The Anthropocene as an Educational Challenge: A Meta-synthesis on Sustainability and Citizenship Studies

The Anthropocene era calls for a deep revision of the concept of time in education. Intersecting sustainability and citizenship, a new concept of time, indeed, is required for a meaningful, innovative, and responsive future education. How can education in the Anthropocene be re-thought and re-enact in the next future? This research question frames the present chapter. Given the research on sustainability and citizenship education, it is important to understand how it have been defined and studied. Consequently, a meta-synthesis of qualitative research studies on sustainability and citizenship education has been performed. Offering an overview of the main changes occurred over the last 10 years (2013–2022), four main themes have been identified in the conceptualizations of sustainability and citizenship education (integration; independence; transversality; radicality). Along with the analysis of the theoretical/conceptual frameworks used to frame qualitative research in this field, insights into how the concept of time is conceived and enact in formal education context are also provided. Results point out the need of strengthening qualitative educational research to better define sustainability and citizenship for the Anthropocene era.