Learning outcomes for sustainable development in higher education

Abstract

PurposeThis paper sets out to discuss the commonalities that can be found in learning outcomes (LOs) for education for sustainable development in the context of the Tbilisi and Barcelona declarations. The commonalities include systemic or holistic thinking, the integration of different perspectives, skills such as critical thinking, change agent abilities and communication, and finally different attitudes and values.Design/methodology/approachAn analysis of LOs that are proposed in the Tbilisi and Barcelona declarations is conducted, showing specific issues for the commonalities presented. Examples of LOs from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Mexico, as well as various associations from the USA is shown. A brief discussion is done on the means to achieve these LOs and learning evaluation.FindingsIn the example sets of LOs shown, the commonalities presented in the paper's first section appear in the LOs proposed by the institutions. Based on current knowledge and perception, sustainability is properly addressed in the examples.Practical implicationsThe paper can be used to foster a wider discussion and analysis of LOs for sustainability education, also further work on teachers' capacity building for sustainability, as well as the assessment needed for future professionals in higher education institutions.Originality/valueThe paper presents the onset of discussing and comparing commonalities among higher education institutions regarding sustainability LOs.

Improving Students’ Higher Environmental and Climate Change Knowledge: A Case Study

“…In addition, this kind of higher environmental education adequately answered the high challenge for universities related to the integration of necessary different perspectives and concepts that radically innovate methods of education [39][40][41].…”

The return of the Jedi in entrepreneurship?! : Developing a validated competence framework for sustainable entrepreneurship and exploring the specific role of moral competencies in the sustainable entrepreneurial process

“…skills element of competence). Considerable, though mostly conceptual, efforts in translating these abilities for change agents into competencies have been made over the last decade (Svanström et al, 2008;De Haan, 2006;Wiek et al, 2011;Rieckmann, 2012). Derived from research on competencies for sustainable development (SD) in higher education, various scholars have identified competencies for sustainable development in a work/business context (see Table 2.1).…”

“…Considerable, though mostly conceptual, efforts in describing competencies for sustainability professionals have been made over the last decade, mostly in an education for sustainable development context (Svanström et al, 2008;De Haan, 2006;Wiek et al, 2011;Rieckmann, 2012). Education for sustainable development (ESD) aims at enabling people to "not only acquire and generate knowledge, but also to reflect on further effects and the complexity of behavior and decisions in a future-oriented and global perspective of responsibility" (Rieckmann, 2012, p. 128).…”

“…According to Svanström et al (2008) a successful change agent for sustainability must have knowledge of environmental-, of economic-and of social issues related to sustainability. Furthermore, the change agent must have a value system to support their actions.…”

Integrating Sustainability Grand Challenges and Experiential Learning into Engineering Curricula: Years 1 through 3

“…Strategies for evaluating student-learning outcomes for sustainability include assessing knowledge of sustainable engineering principles via critical and holistic thinking in accordance with American Society for Civil Engineering (ASCE) Body of Knowledge 2 (BOK2) and Bloom's taxonomy, quantifying student inclusion of sustainable engineering topics, whether or not a student links three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic, social), and utilizing instructor-created rubrics on course content or available assessment tools such as the Sustainability in Higher Education Assessment Rubric (SHEAR) [16][17][18][19][20][21][22] . Despite potential uses, these strategies for assessing sustainability in higher education lack details indicative of interdisciplinary knowledge transfer necessary for learning sustainability.…”