Evolution Education and GreenComp: Building Sustainability Competences through Evolutionary Thinking
16th April 2026 4PM CEST/10 AM EST (check here other time zones)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJfHTu53XBs&t=8s
Evolution education provides a powerful conceptual framework for understanding the complexity of life and the dynamic relationships between organisms and their environments across time and space. Evolutionary thinking emphasises long-term processes, interconnected systems, uncertainty, and adaptation. These perspectives are increasingly essential for understanding contemporary global challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change, and ecosystem degradation.
These challenges require citizens who can think in terms of complex systems, anticipate long-term consequences, and make responsible decisions under uncertainty. Many of these competences closely align with the goals of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the sustainability competences defined in GreenComp – The European Sustainability Competence Framework. Evolution education naturally supports these competences by highlighting the importance of context, scale, and the long temporal perspectives necessary for responsible, sustainable decision-making.
This presentation explores how evolution education can contribute to the development of sustainability competences and discusses recent improvements in the teaching of evolution in the Slovenian education system. It examines how Slovenian curricula increasingly align with sustainability frameworks and how evolutionary concepts can support learners in understanding uncertainty, complexity, and preventive action in the context of global planetary change.
Biosketch
Gregor Torkar, PhD, is a Full Professor of Biology Education at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education, Slovenia. He is the Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair on Teacher Education for Sustainable Development at the University of Ljubljana, a member of the academic committee of the European Researchers in Didactics of Biology and of EVOKE – Evolutionary Knowledge for Everyone.
His research focuses on biology and science education, environmental education, and education for sustainable development. He has published widely on the teaching and learning of biology, particularly in the areas of evolution, biodiversity, and ecology education. His work also explores the use of digital technologies in biology education (e.g., digital identification keys and augmented reality), outdoor learning, students’ environmental knowledge and attitudes, and the quality of textbooks and visual literacy in science education.
Professor Torkar is also actively involved in the development of outdoor and sustainability education in Slovenia. He coordinates educational programmes of Center for School and Outdoor Education (CŠOD) and participates in international expert and think-tank groups related to sustainability education within UNESCO. Through research, teaching, and international collaboration, his work contributes to strengthening science literacy and sustainability competences in education.