Supporting a Sustainable Way of Life-Long Learning in the Frame of Challenge-Based Learning

Abstract

Abstract The education of children in the Age of Knowledge is a challenge for educators all over the world since it is questionable how we can educate learners to become responsible citizens in different areas. Finding a suitable methodology is a highlighted goal of present-day educational researches. The intention of our work is to contribute to this dispute with a research investigating the challenge-based-learning-adapting European UKids programme designed for eight-to-eleven-year-old learners. This intention aims to support their education for sustainability and to develop social entrepreneurship and life-long learning. The program is a professional collaboration among university teachers, primary school teacher candidates and learners, thus the research manages this triplet as a complex entity. The scientific paradigm and structure of present paper is rather nonconventional since, instead of presenting an empiric research, it interprets some peculiarities of many research units with the help of mixed methodology. Four research phases had been distinguished, the first three of these applied quantitative research methods. Results suggest that the learners are somewhat satisfied with their schooling and learning circumstances. Although they prefer constructive learning strategies, teacher-directed methods are still more popular among the responses which means that the non-traditional work forms are rather unfamiliar to them. The programme affected their skills and competences in a positive way. An age-specific (socio) psychological dichotomy was detected; however, the framework of the UKids programme was able to handle it. Both challenge-based learning and the UKids programme turned out to be suitable for educating and developing children in a complex way, and they are able to trigger innovation in teacher-training.