The Role of Emotions in Education – a Concept Development for Social-Emotional Learning in Education for Sustainable Development at Primary Schools

My dissertation project investigates how self-reflection and psychoeducation can be systematically integrated into primary education aiming to foster sustainable behavior, resilience, and self-efficacy among children. While knowledge about ecological crises is essential, it also carries the risk of being overwhelming or frightening. Such feelings often prevent action rather than enabling it. To translate knowledge into practice, emotional competencies such as self-regulation, resilience, and agency are therefore indispensable. The project assumes that by strengthening these skills through guided reflection and psychoeducational exercises, pupils can be empowered to act more confidently and responsibly in the face of ecological challenges.

A systematic literature review provides the basis of my project, in order to map the existing research landscape at the intersection of ESD, social and emotional learning, and transformative learning. This review aims to identify empirical approaches that address the role of emotions, reflection, and psychoeducation in promoting sustainable behavior, as well as gaps in how these dimensions are currently conceptualized and implemented in primary education.

Building on the findings of this review, my research will explore how emotional and reflective learning can be systematically embedded in ESD, focusing on identifying approaches that help children deal constructively with climate-related emotions, while fostering resilience, self-efficacy, and a sense of agency. This work will develop a conceptual framework illustrating the interplay between behavior, emotion, and reflection.