Transformative education environments for sustainability: The perceptions of teachers in the University of the Basque Country

Education for Sustainable Development at university level requires transformative education approaches that must be promoted by teachers as part of their practical activities. These approaches should engage learners in participatory, systemic, creative and innovative thinking and action processes in the context of local communities. Ocean i3 is an interdisciplinary, crossborder and intercultural learning environment that was created to respond to the plastic pollution problem along the Basque-Neoaquitaine coastline. The aim of this work is to understand the meaning that university teaching staff attach to the elements that make Ocean i3 a transformative environment in which education for sustainable development is promoted. The methodological approach is qualitative in nature, aimed at seeking the meaning and sense that Ocean i3 provides for teachers. Twenty-three people participated through interviews, and focus group. The analytical procedure consisted in an inductive content analysis. The results reveal that the teaching staff perceive Ocean i3 as a transformative education environment for university students due to its interdisciplinary approach, the challenge-based teaching methodology, the continuous collaboration with external agents related to the socioeconomic fabric of the region, the use of alternative spaces where academics can carry out educational activities, as well as the use of translanguaging to promote multilingual communication in the Ocean i3 community in a natural way. The complexity of the Ocean i3 environment induces teachers to learn to reinvent themselves so they can drive transformative education for sustainable development.