Cathy d’Abreu

MSc Education for Sustainability (EfS)

Senior Lecturer Education for Sustainability

Oxford Brookes Business School

Role

Cathy is a Senior Lecturer in Education for Sustainability at Oxford Brookes University and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. Currently leading modules on Global Issues and Culture and Communication, Perspectives on Britishness and Managing Yourself.

Her research focuses on hope based transformative pedagogy and the role of emotions in sustainability and climate education. She is interested in theories of change and transformative learning and how we can reframe cultural narratives for a fairer, fitter future for everyone. Her most recent work – The Hope Wheel – explores how education can enable transformative learning via hope-based, participatory and collaborative approaches.

She chairs the charity SEEd, Sustainability and Environmental Education, guiding, supporting and promoting their Young Changemaker and Adult Changemaker Programmes, Youth Listening Survey, Youth Board and their many advocacy and campaigning projects. She is also co-chair of Our Shared World – a large network of educators and organisations working to embed SDG 4.7 into all levels of Education by 2030 and co hosts the OSW Learning Lunches.

Teaching and supervision

Courses

Modules taught

INFO3013 Global Issues
INFO3009 Culture and Communication
INFO3030 Perspectives on Britishness
PREM6005 Managing Yourself

I also develop and write teaching materials. I have written a series of ELT course books and pedagogical guides for Younger Leaners of English, as well as Teacher Training materials for OUDCE Online Teaching Academy (OTA) teacher training courses for Oxford University.

Research

Cathy is currently collaborating on a transformative learning ESD research project with Teacher Trainers in Turkey and piloting The Hope Wheel with Dr Bill Finnegan, with teachers in Oxford and the Maldives on The Our World our Futures Project, as part of The Oxford University Cultural Programme. She is also co-writing a Transformative learning paper with the Our Shared World Evidence group with Professor Douglas Bourn, Dr Jenny Hatley and Clive Belgeonne DECSY and an upcoming paper on transformative learning through SEEds Youth Listening survey with Dr. Katy Wheeler.

Research impact

Cathy regularly speaks in multidisciplinary fora on Hope based pedagogy and Transformative Learning.

Centres and institutes

Research About Learning in Higher Education (REAL-HE)

Projects as Co-investigator

Collaborative Community for Sustainability Mindset Education (led by Université de Neuchâtel)(01/10/2023 - 30/09/2025), funded by: Movetia, funding amount received by Brookes: £8,759, funded by: Movetia

Publications

Finnegan W, d'Abreu C, The hope wheel: a model to enable hope-based pedagogy in Climate Change Education
Frontiers in Psychology 15 (2024) ISSN: 1664-1078 eISSN: 1664-1078 The hope wheel: a model to enable hope-based pedagogy in Climate Change Education Open Access version on RADAR

d'Abreu, C. (2024) What is the purpose and possibility of an HE education?. Teaching Insights, Available at: https://teachinginsights.ocsld.org/what-is-the-purpose-and-possibility-of-an-he-education/.
d'Abreu, C. (2022) ‘Educators as Changemakers: Teach the change you want to see’, Brookes Learning and Teaching Conference, 15 June 2022, Available at: https://sites.google.com/brookes.ac.uk/future-pathways/educators-as-changemakers-blog (Accessed on 20/12/2022)

Professional information

Memberships of professional bodies

SEEd, Sustainability and Environmental Education - Chair
Our Shared World - Co-Chair
EMESER, Emotions in Environmental and Sustainability Education Research Group member - World Education Research Association (WERA)
Sustainable & Resilient Futures Network (SRF) Oxford Brookes University
Children and Young People Network (CYP) Oxford Brookes University
UN UK&I PRME Principles of Responsible Management Education: Sustainability Mindset Working Group
EAUC: Sustainability Senior Leadership Alumni (2021)
Advance HE: SFHEA mentor
BALEAP British Association of Lecturers for English for Academic Purposes: BALEAP PIM 'EAP for a more Sustainable World' Organising Committee (2023)
Wellington Festival of Education, Sustainability Strand: Organising Committee with Wellington College and WWF (2022)

Conferences

EMESER Symposium World Education Research Association (WERA) d’Abreu, C. & Finnegan, W. (2025) ‘Engaging the educational Elephant in the room: Emotion’ – paper presentation.
SRF Conference (2024) Keynote speaker 'Embedding SDGs/ESD competencies into teaching and learning ESD development'.
Children and Young People’s Network Festival - invited speaker (2024) 'The Hope Wheel, a model to enable hope-based pedagogy in Climate Change Education'.
IV International Conference on Digital Didactics, PERM University Russia (2024) ‘Culture and communication: the stories we live by’ paper presentation
CEDHE Forum (2024) The Community for Environmental Disciplines in Higher Education Institute of Environmental Sciences - Innovating Environmental Science Education: sharing a vision for optimism, evidence, and skills. (Presentation on The Hope Wheel).
Oxford University, Addressing Climate Change Impacts: OCRN Annual Lecture & Panel Discussion with Climate Research. Poster presentation: The Hope Wheel a model to engage hope-based pedagogy in climate change education.
BITLC (2024) Staff Day Convenor ‘Open space: What are the priorities for meaningful change in Higher Education?
Brookes International Teaching and Learning Conference (2023) Keynote speaker, ‘What is the purpose and possibility of Higher Education?
Advance HE Symposium (2023) ‘From the inside out: orienting the world of work to the work of the world’ - paper presentation with Dr Karen Cripps
d'Abreu, C. (2022) ‘Moving from Safe to Brave Spaces’ University of Glasgow, Centre for Educational Development and Innovation Sustainability in Teaching and Learning, Advance HE Connect. Available at: https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_899805_smxx.pdf
Advance HE Symposium (2022) - ‘Future Pathways ESD Project’ paper presentation
d’Abreu, C. and Nukui, C. (2021) ‘Pedagogies of purpose: education for a better future’, Inform Conference, University of Reading.
Advance HE Symposium (2021) - ‘Sustainability for everyone’ paper presentation

Consultancy

Museum of Climate Hope: Interdisciplinary climate education collaboration and knowledge exchange, Oxford University Cultural Programme, 2024
Oxford University Press, Oxford International Curriculum, Sustainability Curriculum Review and scoping paper, Primary and Secondary Sustainability Education, 2023
Oxford University Press, Oxford International Curriculum, Sustainability Education scoping paper, Primary and Secondary Sustainability Education, 2023

Further details

Projects as co-investigator:

Collaborative Community for Sustainability Mindset Education (led by Université de Neuchâtel) (01/10/2023 - 30/09/2025) funded by: Movetia"