Conference Program

In a global context marked by democratic backsliding, widening inequalities and accelerating ecological crises, education is increasingly called upon to cultivate critical, responsible and actively engaged citizens. Schools and universities are therefore challenged to move beyond transmissive pedagogies and to experiment with learning environments that allow students to engage directly with complex societal issues. Within this perspective, Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) has emerged as a promising pedagogical approach capable of connecting learning processes with real-world challenges while fostering collaboration, critical thinking and civic engagement.

This contribution presents the experience of the Erasmus+ project TEACH, which applies a CBL framework to engage secondary school students across Europe in addressing sustainability-related challenges inspired by the values of the New European Bauhaus. The project involved schools from five European countries and implemented a structured learning pathway in which students worked in teams to analyse local socio-ecological issues, interact with teachers, mentors and community stakeholders, and design concrete proposals responding to environmental and social challenges.

This intervention adopts a practice-based case study approach focusing on the implementation of the TEACH Challenge programme, which engaged more than one hundred students in a transnational learning process lasting several weeks. Through iterative phases of exploration, ideation and prototyping, students developed solutions addressing themes such as sustainability, community wellbeing and responsible innovation. The process culminated in a final public presentation of the projects, encouraging reflection on the democratic implications of the proposed solutions.

The experience suggests that CBL can function as a democratic classroom laboratory, where learning becomes a collective process of inquiry, dialogue and action. By working on real-world challenges, students develop not only disciplinary knowledge but also civic agency, collaborative competences and a deeper awareness of the interconnections between social and environmental issues. Teachers, in turn, assume the role of facilitators who support participatory learning processes and guide students through complex problem-solving dynamics.

Drawing on observations and reflections emerging from the implementation of the TEACH Challenge, the contribution discusses both the pedagogical potential of CBL and the enabling conditions necessary for its effective integration into school systems. Particular attention is given to how such approaches can support the development of active citizenship and sustainability-oriented learning while also highlighting institutional and pedagogical barriers that may limit their broader adoption.

By analysing the TEACH experience within the broader debate on democratic education, the paper contributes to understanding how educational institutions can become spaces where democracy is not only taught but actively practiced through collaborative engagement with the pressing socio-ecological challenges of our time.