Environmental education is one of the most effective means of raising public awareness of the need to preserve the environment, and therefore plays a key role in raising awareness and conserving the environment. Teachers also play an important role in achieving these sustainable objectives. Economic decisions are intimately linked to and affect the sustainable development to a large extent, hence the importance of the subject of economics in achieving sustainability. The minimum contents established by the educational law on these aspects related to sustainability have been revised. Through a survey, the differences in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to sustainable development are analyzed from a gender perspective. It is detected that, in general, women have a greater knowledge of environmental issues and more sensitivity, with a greater commitment to recycling and changing lifestyles.

Higher education must include training in sustainability to make all actors aware of the serious problems our planet is facing. Mathematics plays an important role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and at the same time these allow working with real situations in the subject of mathematics, providing the student with active learning. Sustainability is used to make the student see the usefulness of mathematics while instilling values and attitudes towards it. A set of problems have been raised during the academic year that are solved with the developed mathematical techniques, and through a survey, the students’ perceptions about the usefulness of mathematics to reach the goals established in the SDG has been evaluated. The results show that, regardless of the student’s gender, the student’s assessment of the usefulness of this subject in solving real problems improved. It has been observed that this teaching methodology has helped to motivate students and even those who do not like this subject have improved their appreciation of it.

This study presents a sustainability competencies map (SCM) for Business Administration and Management (BAM) disciplines as a tool to support education in sustainability at the university level. The study describes in detail the design and elaboration of the map based on the competencies defined by the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE) and complemented with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) adopted by the United Nations. In addition, to externally evaluate the proposed SCM, we conducted a series of interviews with top managers and founders of five organizations that vary in size and industry. As the main contribution, the SCM for BAM studies is presented, containing 58 learning objectives. The qualitative research framework performed to obtain evidence from the interviewees showed that the holistic dimension of the proposed SCM is highly valued by the interviewed practitioners. Additionally, the SCM’s division of competencies into three levels of achievement was considered practical and helpful to measure them. Finally, the interviewees expressed concerns regarding the implementation of the SCM in real classroom, calling for the necessity of special training for teachers and flexibility of higher education system. Reinforced by the interviewees’ opinions, we believe that the SCM for BAM education presented here will facilitate the design of different methodologies by the teaching staff to guide students towards compliance with the 17 SDGs in 2030.

No abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show evidence of the divergence of welfare outcomes in the European Union (EU) during the economic crisis, which made the European social model fail, and the convergence among European countries halt. This study reviews Sapir’s model for classifying European welfare state systems and adapts it to the new reality, taking into account Europe 2020 targets on poverty reduction and employment growth. Design/methodology/approach Two variables are used in the application of Sapir’s graphical analysis to European social models: the employment rate as efficiency indicator, and the people At Risk Of Poverty and/or Exclusion rate as equity indicator. Both efficiency and equity are present in Europe 2020 targets. In addition, a cluster analysis is applied. Findings The division of EU member states into four geopolitical social models has proved to be dynamic, changing in the period under analysis. As a consequence of the economic crisis and the fiscal consolidation, efficiency and equity levels across the EU are polarised between the Mediterranean and the Nordic models. Originality/value This paper shows the effects of the economic crisis in the EU, analysing the evolution between 2008 and 2014, and incorporating Eastern Europe new member states into the analysis.