Sustainability-Oriented Pedagogy as A Socio-Economic Strategy: A Mixed-Methods Empirical Study in Mexican FLE Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2478/rsep-2025-0019Keywords:
Sustainability-Oriented Pedagogy, Foreign Language Education, Socio-Economic Perspectives, Mixed-Methods ResearchAbstract
Sustainability-oriented pedagogy has emerged as a key priority in higher education, particularly in emerging economies where environmental deterioration, socio-economic inequality, and structural vulnerabilities converge. This mixed-methods empirical study examines the socio-economic, linguistic, and ecological impact of sustainability-based instructional interventions implemented within a French as a Foreign Language (FLE) program at the University of Colima, Mexico. Four pedagogical projects—Linguistic Garden, Sustainable Recipes, a circular-economy flea market, and structured sustainability debates—were deployed over one semester.
Quantitative analyses based on a dataset (N = 48) indicate substantial gains in ecological awareness (+32%), responsible consumption attitudes (+27%), and oral fluency development (+18%). Qualitative findings drawn from students’ reflective journals and class observations reveal deepened socio-economic consciousness, heightened civic engagement, and meaningful linguistic progress. Participant narratives highlight behavioral changes beyond the classroom, including reduced waste generation, increased preference for local products, improved awareness of food systems, and greater ecological responsibility.
The findings underscore the potential of language programs to cultivate ecological citizenship, socio-economic awareness, and civic participation alongside linguistic-development goals. The study provides a framework for embedding sustainability transversally into language curricula and offers implications for educational policy, curriculum design, and pedagogical innovation.
References
American Educational Research Association. (2006). Standards for reporting on empirical social science research in AERA publications. Educational Researcher, 35(6), 33–40.
Ardoin, N. M., Bowers, A. W., & Gaillard, E. (2020). Environmental education outcomes for conservation: A systematic review. Biological Conservation, 241, Article 108224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108224
Berkes, F. (2017). Sacred ecology (4th ed.). Routledge.
Borg, S., & Al-Busaidi, S. (2012). Learner autonomy: English language teachers’ beliefs and practices. ELT Journal, 66(3), 283–292.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Byram, M. (2008). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship: Essays and reflections. Multilingual Matters.
Cebrián, G., & Junyent, M. (2015). Competencies in education for sustainable development: Exploring the student teachers’ views. Sustainability, 7(3), 2768–2786. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7032768
Council of Europe. (2020). Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Companion volume. Council of Europe Publishing.
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum.
Gadotti, M. (2008). Education for sustainability: A critical contribution to the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Green Theory & Praxis Journal, 1(1), 15–64.
IPCC. (2022). Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
Jickling, B., & Sterling, S. (2017). Post-sustainability and environmental education: Remaking education for the future. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kramsch, C. (2013). Language and culture. Oxford University Press.
Leicht, A., Heiss, J., & Byun, W. J. (Eds.). (2018). Issues and trends in education for sustainable development. UNESCO.
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning to think like an adult: Core concepts of transformative learning theory. In J. Mezirow & Associates (Eds.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 3–33). Jossey-Bass.
Norton, B. (2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation (2nd ed.). Multilingual Matters.
OECD. (2019). OECD learning compass 2030: A series of concept notes. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org/education/2030-project/
Ryan, A., & Tilbury, D. (2013). Flexible pedagogies: New pedagogical ideas. Higher Education Academy.
Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2010). Putting the human back in “human research methodology”: The researcher in mixed methods research. SAGE.
Tilbury, D. (2011). Education for sustainable development: An expert review of processes and learning. UNESCO.
UNDP. (2022). Human development report 2022: Uncertain times, unsettled lives. United Nations Development Programme. https://hdr.undp.org/
UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. UNESCO Publishing.
UNESCO. (2019). Education for sustainable development: Towards achieving the SDGs (ESD for 2030). UNESCO Publishing.
UNESCO. (2020). Education for sustainable development: A roadmap. UNESCO Publishing.
UNESCO. (2021). Futures of education: Learning to become. UNESCO Publishing.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
Vare, P., & Scott, W. (2007). Learning for a change: Exploring the relationship between education and sustainable development. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 1(2), 191–198.
Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., & Redman, C. L. (2011). Key competencies in sustainability: A reference framework for academic program development. Sustainability Science, 6(2), 203–218. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-011-0132-6
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright and Open Access Policy
The Review of Socio-Economic Perspectives (RSEP) is committed to the principles of open access and the widest possible dissemination of scholarly knowledge. The journal provides immediate and unrestricted access to all published content, enabling readers worldwide to freely read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, and link to the full texts of articles without financial, legal, or technical barriers.
RSEP supports the principles of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), which advocates free and unrestricted access to peer-reviewed scholarly research.
Copyright Ownership
Authors retain the copyright of their published works.
By submitting and publishing their manuscripts in RSEP, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive right to publish, reproduce, distribute, archive, index, and preserve the work in electronic and other formats for scholarly communication purposes.
The journal does not require authors to transfer copyright ownership to the publisher. Authors remain the legal copyright holders of their work after publication.
Licensing Policy
Beginning with Volume 2025, all articles published in RSEP are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, users are permitted to:
- Read, download, copy, and redistribute the material in any medium or format;
- Share the work with others;
- Adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the material;
provided that:
- Appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the journal;
- A link to the license is provided;
- Any changes made to the original work are clearly indicated;
- The material is not used for commercial purposes.
The full license terms are available at:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Previous Licensing Policy
Articles published before Volume 2025 were distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The CC BY 4.0 license permits unrestricted use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.
Articles published under CC BY 4.0 remain subject to the licensing terms that were in effect at the time of publication and are not retroactively relicensed.
Rights Retained by Authors
Authors retain the right to:
- Share their published articles on personal websites, institutional repositories, and academic networking platforms;
- Reuse parts or all of their work in future publications, books, teaching materials, and presentations;
- Deposit the published version of the article in repositories without embargo;
- Disseminate and promote their research freely.
Rights Granted to the Publisher
Authors grant RSEP the right to:
- Publish and disseminate the work as the original publisher;
- Archive and preserve the article permanently;
- Include the article in indexing, abstracting, and database services;
- Maintain the official version of record;
- Promote and distribute the published work through journal platforms and scholarly communication channels.
Open Access Statement
RSEP is a fully open-access journal. All articles are made freely available online immediately upon publication without subscription fees or access restrictions.
No embargo period is applied. Readers may access and use published content in accordance with the applicable Creative Commons license.
The journal believes that open access increases the global visibility, accessibility, usage, and impact of scholarly research while promoting the free exchange of scientific knowledge.
License Consistency
To ensure transparency and compliance with international indexing standards, the licensing information displayed on the journal website, article metadata, PDF files, and publishing platforms will remain consistent and accurately reflect the licensing terms applicable to each published volume.
