-term personal and professional development, ultimately enriching both individual lives and society as a whole.

References

Abdullahi, A. M., Hussein, H. A., Ahmed, M. Y., Hussein, O. A., & Warsame, A. A. (2024). The impact of education for sustainable

development on university students’ sustainability behavior: A case study from undergraduate students in Somalia. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1413687. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1413687

Abo-Khalil, A. G. (2024). Integrating sustainability into higher education challenges and opportunities for universities worldwide. Heliyon, 10(9), e29946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29946

Acharya, S., & Shukla, S. (2012). Mirror neurons: Enigma of the metaphysical modular brain. Journal of Natural Science, Biology and Medicine, 3(2), 118. https://doi.org/10.4103/0976-9668.101878

Cremin, L. A. (1976). Public education. Basic Books.

De Waal, F. (2019). Mama’s last hug: Animal emotions and what they tell us about ourselves. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

Education. (2024). In Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/education

Extance, A. (2023). ChatGPT has entered the classroom: How LLMs could transform education. Nature, 623(7987), 474-477. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03507-3

Hitka, M., Štarchoň, P., Lorincová, S., & Caha, Z. (2021). Education as a key in career building. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 22(4), 1065-1083. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2021.15399

Kopnina, H. (2022). Animal Personhood in Sustainability Education. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1809

Oxford, R. L., & Burry-Stock, J. A. (1995). Assessing the use of language learning strategies worldwide with the ESL/EFL version of the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). System, 23(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/0346-251X(94)00047-A

Piao, X., & Managi, S. (2023). The international role of education in sustainable lifestyles and economic development. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 8733. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35173-w

Romulo, C., Venkataraman, B., Caplow, S., Ajgaonkar, S., Allen, C. R., Anandhi, A., Anderson, S. W., Azzarello, C. B., Brundiers, K., Blavascunas, E., Dauer, J. M., Druckenbrod, D. L., Fairchild, E., Horne, L. R., Lee, K., Mwale, M., Mischler, J., Pappo, E., Patel, N. S., Sintov,

N. D., Ramsdell, C. S., & Vincent, S. G. (2024). Implementing interdisciplinary sustainability education with the foodenergy-water (FEW) nexus. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 928. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03332-7

Skatova, A., & Ferguson, E. (2014). Why do different people choose different university degrees? Motivation and the choice of degree. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01244

Strielkowski, W., Grebennikova, V., Lisovskiy, A., Rakhimova, G., & Vasileva, T. (2024). AI-driven adaptive learning for sustainable educational transformation. Sustainable Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.3221

Tchernichovski, O., & Conley, D. (2019). A genetically tailored education for birds. Nature, 575(7782), 290-291. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03416-4

Vardi, M. Y. (2022). Will AI destroy education? Communications of the ACM, 65(1), 7-7. https://doi.org/10.1145/3501359

Volkov, A. (2023, January 22). Чтоотличает университетское образование от обычного высшего? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/DIkxZrSJP5s?si=SSxOeIRxMGN8YlZ9

Whiten, A., & Van De Waal, E. (2017). Social learning, culture and the ‘socio-cultural brain’ of human and non-human primates.

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 82, 58-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.018

Downloads

Published

2025-01-26

How to Cite

Kurushkin, M. (2025). AN INNOVATIVE INTERDISCIPLINARY INTERPRETATION OF EDUCATION’S ROLE IN SUSTAINABILITY. Planetary Sustainability, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.46754/ps.2025.01.001