Abstract for: Mainstreaming System Dynamics Education for Sustainable Development: A Strategic Architecture of SSD School Innovation

In the face of complex social, economic, and environmental challenges, the United Nations’ Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has become a key indicator of global educational transformation, emphasizing the cultivation of learners’ systems thinking and value-oriented action competence. However, current ESD practices tend to focus on conceptual advocacy, lacking a systematic framework grounded in scientific methods to evaluate learning outcomes. This study, grounded in System Dynamics (SD) education and integrated with the United Nations’ framework of ESD, aims to construct an innovative model of Sustainable System Development Education (SSD). The theoretical framework is based on the “A Proposal for Infusing System Dynamics-Based Systems Thinking into K–12 Education” proposed by the System Dynamics Society (SDS), and it designs ten strategic dimensions (S1–S10), including teacher education, policy support, professional learning communities, curriculum design, NGO collaboration, and international engagement. The study aims to clarify the core concepts and educational branding values of the SSD model and to summarize how Western countries have institutionalized this approach through research-oriented and grassroots community mechanisms. By integrating international benchmark cases with Taiwan’s developmental challenges, the research seeks to construct a strategic framework for promoting SSD as an educational brand that combines global perspectives with local implementation potential. It also proposes concrete recommendations for policy design, teacher training pathways, and cross-sector collaboration. System Dynamics education can be formalized and mainstreamed with government policy and a strategic architecture of education innovation in practices. We provide models and evidences.