Abstract: Sustainable development (SD) is a multidimensional issue. However, research findings
report a divide between students’ awareness and behavior. It is identified that study programs are
designed more for awareness outcomes, and not so much for behavioral outcomes. For higher-order
learning outcomes manifested in a sustainable development behavior, the authors argue for a model
based on an understanding of learning as boundary crossing. Based on this model, learning for
sustainable development occurs in relating social practices, lifestyles, academic practices, professional
practices, and students’ digital practices. To inform teachers’ approaches to teaching as an important
driver of institutional change, we conducted a survey among students of urban and spatial planning
in Slovenia. Examined factors included personal, academic, and digital predictors for sustainable
development awareness, lifestyle, and behavioral intention. We hypothesized that a significant
predictor for sustainable development behavior, which was measured as sustainable lifestyle and
sustainable development behavioral intention, would be learning in social practices, and that learning
in social practices would predict preferred teaching methods. The findings of hierarchical regression
analysis indicated personal factors as the most important predictors of SD behavioral intention,
and academic predictors as the most important factors for SD awareness. Digital practices were
found to be the most important predictors of a sustainable lifestyle. Social practices of sustainable
lifestyle, digital practices, and perceived teaching methods predicted students’ preferred teaching
methods. We discuss the future directions of sustainable development education, considering digital
social media practices as essential boundary crossers.
