About the project

The transition towards more sustainable social, economic, and environmental models requires a profound transformation in the education of future professionals. In this context, Transformative Learning for Sustainability and Ethics in STEAM Higher Education (TL-SEEDS) project aims to contribute to the development of sustainability and ethics competences among graduates of the STEAM higher education system. We understand higher education as a key space for training professionals who drive change toward more sustainable societies, in line with international strategies that recognize Education for Sustainability as a driver of systemic transformation.

The project is grounded in the premise that higher education should not be limited to transmitting technical knowledge, but also foster the meaningful integration of values, critical thinking, and ethical responsibility into professional decision-making. To this end, it proposes the design and implementation of Transformative Learning (TL) strategies and activities aimed at strengthening learning in ethics and sustainability in STEAM higher education, explicitly addressing the effects of  certain cognitive biases (confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance). These strategies seek to generate profound changes in values, frames of reference, and thinking habits, fostering the construction of a collective identity grounded in sustainability and ethical responsibility.

With a duration of four years, TL-SEEDS aims to promote innovation in university teaching and enhance learning in sustainability and ethics, structurally integrating these dimensions into STEAM education.

What we aim to achieve

The Project General Objective is to enhance ethics and sustainability values learning in STEAM Higher Education (STEAM-HE) incorporating the analysis of cognitive biases that may influence these learning processes. This can be achieved by designing transformative learning strategies and activities that generate a paradigm shift in values, meanings, perspectives, frames of reference, and habits of mind, seeking to create a collective identity based on ethics and sustainability values.

Specific Objectives:

O1: This objective aims at identifying the demands from EU and National Policies and from society (professionals, employers, NGOs, academia, etc.) in terms of sustainability values and ethics competences in STEAM education. 

O2: This objective aims at identifying existing best practices in TL and its relation to address cognitive biases to enhance sustainability values and ethics competence learning. It will lead to the creation of a compilation of exemplary case studies and best practices in TL for ethics and sustainability. 

O3: This objective aims at conducting a comprehensive analysis to understand existing cognitive biases (confirmation biases and cognitive dissonance) that may influence learning processes of sustainability values and ethics competences and design TL activities that address them.

O4: This objective aims to enhance teachers’ educational practices by equipping them with pedagogical frameworks and tools grounded in Transformative Learning, fostering the development of sustainability values and ethics competences.

Boris LazzariniTorsten MasseckAntoni Perez-PochJordi Segalàs CoralGemma Tejedor PapellCristina Simarro RodriguezGiulia SonettiEva Vidal LopezEnric Pol UrrutiaJohanna Martínez DíazMarta Castellano PalominoGemma Cervantes Torre-MartinGemma Molins DuranMireia Puig PochCarme Martin Escofet Bárbara Sureda Carbonell

Cooperation partners

TL-SEEDS will be carried out in collaboration with the Universitat de Barcelona and will have the participation of an interdisciplinary team of researchers.

Funding agency

The research project Transformative Learning for Sustainability and Ethics in STEAM Higher Education (TL-SEEDS) is funding from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of Gobierno de España, PID2023-146356NB-I00.