Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Sustainability in K-12 education: how can schools support students to address challenges of environmental sustainability?

This action research study examines how K-12 schools can promote environmental sustainability, finding that successful programs combine student education, school-wide practices, and community engagement to reduce environmental impact.

2023
Article Tier 2

Arousing Early Strategic Thinking about SDGs with Real Mathematics Problems

Researchers explored whether training secondary school mathematics teachers to design problems framed around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could improve student engagement with sustainability and perceptions of mathematics usefulness. The qualitative teacher training program produced original math problems integrating secondary curriculum content with the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs.

2022 Mathematics 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Do future teachers’ sustainability commitments really relate to action-oriented educational approaches?

Researchers analyzed educational proposals designed by 130 future secondary school teachers addressing the socioecological problem of microplastic pollution, examining the relationship between teachers' own sustainability perceptions and their selection of action-oriented educational approaches through mixed qualitative and quantitative methods.

2024 Environmental Education Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Internationalisation at Home: Developing a Global Change Biology Course Curriculum to Enhance Sustainable Development

Researchers developed an internationalisation-at-home curriculum for a Global Change Biology course, using diverse pedagogical approaches to expose all students to global sustainability issues such as climate change and microplastics without requiring international travel, assessing outcomes for sustainable development awareness.

2023 Sustainability 5 citations
Article Tier 2

School science activities with contributions from STEM practices: A study to address complex problems in elementary school classes, in the case of microplastics and their harmful effects

Researchers developed a theoretical and explanatory framework identifying which aspects of STEM education can strengthen the design of school science activities addressing complex problems such as microplastic pollution in elementary school settings. The study proposes a model for integrating STEM practices into classroom activities to build students' capacity to engage with real-world environmental challenges.

2025 Repositorio Universidad Distrital
Article Tier 2

Investigating the role of self-selected STEM projects in fostering student autonomy and self-directed learning

Researchers studied how high school students fared when allowed to choose their own sustainability-themed STEM projects, finding that student autonomy boosted intrinsic motivation but also introduced challenges around time management and curriculum alignment. The findings suggest that self-directed project learning can deepen engagement with science, though it requires careful scaffolding to support students through open-ended challenges.

2024 The Australian Educational Researcher 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrating STEM Curriculum Across the Schools' Learning Environment to Reflect & Impact Life Practices

This paper is not about microplastics. It discusses integrating STEM curriculum across school environments to promote sustainability education and critical thinking, referencing UN Sustainable Development Goals. While it mentions environmental challenges broadly, the paper focuses on educational pedagogy rather than microplastic pollution or environmental contamination research.

2023 KnE Social Sciences 5 citations
Review Tier 2

Systematic literature review: a typology of Sustainability Literacy and Environmental Literacy

This systematic literature review develops a typology of sustainability literacy and environmental education frameworks, mapping how different educational approaches define and measure student competencies related to ecological awareness and sustainable behavior.

2025 Frontiers in Education 4 citations
Article Tier 2

What and why in teaching about sustainability

This paper is not about microplastics; it is a science education study examining how Swedish high school teachers select and justify content when teaching sustainable development, using a pedagogical content knowledge framework.

2024 Nordic Studies in Science Education 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Qualitatively recognizing the dimensions of student environmental identity development within the classroom context

This study qualitatively identified eight dimensions of environmental identity development in elementary school students engaged in a pollution-focused science curriculum, finding that emotional responses and personal meaning emerged as distinct dimensions not previously captured in adult environmentalist research.

2023 Journal of Research in Science Teaching 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplásticos no corpo humano: um percurso investigativo no ensino médio para despertar a consciência ambiental

This experience report describes a secondary school investigative didactic sequence in Brazil on microplastics in the human body, guiding 10th-grade students from initial hypothesis through flipped classroom activities to experimental investigation. The project successfully engaged students with environmental science and raised awareness of personal microplastic exposure.

2025 Health and Biosciences
Article Tier 2

Real action based on search solve create and share (SSCS) model to improve sustainability awareness of junior high school students

Researchers implemented a real-action project using the Search-Solve-Create-Share (SSCS) learning model with an education for sustainable development approach to improve sustainability awareness among 7th-grade students in Siak, Riau Province, Indonesia. A quasi-experimental design comparing SSCS-taught and control classes found the model effective at enhancing student understanding of local environmental issues including water and air pollution.

2023 JPBI (Jurnal Pendidikan Biologi Indonesia) 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Science Studies teachers’ selection of content when teaching for Sustainable Development

This paper is not about microplastics; it investigates how Swedish Science Studies teachers select content when teaching for Sustainable Development, finding that most teachers struggle to take a truly holistic approach that integrates social, economic, and environmental perspectives. The study is an education research paper with no relevance to microplastic science.

2024 Nordic Studies in Science Education 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Taking care of our planet: measuring and managing the environmental impact

This educational project engaged high school students in measuring and analyzing environmental impacts related to ocean health as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The project aimed to raise awareness about marine pollution, including plastic waste, among young citizens.

2023
Article Tier 2

No App is an Island: Collective Action and Sustainable Development Goal-Sensitive Design.

This paper argues that software applications must be designed not in isolation but as part of broader socio-technical ecosystems, proposing a design framework that incorporates UN Sustainable Development Goals as explicit engineering requirements for complex digital systems.

2021 International Journal of Interactive Multimedia and Artificial Intelligence 18 citations
Article Tier 2

A self‐reported instrument to measure and foster students' science connection to life with the CARE‐KNOW‐DO model and open schooling for sustainability

Researchers developed and validated a self-reported instrument to measure students' connection to science using the CARE-KNOW-DO model combined with an open schooling approach for sustainability. The study involved students working on real-world environmental problems including microplastic pollution alongside families and scientists. Evidence indicates that this approach can strengthen young people's engagement with science and sustainability topics.

2024 Journal of Research in Science Teaching 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Detecting, sensibilization and measuring microplastics in the environment: a guidebook of practical activities for primary and secondary schools

Researchers developed a practical guidebook for primary and secondary school students to detect, measure, and understand microplastic pollution using table salt as a simple, accessible study matrix. The activities integrate scientific, technological, chemical, and geological concepts while addressing four UN Sustainable Development Goals, aiming to raise environmental awareness about microplastics in the educational system.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Increasing urban health awareness using an interactive approach: evidence from a school-based study

Researchers conducted a school-based study to evaluate an interactive approach for increasing urban health awareness among students, with a focus on the health consequences of climate change and urbanization. The study found evidence that participatory school interventions can improve health literacy and adaptive capacity among urban youth, supporting WHO recommendations for health-promoting schools.

2022 European Journal of Public Health
Article Tier 2

Analysis of Students' Sustainability Awareness of the Environment

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it assesses the environmental sustainability awareness of high school students in West Java, Indonesia, using a descriptive quantitative educational research approach.

2023 Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA 9 citations
Article Tier 2

How Marine Plastic Pollution Education Develops Secondary School Students’ Sustainability Competences

Researchers investigated how marine plastic pollution education affects Norwegian secondary school students' sustainability competences, knowledge, and attitudes toward biodiversity protection using pre- and post-test questionnaires with 50 students. Results showed that structured marine plastic pollution curricula can improve students' understanding of ecosystem impacts and motivate protective behaviors.

2025 Environmental sciences
Article Tier 2

Educación para la Justicia Ambiental en una Provincia Despoblada: Percepciones y Propuestas

Researchers compared urban and rural secondary school students in a depopulated Spanish province in terms of their perceptions and proposals following an environmental justice education sequence on energy crisis and atmospheric pollution, using a mixed-methods approach with 85 participants to evaluate how place-based context shapes environmental awareness.

2024 Revista Internacional de Educación para la Justicia Social
Article Tier 2

Community-Engaged Research Projects in School Settings: Science Teachers’ Practices and Reflections

Not relevant to microplastics — this education research study analyzes how nine teachers implemented community-engaged research projects addressing environmental justice issues in their classrooms, focusing on pedagogy, student empowerment, and institutional challenges.

2024 Social Sciences 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Systems Thinking Research in Science and Sustainability Education: A Theoretical Note

This theoretical review examined systems thinking in science and sustainability education, critically analyzing the contradictions within sustainable development education and arguing that truly transformative environmental education must challenge anthropocentric assumptions embedded in SDG frameworks.

2021 9 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Sustainable Development Issues in Chemistry Learning as Educational for Sustainable Development Implementation: A Systematic Literature Review

This systematic literature review synthesized research on integrating sustainable development issues into chemistry education. While not directly about microplastics, it identified microplastic pollution as one of the sustainability topics being incorporated into chemistry curricula to help students understand real-world environmental challenges.

2026 Jurnal Pendidikan Matematika dan Sains