EDUCATION STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY TRAINING AND THE USE OF ACTIVE METHODOLOGIES: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Today, it is imperative to prepare committed and competent professionals to address the most pressing global environmental, economic and social challenges.Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a priority to transform society, fostering competencies such as systems thinking, anticipation, collaboration, critical thinking, strategic action and responsibility.In this process, university students, graduates in the near future, become key actors and must play an active role as agents of change, contributing to the construction of a more sustainable future.Therefore, the aim of this study is to analyse the perception of university students on the training they have received on issues related to sustainability and its relationship with the use of active methodologies in their respective degrees.For this purpose, a descriptive and analysis of variance and post-hoc comparisons were carried out, with a quantitative design, applied to a sample of 460 students enrolled in the degrees of Education at the University of Jan.The instrument used was a questionnaire, designed ad hoc, with Likert-type questions on a scale ranging from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1).The data collected were analysed using the SPSS programme.The findings showed that the majority of students are aware of the SDGs and understand what they consist of (82.6%); they consider that active methodologies facilitate the development of sustainability competences (83.1%); and they value positively the role of teachers in the implementation of education for sustainable development (80.6%).ESD should be promoted and opportunities should be provided for students to get involved in ESD-related projects so that they can become agents of change to ensure a more sustainable future.