Education systems are struggling to effectively integrate in their study programs the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which define the challenges we need to overcome as a society in the 21st century. This study revealed the special agency that architecture and built environment have in shaping our social, economic, and natural environment using system and design thinking. Despite the several studies on the metacognitive design process, several cognitive traps still exist when developing design thinking in architecture education. This study investigated design thinking and self-directed learning in undergraduate architecture students. Responses collected from a sample of 117 undergraduates were subjected to bootstrapping in structural equation modelling to find significant relationships of reversed action when design thinking is used for developing self-directed learning. The findings suggest that design thinking is strongly connected with self-directed learning, and as shown in the resulting model, all components of self-directed learning are strongly explained by design thinking variables. This can provide insights for curriculum designers and educators on how to shape effective design thinking processes in architecture education to overcome existing shortcomings while improving interpersonal skills, creativity and digital skills, make pedagogical changes, and enhance redesign of learning outcomes towards sustainable architecture.

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Teacher education for sustainable development (ESD) is faced with continuing unsustainability trends, which require deep and enduring social transformation. Transformative learning is a possible solution to facilitating reflection on the cognitive and socio-emotional processes underpinning students’ learning towards sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to investigate students’ perceptions of, and experiences with, technology-enhanced self-directed learning and design thinking as possible moderators of transformative learning in order to advance the concept and practice of teacher ESD. These perceptions and experiences are represented by 225 pedagogical and non-pedagogical students from the University of Ljubljana, asked to respond anonymously to three online questionnaires in May and June 2021. Findings indicate that strengthening the transformative aspect of ESD in pre-service teachers requires the consideration of critical reflection, self-awareness, risk propensity, holistic view and openness to diversity, and social support. Moreover, self-directed learning was found to be a moderator for transformative learning among pre-service science teachers, while design thinking was evenly developed among transformative learning for both low- and high-ability students, no matter the study programme. The conditioning factors and explanatory arguments for these results are also discussed.

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Science and technology (S&T) plays a central role in today’s knowledge- and technology-based society. The transfer of S&T from the education system to the economy should be promoted by teachers using innovative behaviour as an important aspect of providing high-quality education. Several studies have found that a mismatch exists between the economy and the education sector, and that this can be gradually reduced by innovation in the education system. This research aimed to examine the innovative behaviour of pre-service S&T teachers. A sample of 140 pre-service teachers from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia was selected, and a set of instruments was used to measure their innovative behaviour in classrooms during the 2019–2020 academic year. A model was created and evaluated using multiple regression analysis. The results showed that self-efficacy and attitudes towards S&T strongly predict innovative behaviour, while situational interest may vary depending on the cognitive demands of tasks. A proactive personality was found to be a key factor determining innovative behaviour, while self-efficacy has direct and indirect influences on innovative behaviour, with its indirect influence mediated by creativity and situational interest. These findings have implications for the redefinition of educational design to enhance innovation in the classroom. Keywords: innovative behaviour, predictive modelling, pre-service teachers, science and technology