Designing Powerful Transformative Learning Environments for Sustainability in vocational education

A framework to prepare future professionals for a sustainable transition

Vocational Education and Training (VET) has long played a central role in preparing young people for the workforce (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2024). From electricians and construction workers to care professionals and hospitality staff, VET graduates are essential to the everyday functioning of our society. Today, VET teachers and trainers also have a key role to play in preparing future professionals to contribute to Europe’s climate neutrality by 2050 (The European Green Deal, 2021).

This raises an important question: how can VET learning environments help students not only master practical skills, but also understand sustainability and act on it?

ProVEST researchers explored this question in a recent systematic review and proposed a framework for Powerful Transformative Learning Environments for Sustainability (PTLES) in secondary VET. This is the scientific backbone of ProVEST.

Why this matters in VET

High-quality vocational education is closely linked to successful careers and long-term employability (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2024). At the same time, research shows that many students in secondary VET struggle with motivation and face a greater risk of dropping out (Vugteveen et al., 2016). One way to respond to these challenges is by creating learning experiences that students see as meaningful and relevant. This is where the idea of a Powerful Learning Environment becomes especially important (Placklé, Könings, Struyven, Libotton, van Merriënboer, & Engels, 2020).

But today, the challenge goes further. As sustainability becomes a growing priority across European industries, schools are also being asked to integrate education for sustainability into their programmes (Mulvik et al., 2024). This is particularly important in practical subjects, where students learn through hands-on experience and real-world tasks. When sustainable thinking is embedded in these settings, the impact can go well beyond technical training: it can prepare students for the workplaces of the future while also fostering responsible citizenship.

Even so, research on sustainability-oriented learning environments in VET is still limited and lacks a practical framework. PTLES aims to help fill this gap and provide a useful guide for educators and trainers.

PTLES: bringing three research traditions together

PTLES combines insights from three existing bodies of research:

1. Powerful Learning Environments in VET (Pauwels et al., 2023), which highlights authentic tasks, high-quality instruction, higher-order thinking and complex skills, adaptive education, and classroom management.
2. Learning for Sustainability (LfS) (Mulvik et al., 2024), which promotes, among other things, systems thinking, a whole-person approach to the learning process, and interdisciplinary understanding.
3. Transformative Learning (TL) (Mezirow, 1978), which focuses on helping learners shift their perspectives through meaningful and disorienting experiences, and act on the basis of these new perspectives.

By bringing these three perspectives together, PTLES offers a framework that reflects the realities of vocational practice while responding to the urgent need for sustainability competences.

The five building blocks of PTLES

The PTLES framework identifies five key building blocks for creating powerful transformative learning environments for sustainability in VET, which build from the BRIDGE framework for powerful learning environments (Pauwels et al., 2023):

1. 1. Higher-order thinking and complex skills

PTLES encourages students to move beyond routine tasks. It supports them in solving real, interdisciplinary problems, working collaboratively with peers, managing their own learning, and reflecting on their thinking through metacognitive and reflective skills.

Reflection is especially important here. In PTLES, it is understood as a form of conscious learning in which students become aware of their assumptions and choices. The framework also encourages the use of innovative technologies such as VR or AR to help students deal with complex workplace situations.

2. High-quality instruction

High-quality instruction is a core part of every PTLES. Teachers provide structured lessons with clear goals and appropriate learning activities. They start from what students already know and guide them towards finding the right solutions. There is also a strong focus on transferring knowledge from theory to practice, and from school to the workplace. This helps keep students engaged and supports steady learning progress.

3. Authentic tasks in real-world contexts

Practical VET subjects offer rich opportunities for hands-on sustainability learning. Students may work on energy-efficient installations, experiment with environmentally friendly materials, or tackle sustainability challenges drawn from real workplaces. This kind of authenticity can increase motivation and deepen understanding.

4. Adaptive education

VET classrooms are diverse. Students differ in motivation, background knowledge, and pace of learning. Adaptive teaching helps ensure that every learner can participate meaningfully and that the learning environment responds to students’ needs and preferences.

Emotion also plays an important role in both learning for sustainability and transformative learning. To have a real impact, learning tasks should challenge students’ usual way of thinking, encouraging them to question assumptions and rethink how they act. Teachers play an important role in guiding this process through feedback and assessment opportunities.

5. Strong classroom management

A well-organised and supportive environment is essential for learning. Students need to feel safe enough to ask questions and make mistakes. This means the classroom must be organised in ways that support learning, while teachers establish clear rules to guide behaviour and ensure safety.

PTLES: a guide for VET educators

PTLES offers a valuable guide for preparing VET students to become the professionals who will help make the sustainability transition a reality. By embedding powerful, transformative and authentic learning experiences into practical subjects, educators can help students feel challenged, emotionally engaged and inspired.

Beyond technical skills, learning environments based on PTLES aim to support students in developing the mindset and agency needed to build a sustainable future.

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