Digital-Pedagogical Framework for Education for Sustainable Development in Social Science

Abstract

The digital transformation of higher education in Indonesia is increasingly positioned as a key strategy for supporting SDG’s 4. However, the implementation of digitalisation has not been fully integrated with the agenda of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This exploratory qualitative study aims to understand the experiences and challenges of social science lecturers in utilising digital learning as a pedagogical instrument for sustainability. Data were collected through online in-depth interviews with three key informants from different universities and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings indicate that digitalisation is largely practised as the transfer of classroom activities into LMS platforms without pedagogical transformation. ESD integration remains implicit and unstructured across learning objectives, digital activity design, and assessment. Major barriers include limited digital-pedagogy competencies, low student digital literacy, academic workload constraints, and weak institutional incentives. Structural inequalities particularly in disadvantaged and eastern Indonesian regions further widen disparities in access to education. The discussion highlights a clear gap between institutional sustainability rhetoric and classroom practice, consistent with global literature. Digital learning has yet to be conceptualised as a means for critical reflection, collaboration, and contextual learning for sustainability.