Constructivism as a philosophy of learning could be traced back to the eighteen century. Generally, constructivism represents a complex and contested epistemological mindset with some significant implications for classroom teaching. Noteworthy, constructivism declares that knowledge resides in individuals, simply meaning that, knowledge cannot be transferred from a teacher to students. Constructivism is a student-centred approach where students derive meaning from experience. Hence, learning is an active process where meaning is developed based on experience. Meaning that, learning is a constructive process. Student engagement and participation in teaching translates into thinking critically about sustainability related issues, therefore being able to solve real-world problems and thinking globally about sustainability issues. Hence, student engagement promotes improved attention to the subject matter and similarly improves learning. Constructivism as a theoretical framework fits very well in addressing sustainability which is also a multifaceted topic. Therefore, the conceptual framework of this study draws on constructivism whereby students create meaning by interacting with the environment instead of just acquiring knowledge. Important to note is that, employing constructivism in teaching sustainability allows students to become change agents and lifelong sustainability advocates. A systematic literature review and a bibliometric analysis approach will be used in this study. Therefore, this study, maps out patterns in research on constructivism and sustainability teaching, in higher education. The study will analyse trends evident from research on constructivism and sustainability teaching in higher education between 2005 and 2025. The Scopus database will be used to obtain the necessary data. Data will then be analysed using VOSviewer and the qualitative thematic analysis approach. The findings of this study will support future research and the implementation of constructivism as an instructional design theory in higher education. Lecturers would also learn on how to use a constructivist approach effectively in teaching in higher education institutions. As a researcher I do believe that constructivism when applied appropriately in teaching could make an important contribution to student learning.

Keywords: Constructivism, sustainability, higher education, teaching, bibliometric analysis.