8. Beyond Theoretical Learning: A New Perspective in the Development of Future Leaders’ Sustainability Mindset

Academic projects aimed at improving the economic, social, and or environmental aspects of the community contribute to the development of students’ sustainability mindset when they are involved and engaged in these pedagogical activities. Specifically, extension projects help students interact with other actors, transforming their view of the world, and engaging themselves in practical experiences, thus, shaping their mindset. It is in this scenario that this chapter was developed, since it seeks to analyze how such projects contribute to develop the sustainability mindset of students who engage in them. To do so, a multicase study comprising five extension projects developed by a Brazilian higher education institution toward contributing to the social and environmental dimension of the community was held. Data were collected from public documents and were analyzed from the ‘thinking’ ‘being’ and ‘doing’ dimensions of the ecological worldview and the systems perspective of the sustainability mindset model. The results showed that extension projects are relevant ways to engage students in practical learning experiences, as they help them develop their sense of interconnection with other stakeholders is developed, their sense of place, their engagement with the community, and their role as agents who can help preserve the environment and make it a better place.