Submitted Successfully!
To reward your contribution, here is a gift for you: A free trial for our video production service.
Thank you for your contribution! You can also upload a video entry or images related to this topic.
Version Summary Created by Modification Content Size Created at Operation
1
Alma Rodríguez
 -- 1605 2022-04-29 10:22:52 |
2 format correction
Dean Liu
 -12 word(s) 1593 2022-05-05 03:35:41 |

Video Upload Options

We provide professional Video Production Services to translate complex research into visually appealing presentations. Would you like to try it?
No, upload directly Yes

Confirm

Are you sure to Delete?
Yes No
Cite
If you have any further questions, please contact Encyclopedia Editorial Office.
Rodríguez, A.; Vidal Meliá, L.; Estrada, M.; Monferrer, D. Role of Resilience in Education for Sustainable Development. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/22492 (accessed on 21 December 2024).
Rodríguez A, Vidal Meliá L, Estrada M, Monferrer D. Role of Resilience in Education for Sustainable Development. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/22492. Accessed December 21, 2024.
Rodríguez, Alma, Lidia Vidal Meliá, Marta Estrada, Diego Monferrer. "Role of Resilience in Education for Sustainable Development" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/22492 (accessed December 21, 2024).
Rodríguez, A., Vidal Meliá, L., Estrada, M., & Monferrer, D. (2022, April 29). Role of Resilience in Education for Sustainable Development. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/22492
Rodríguez, Alma, et al. "Role of Resilience in Education for Sustainable Development." Encyclopedia. Web. 29 April, 2022.
Role of Resilience in Education for Sustainable Development
Edit
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/su14074251

Resilience is defined as an individual’s capability to sustain a normal state of balance when exposed to exceptionally adverse situations.

education for sustainable development mindfulness resilience

1. Introduction

Education for sustainable development (ESD) aims at developing competences that empower individuals to reflect on their actions, considering their current and future social, cultural, economic, and environmental impacts from a local and a global perspective [1]. Thus, it seems that in the last decade, fruitful research on integrating different competences for ESD became more evident (e.g., [2][3]). In this sense, competences for sustainable development (CSD) depart from a comprehensive and holistic view; CSD may be considered as a set of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes necessary to ensure today’s students and future leaders are ready to deal with complex issues regarding sustainability [4]. Several authors report on these competences, using different settings and models (e.g., [5]). In this sense, ref. [4] offers a complete and integrated view from various authors, including six main blocks of competences with similar characteristics: responsibility (values, ethics, reflection), emotional intelligence (transcultural understanding, empathy, solidarity, compassion), system orientation (interdisciplinary), future orientation, personal involvement (self-motivation, motivating others, learning), and the ability to take action (participatory skills) [4].
Further studies [6] also focus on the teaching strategies that foster competences or skills needed in search of sustainability in education, such as being critical, creative, being aware of problems, problem-solving skills, or cooperation, among others. Therefore, mindfulness, defined as the capacity of a person to focus attention on events, experiences, and states of the present moment, both external and internal [7], plays a pivotal role as a comprehensive competence in ESD. In other words, awareness generated in mindfulness is related to emotional competences such as emotional intelligence (including the capacity to be aware of the own emotions and being conscious about others’ feelings or feeling empathy). However, mindfulness is also related to how individuals perceive the world that surrounds them, including the resources that they have at hand, which is linked to academic competences. In fact, refs. [8][9] affirmed that mindfulness generates a higher intellectual capability and an openness to different thinking styles. In this vein, mindfulness might be related to ESD since it fosters CSD as emotional regulation, self-awareness, and future orientation [10][11][12]. Thus, the main goal is to explore how mindfulness plays a key role in the learning process in response to the need to develop students’ emotional competencies in ESD, and specifically how mindfulness has an impact on academic performance.
Mindfulness emerges as one of the most effective instruments for promoting awareness, cultivating the ability to be attentive, and increasing subjective wellbeing [13]. Thus, the authors [14][15] understand mindfulness as a “technology of the self” that exerts an action on the own subjectivity with the potential to cause effective changes in modes of existence in a more sustainable direction. Quantitative research [16] has shown a positive relationship between practicing mindfulness and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. Mindfulness would be promoting a double benefit [13]: on the one hand, it increases wellbeing by detaching it from materialistic and consumer logic; on the other, it actively promotes more sustainable behavior and lifestyle. From another perspective, the practice of mindfulness has spread rapidly among the world’s adult population in recent years, following its proven effectiveness in regulating emotions and optimizing cognitive patterns. The number of studies and research on this practice and analysis of its efficacy with children and adolescents has been increasing due to its demonstrated effectiveness in improving more ecosocial behaviors, enhancing general wellbeing [17][18], improving psychological symptoms [19], and faster information processing. In the educational context, its practice has demonstrated effectiveness in cognitive performance and significant relationships in measures of stress, coping, and resilience [20]. However, there is still a shortage of papers on the influence of mindfulness on resilience in college students and even more on its role on ESD as a competence.
In sum, although the benefits of mindfulness are well-acknowledged in the educational literature, it is not considered a key element in ESD. Hence, researchers seeks to contribute to the literature of ESD in several ways.

2. Mindfulness and Resilience

Mindfulness implies a state of consciousness in which attention is focused on events, experiences, and states of the present moment, both external and internal [7]. Thus, mindfulness is constantly being aware of events and experiences at the moment and accepting them as they are, rather than being absorbed in the past or worried about the future [21]. According to this definition, a mindful person is prone to be open to novelty, sensitive to context, and aware of multiple approaches to solving a problem [22]. Therefore, a mindful person might be more aware of the resources at hand. Thus, researchers follow this approach of dispositional mindfulness as a capacity to be conscious of events and experiences around. This approach is settled in both traditions on the study of mindfulness: the Eastern based on self-regulation of attention that is present-oriented and is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance [23]. This definition focus on meditative practice. Additionally, the Western approach in which mindfulness is defined by being in the present, sensitive to context and perspective, and guided (but not governed) by rules and routines [24]. Both approaches have their similarities and differences, “but the singularities of each approach can be placed within an underlying framework, wherein each contributes to the elucidation of the other” [25]. Therefore, researchers consider mindfulness as a capacity to be aware of the present moment, being conscious about the context and world that surround . This capacity may help people to be aware of their own and others’ emotions and the resources at hand when having difficult situations. This idea is related to the capacity to overcome obstacles and become even more resourceful after a difficult situation; that is, the capacity for resilience. Resilience is defined as an individual’s capability to sustain a normal state of balance when exposed to exceptionally adverse situations [26]. Resilience does not eradicate stress or remove life adversities. Instead, it gives people the strength to handle problems effectively, overcome adversity, and move on with their lives [27]. In recent years, there has been growing research interest in discovering the facilitators of resilience. Beyond different character traits and skills, including self-efficacy, creative problem-solving skills, and the ability to focus on the present, mindfulness has been associated with resilience [28][29][30].
In the context of higher education, a growing number of theoretical and empirical research studies support the idea that mindfulness and resilience are connected (e.g., [31][32]). In this regard, ref. [33] concluded that the sustained practice of mindfulness can improve attentional and emotional self-regulation and affects students’ capacity for resilience. Thus, it has been shown that when university students lack resilience, they are more likely to fall into situations of helplessness, apathy, depression, and anguish [34]. However, when they present high levels of resilience, they show a higher fit to university academic demands [35]. Along these lines, high levels of resilience have been associated with academic success [35][36]. Ref. [37] showed that individuals with greater mindfulness have greater resilience and, consequently, greater satisfaction with life. According to the authors, the awareness and acceptance aspects of mindfulness can facilitate the development of resilience and optimism, enthusiasm, and patience, characteristics of resilient individuals that can lead to a perception of wellbeing. According to [38], to maintain resilience, greater flexibility is required through attention and acceptance, skills that are integrated into mindfulness. In a study by [39], a positive relationship between resilience and mindfulness was observed, showing that both variables are revealed as predictors of psychological wellbeing in university students. However, there is still little research in this regard [40][41] and even more in the context of ESD. In this sense, mindfulness could be considered a holistic competence for ESD. In fact, following the previous categorization of competences for ESD [4], mindfulness might be related to responsibility, transcultural understanding, empathy, learning, and the ability to take action, and then it would be related to resilience. Thus, the challenge is to continue investigating this variable, which seeks, through education, to train tomorrow’s citizens in creating a more sustainable world.
Therefore, according to previous evidence, researchers expect that:
Hypothesis 1. Students’ mindfulness is directly and positively related to their level of resilience.

3. Resilience and Academic Performance

The study of resilience has attracted a growing research interest, especially in higher education settings, mainly because of the number of benefits that resilience has on students’ wellbeing [42]. In this context, resilience helps students overcome stressful situations and pressure arising from their studies [43]. Since resilience is a dynamic capability through which students acquire the knowledge and skills to help them face an uncertain future with a positive attitude and optimism, resilient students will be able to cope with academic demands appropriately [44]. Moreover, resilience is one of the main dimensions associated with psychological wellbeing and academic success [45]. Students’ capacity for resilience will help them to persevere in their tasks and maintain a positive attitude when difficulties arise; this persistence in their studies might be directly related to academic performance. According to recent research, mindfulness and resilience seem to be related to academic performance in educational settings [46]. Hence, the relationship between resilience and its multiple benefits on wellbeing and performance is well supported in the literature, including resilience as a buffer effect preventing burnout or dropout [47][48] and resilience enhancing academic engagement [49]. Moreover, resilience is related to academic performance, although this relationship is mediated by other variables such as engagement and self-efficacy [42]. Thus, further research is needed to uncover the relationship between resilience and direct academic performance, such as the impact on students’ grades.
Therefore, following previous research regarding the close relationship between resilience and performance researchers expect that:
Hypothesis 2. Students’ resilience is positively and directly related to their academic performance.

References

  1. Tejedor, G.; Segalàs, J.; Barrón, A.; Fernàndez-Morilla, M.; Fuertes, M.T.; Ruiz-Morales, J.; Gutiérrez, I.; García-Gonzàlez, E.; Aramburuzabala, P.; Hernàndez, A. Didactic strategies to promote competencies in sustainability. Sustainability 2019, 17, 2086.
  2. Robina-Ramírez, R.; Merodio, J.A.M.; McCallum, S. What role do emotions play in transforming students’ environmental behaviour at school? J. Clean. Prod. 2020, 258, 120638.
  3. Watson, M.K.; Lozano, R.; Noyes, C.; Rodgers, M. Assessing curricula contribution to sustainability more holistically: Experiences from the integration of curricula assessment and students’ perceptions at the Georgia Institute of Technology. J. Clean. Prod. 2013, 61, 106–116.
  4. Lambrechts, W.; Mulà, I.; Ceulemans, K.; Molderez, I.; Gaeremynck, V. The integration of competences for sustainable development in higher education: An analysis of bachelor programs in management. J. Clean. Prod. 2013, 48, 65–73.
  5. Roorda, N. Assessment and policy development of sustainability in higher education with AISHE. In Teaching Sustainability at Universities: Towards Curriculum Greening, Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability; Filho, W.L., Ed.; Peter Lang: Frankfurt, Germany, 2002.
  6. Cebrián, G.; Junyent, M. Competences in Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring the Student Teachers’ Views. Sustainability 2015, 7, 2768–2786.
  7. Dane, E. Paying attention to mindfulness and its effects on task performance in the workplace. J. Manag. 2011, 37, 997–1018.
  8. Sternberg, R.J. The nature of creativity. Creat. Res. J. 2006, 18, 87–98.
  9. Siqueira, R.; Pitassi, C. Sustainability-oriented innovations: Can mindfulness make a difference? J. Clean. Prod. 2016, 139, 1181–1190.
  10. Cheng, X.; Ma, Y.; Li, J.; Cai, Y.; Li, L.; Zhang, J. Mindfulness and psychological distress in kindergarten teachers: The mediating role of emotional intelligence. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 8212.
  11. Erus, S.M.; Deniz, M.E. The mediating role of emotional intelligence and marital adjustment in the relationship between mindfulness in marriage and subjective well-being. Pegem J. Educ. Instr. 2020, 10, 317–354.
  12. Teal, C.; Downey, L.A.; Lomas, J.E.; Ford, T.C.; Bunnett, E.R.; Stough, C. The role of dispositional mindfulness and emotional intelligence in adolescent males. Mindfulness 2019, 10, 159–167.
  13. Ericson, T.; Kjønstad, B.G.; Barstad, A. Mindfulness and sustainability. Ecol. Econ. 2014, 104, 73–79.
  14. Doran, P. Is there a role for contemporary practices of askesis in supporting a transition to sustainable consumption? Int. J. Green Econ. 2011, 5, 15–40.
  15. Carvalho, A. Subjectivity, ecology and meditation. Performing interconnectedness. Subjectivity 2014, 7, 131–150.
  16. Amel, E.L.; Manning, C.M.; Scott, B.A. Mindfulness and Sustainable Behavior: Pondering Attention and Awareness as Means for Increasing Green Behavior. Ecopsychology 2009, 1, 14–25.
  17. Kuyken, W.; Weare, K.; Ukoumunne, O.C.; Vicary, R.; Motton, N.; Burnett, R.; Cullen, C.; Hennelly, S.; Huppert, F. Effectiveness of the Mindfulness in Schools Programme: Non-randomised controlled feasibility study. Br. J. Psychiatry 2013, 203, 126–131.
  18. Mercader, A. Problemas en el adolescente, mindfulness y rendimiento escolar en estudiantes de secundaria. Estudio preliminar. Propós. Represent. 2020, 8, 1.
  19. Zoogman, S.; Goldberg, S.B.; Hoyt, W.T.; Miller, L. Mindfulness interventions with youth: A meta-analysis. Mindfulness 2015, 6, 290–302.
  20. Zenner, C.; Herrnleben-Kurz, S.; Walach, H. Mindfulness-based interventions in schools—A systematic review and meta-analysis. Front. Psychol. 2014, 5, 603.
  21. Brown, K.W.; Ryan, R.M. The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J. Personal. Soc. Psychol. 2003, 84, 822–848.
  22. Bodner, T.; Langer, E. Individual Differences in Mindfulness: The Mindfulness/Mindlessness Scale. In Proceedings of the 13th Annual American Psychological Society Conference, Toronto, ON, Canada, 14–17 June 2001.
  23. Bishop, S.R.; Lau, M.; Shapiro, S.; Carlson, L.; Anderson, N.D.; Carmody, J.; Segal, Z.V.; Abbey, S.S.; Michael, V. Drew. Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clin. Psychol. Sci. Pract. 2004, 11, 230.
  24. Langer, E.J. A mindful education. Educ. Psychol. 1993, 28, 43–50.
  25. Djikic, M. Integrating eastern and western approaches. In The Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Mindfulness; John Wiley and Sons: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2014; p. 137.
  26. Bonanno, G.A. Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? Am. Psychol. 2004, 59, 20.
  27. Richardson, G.E. The meta-theory of resilience and resiliency. J. Clin. Psychol. 2002, 58, 307–321.
  28. Keye, M.D.; Pidgeon, A.M. Investigation of the relationship between resilience, mindfulness, and academic self-efficacy. Open J. Soc. Sci. 2013, 1, 1–4.
  29. Thompson, R.W.; Arnkoff, D.B.; Glass, C.R. Conceptualizing mindfulness and acceptance as components of psychological resilience to trauma. Trauma Violence Abus. 2011, 12, 220–235.
  30. Van Breda, A.D. Resilience Theory: A Literature Review; South African Military Health Service: Pretoria, South Africa, 2001.
  31. Asthana, A.N. Organisational Citizenship Behaviour of MBA students: The role of mindfulness and resilience. Int. J. Manag. Educ. 2021, 19, 100548.
  32. Zarotti, N.; Povah, C.; Simpson, J. Mindfulness mediates the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and resilience in higher education students. Personal. Individ. Differ. 2020, 156, 109795.
  33. Meiklejohn, J.; Phillips, C.; Freedman, M.L.; Griffin, M.L.; Biegel, G.; Roach, A.; Frank, J.; Burke, C.; Pinger, L.; Soloway, G. Integrating mindfulness training into K-12 education: Fostering the resilience of teachers and students. Mindfulness 2012, 3, 291–307.
  34. Bragagnolo, G.; Rinarudo, A.; Cravero, N.; Fomía, S.; Martínez, G.; Vergara, S. Optimismo, esperanza, autoestima y depresión en estudiantes de Psicología; Universidad Nacional de Rosario: Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2005.
  35. Munro, B.; Pooley, J.A. Differences in resilience and university adjustment between school leaver and mature entry university students. Aust. Community Psychol. 2009, 21, 50–61.
  36. Leary, K.A.; DeRosier, M.E. Factors promoting positive adaptation and resilience during the transition to college. Psychology 2012, 3, 1215–1222.
  37. Bajaj, B.; Pande, N. Mediating role of resilience in the impact of mindfulness on life satisfaction and affect as indices of subjective well-being. Personal. Individ. Differ. 2016, 93, 63–67.
  38. Waugh, C.E.; Thompson, R.J.; Gotlib, I.H. Flexible emotional responsiveness in trait resilience. Emotion 2011, 11, 1059–1067.
  39. Pidgeon, A.M.; Keye, M. Relationship between Resilience, Mindfulness, and Psychological Well-Being in University Students. Int. J. Lib. Arts Soc. Sci. 2014, 2, 27–32.
  40. González, M.; Artuch, R. Perfiles de resiliencia y Estrategias de Afrontamiento en la Universidad: Variables contextuales y Demográficas. Electron. J. Res. Educ. Psychol. 2014, 12, 621–648.
  41. Ríos, M.I.; Carrillo, C.; Sabuco, E. Resiliencia y Síndrome de Burnout en estudiantes de enfermería y su relación con variables sociodemográficas y de relación interpersonal. Int. J. Psychol. Res. 2012, 5, 88–95.
  42. Ayala, J.C.; Manzano, G. Academic performance of first-year university students: The influence of resilience and engagement. High. Educ. Res. Dev. 2018, 37, 1321–1335.
  43. Vizoso-Gómez, C.; Arias-Gundín, O. Resiliencia, optimismo y burnout académico en estudiantes universitarios. Eur. J. Educ. Psychol. 2018, 11, 47–59.
  44. Fínez, M.J.; Morán, C. La resiliencia y su relación con salud y ansiedad en estudiantes españoles. Int. J. Dev. Educ. Psychol. 2015, 1, 409–416.
  45. Kristjánsson, K. Positive psychology and positive education: Old wine in new bottles? Educ. Psychol. 2012, 47, 86–105.
  46. Egan, H.; O’Hara, M.; Cook, A.; Mantzios, M. Mindfulness, self-compassion, resiliency and wellbeing in higher education: A recipe to increase academic performance. J. Furth. High. Educ. 2021, 46, 301–311.
  47. García-Izquierdo, M.; Ríos-Risquez, M.I.; Carrillo-García, C.; Sabuco-Tebar, E.D.L.Á. The moderating role of resilience in the relationship between academic burnout and the perception of psychological health in nursing students. Educ. Psychol. 2018, 38, 1068–1079.
  48. Hartley, M.T. Increasing resilience: Strategies for reducing dropout rates for college students with psychiatric disabilities. Am. J. Psychiatr. Rehabil. 2010, 13, 295–315.
  49. Romano, L.; Angelini, G.; Consiglio, P.; Fiorilli, C. Academic Resilience and Engagement in High School Students: The Mediating Role of Perceived Teacher Emotional Support. Eur. J. Investig. Health Psychol. Educ. 2021, 11, 334–344.
More
© Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Upload a video for this entry
Information
Subjects: Education & Educational Research
Contributors MDPI registered users' name will be linked to their SciProfiles pages. To register with us, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/register :
Alma Rodríguez
,
Lidia Vidal Meliá
,
MARTA ESTRADA
,
Diego Monferrer
View Times: 1.3K
Revisions: 2 times (View History)
Update Date: 05 May 2022
Table of Contents
    1000/1000
    Hot Most Recent
    Video Production Service
    Feedback