Translating SDG Commitments into Learning Experiences: Participatory Pedagogy and Institutional Agency at Uppsala University
Universities are increasingly expected to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, yet implementation is often discussed through institutional strategies, reporting frameworks and curriculum mapping rather than through the pedagogical practices by which sustainability commitments become learning experiences. This article examines how participatory pedagogy can translate SDG oriented commitments into student agency, critical reflection and institutional learning in higher education. It contributes specifically to Sustainable Development Goal 4.7 by analysing how Education for Sustainable Development can be enacted through curriculum design, dialogical learning, student participation and critical engagement with sustainability problems. The article draws on a qualitative single case study of the 2021 iteration of Sustainability and Development in Latin America at CEMUS, Uppsala University.
The study combines course documents, evaluation material, interview data and reflective research materials, analysed through thematic analysis and document analysis. The findings show that dialogical seminars, student-led discussion, interdisciplinary sequencing and project-based assessment supported systems thinking, normative judgement, interpersonal learning and critical engagement with contested sustainability problems. The case also illustrates how a Global North university setting can address the ethics of teaching the Global South when course design is built around Latin American-led teaching, situated expertise, epistemic plurality and student-led dialogue. The article contributes by conceptualising participatory pedagogy as a mechanism of SDG 4.7 implementation, not merely as a teaching method.
© The Author(s) 2026. Published by RITHA Publishing. This article is distributed under the terms of the license CC-BY 4.0., which permits any further distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited maintaining attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and URL DOI.
Article’s history: Received 1st of April, 2026; Revised 3rd of May, 2026; Accepted for publication 10th of May, 2026; Available online: 12th of May, 2026. Published 12th of May, 2026 as article in Volume III, Issue 3.
Dutra, A. (2026). Translating SDG Commitments into Learning Experiences: Participatory Pedagogy and Institutional Agency at Uppsala University. Journal of Global Sustainability and Development, Volume III, Issue 3, 41-66. https://doi.org/10.57017/jgsd.v3.i3.03
Acknowledgments: N/A.
Conflict of Interest Statement: The author declares that there are no financial, professional, or personal conflicts of interest that could have influenced the research, analysis or interpretation presented in this article.
Data Availability Statement: The interview data supporting the findings of this study are not publicly available because of privacy and ethical restrictions related to participant anonymity. Anonymised and non-sensitive course documents may be discussed by the author upon reasonable request, where this does not compromise confidentiality or institutional restrictions. University public data is available upon request either to the author or to the institution.
Ethical Approval Statement: This study was conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards for qualitative educational research. Informed consent was obtained from all interview participants prior to their inclusion in the study, and interview material was anonymised before analysis.
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