Envisaging Sustainable Futures via Powerful Knowledge

Rapid increase in information and misinformation, as well as political polarization have increased the importance of reliable knowledge and critical thinking for envisaging sustainable futures as a solution for emerging ecological and social crises of today. This research project investigates how sustainable futures can be understood in the domains of geography, history, and social studies education by combining disciplinary, cross-disciplinary and everyday knowledge. The project funded by the Research Council of Finland (2023–2027) produces data in the form of teacher and student interviews, classroom observations as well as educational materials and documents. The project generates approaches with which teachers can plan and develop disciplinary-based and cross-disciplinary teaching and use students’ everyday experiences in their teaching. This can support students’ active role in the learning process and thus increase their ability and interest to envisage paths towards a more sustainable future.