Integration of sustainability in higher education: three case studies of curricular implementation

Abstract

IntroductionThe integration of sustainability into higher education academic programs is occurring at an accelerated pace in response to international and national imperatives to rethink the way higher education serves the needs of society. The necessity of changing higher education combined with increasing demand from students and employers is driving the transformation of existing interdisciplinary environmental education (IEE) programs and the creation of new programs focused on sustainability science and studies education (SSSE). The 2012 census of U.S. 4-year colleges and universities by the National Council for Science and the Environment revealed a sharp increase since fall of 2008 in IEE and SSSE programs-the number of schools offering IEE and SSSE programs increased 27 %, the number of degree-granting programs/ units increased 37 %, and the number of degrees offered increased 57 % (Vincent 2010, Vincent et al. 2012. The number of sustainability degree programs has increased a remarkable 985 % and are offered by 8 % of colleges and universities. Many more schools offer sustainability concentrations within a variety of disciplines and professional fields (Vincent et al. 2012). Published in Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences AbstractThe integration of sustainability into higher education academic programs is occurring at an accelerated pace in response to international and national imperatives to rethink the way it serves the needs of society. Three case studies from the University of NebraskaLincoln, Northern Arizona University, and Kean University (NJ) outlines the academic structure, program, resources, the motivation and mechanisms for curricular change, key sustainability-learning outcomes and program goals, curricular changes, and assessment strategies these institutions used to integrate sustainability into their undergraduate curriculum. These three case studies exhibit several commonalities. They emphasize systems thinking and explicitly link human behavior and ecological processes by including opportunities for students to learn about behavioral sciences, life sciences, Earth and atmospheric sciences, social sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, and information sciences. Another shared attribute is that students are involved in inquiry along with the application of knowledge to real-world problems. All three programs provide opportunities for students to explore technologies, systems of economic production, cultural systems, laws and politics, and ideas and ideologies they currently employ for living with the rest of nature. Each program also provides opportunities for students to reflect and act on viable alternatives and to ask the critical questions to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and professional training to make a real difference in the world. Future program assessment processes will need to develop to address the issue of how differing levels and types of sustainability integration into undergraduate programs facilitate the achievement of sustainability-learning ...

Social responsibility and strategic orientation of higher education - Cases of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

“…This paper has the following implications. First, HE organizations must rethink how they (will) serve the society and what their contribution to the SR is (Gosselin et al, 2013). Knowing students' actual attitudes will enable a more precise formulation of strategies for fostering SR in HE and enhancing curricula, since students are crucial agents of education change in achieving higher level of HE (Warwick, 2016).…”

Incorporating sustainability in engineering curriculum: a study of the Australian universities

“…Level and degree of incorporation of sustainability into thought and curriculum, information extracted from Huntzinger et al (2007), Gosselin et al (2013)…”

Revisão Bibliográfica Sistemática Sobre Ambientalização Curricular No Ensino Superior: Uma Análise Com Foco No Ensino Jurídico

“…Nesta categoria, a extração de dados ocorreu sob a perspectiva das implicações para implementação da EA e AC no Ensino Superior com base na visão dos professores e alunos. Penagos (2012), Major et al (2017), Tovar-Gálvez (2017, Gosselin et al (2013) e Brito, Rodríguez e Aparicio (2018) afirmam que, para a efetivação da AC no Ensino Superior, e para haver atitudes e habilidades positivas em direção à sustentabilidade, é crucial integrar os princípios de sustentabilidade aos sistemas de cursos e organizar atividades extracurriculares de modo a enfatizar o pensamento sistêmico. Nesse processo, é importante envolver os alunos em investigações na aplicação do conhecimento nos problemas do mundo real.…”