Mapping Pedagogical Strategies for Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Reported Relationships with Students’ Competencies

Education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education increasingly emphasises competency development, yet evidence remains fragmented regarding how combinations of teaching methods relate to particular sustainability competency profiles. Accordingly, this systematic review aims to identify recurring patterns of pedagogical design and clarify their reported relationships with students’ sustainability competencies. It asks which pedagogical combinations recur in higher education ESD, which competency profiles are associated with them, and under what implementation conditions. Following PRISMA, 33 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2025 and retrieved from Web of Science and Scopus were reviewed. The studies were analysed using UNESCO’s competencies for sustainable development and Joyce et al.’s four families of teaching models. ESD was typically organised through composite designs combining information-processing, social, behavioural systems, and, less frequently, personal-family approaches. Three recurring strategies were identified. Collaboration–action was most often associated with integrated problem-solving; understanding–negotiation with normative, critical-thinking, self-awareness, and collaboration competencies; and pedagogical orchestration with broader competency profiles. Across these strategies, the studies recurrently identified authentic sustainability problems, explicit scaffolding, structured collaboration and reflection, and clear accountability as enabling conditions. These findings suggest that competency-oriented ESD depends less on isolated teaching methods than on how complementary learning processes are aligned with specific competency goals.