Synergizing education, research, campus operations, and community engagements towards sustainability in higher education: a literature review

Menon, Shalini; Suresh, M.

doi:10.1108/ijshe-03-2020-0089

Cited by 136 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 223 publications

(220 reference statements)

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“…The investigation also reports the results of these efforts. A detailed examination of 229 peer-reviewed research studies in the 2005-2018 time period selected from 44 journals in a recent study by Menon and Suresh [16] indicated that the implementation of sustainable development has been limited to its integration into teaching and learning and other aspects of educational practices. This examination demonstrated that only a few universities have been successful in implementing it holistically, that is, integrating all the triple bottom line dimensions in balance.…”

Section: Call For Action By Universities and An Opportunity For Universitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Holistic Approach to Integrate and Evaluate Sustainable Development in Higher Education. The Case Study of the University of the Basque Country

2021

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Since the United Nations (UN) approved the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in 2015, higher education institutions have increasingly demonstrated their commitment by supporting several initiatives. Although a great deal of progress has been made, there is still a lack of integrative approaches to truly implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in higher education. This paper presents a practical case that illustrates how to design and articulate SDGs within an institutional setting adopting a holistic approach: EHUagenda 2030 plan of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). It is based on empirical inquiry into global and holistic sustainable transformation and a real experience to move towards a verifiable and pragmatic contribution to sustainability. This plan describes the contribution to 12 of the 17 SDGs, along with three sectorial plans (Equality Campus, Inclusion Campus and Planet Campus), as well as the refocus of the UPV/EHU’s Educational Model and the panel of sustainable development indicators, which addresses the technical aspects of monitoring the SDGs. The methodology (mapping; mainstreaming; diagnosis and definition and, finally, estimation) is systematic and replicable in other universities yet to embark upon this integration. This case study makes a contribution towards the understanding of the complexity of the changes in Higher Education and the ways to approach it.

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Section: Call For Action By Universities and An Opportunity For Universitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Holistic Approach to Integrate and Evaluate Sustainable Development in Higher Education. The Case Study of the University of the Basque Country

2021

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“…Although the public behaviour of students is sometimes a concern (e.g. hazing) (Salinas and Boettcher, 2018), universities are generally considered to contribute positively to local communities and to have good relationships with local residents (Sedlacek, 2013;Perry and Wiewel, 2015;Too and Bajracharya, 2015;Menon and Suresh, 2020). However, as large footprint projects, many universities (campus, staff and students) may have caused the physical displacement of pre-existing residents and are likely to create various environmental and social impacts that affect the host community over time (Posner and Stuart, 2013;Vanclay, 2017a).…”

Section: Social Impacts and The Sustainability Expectations Of Transnational Universitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transnational universities, host communities and local residents: social impacts, university social responsibility and campus sustainability

Chen

Vanclay

2021

IJSHE

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Purpose This paper aims to discuss how transnational universities create negative and positive social impacts on their host communities and what this means for campus sustainability and the expectation that universities contribute to sustainable development and to their local communities. Design/methodology/approach Using mixed methods, a multiple case study approach and qualitative meta-analysis, this study considers six transnational university campuses in China in terms of their relationship with local communities. Findings Because of the good reputation of universities generally, local residents tended to accord a social licence to operate (i.e. approval) to new university campuses. However, universities generally do not manage their social impacts, as well as many other industries and generally fail to consider the corporate social responsibility issues and the environmental, social and governance aspects of their activities. To improve their social licence to operate and grow and to meet expectations around “university social responsibility”, campus developments should observe key international principles and human rights standards: full disclosure of information; effective community engagement; appropriate resettlement and livelihood restoration; effective harm reduction procedures; provision of local benefits (benefit sharing); monitoring and adaptive management and implement a grievance redress mechanism. Originality/value This paper encourages broader thinking about sustainability in a higher education context and about what university social responsibility entails. Specifically, this study argues that the relationship between universities and their host communities also needs to be considered, especially during campus construction.

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“…Contrary to the wider discourse on sustainability in HEIs, still dominated by campus operations and education for sustainability [71,72], the literature on holistic approaches puts emphasis on content factors comprising the institutional framework. This confirms the idea that vision, strategy, policies, and governance structures are significant leverage points for transforming an organizational system, since they can influence decision-making, resource distribution, and stakeholder behaviors across all other sub-systems and the organization as a whole [20,73].…”

Section: Embedding Sustainability In the Institutional Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, since English language dominates the international scientific literature, the bias should not be very pronounced [81]. A further limitation, also found in the broader sustainability in higher education literature, is the geographical coverage of publications, featuring mainly European and North American researchers and institutions [41,71]. This is mitigated by articles taking an international scope, but studies from Asian and African countries are still missing.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational Change Management for Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Quantitative Literature Review

2021

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Higher education institutions (HEIs) have been urged to integrate sustainability across all their structural and organizational dimensions. A promising area of research and practice that can help to deliver this is organizational change management for sustainability. While this field has received increasing attention over the past decade, a comprehensive assessment is still lacking. Therefore, a systematic quantitative review was carried out to summarize and synthesize the academic literature on organizational change management approaches that aim to holistically embed sustainability in HEIs. Furthermore, this review aims to illustrate what change factors have been observed and how they have been analyzed, and from this highlight implications for practice and pathways for future research. The literature reviewed puts strong emphasis on change processes and human factors, as well as elements of the institutional framework, such as vision and strategy. The findings highlight the value of strategic and reflective actions, the importance of understanding and actively shaping change processes, and that change towards sustainability requires broad stakeholder input and commitment. This review serves as an important reference point for future research and practice.

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Synergizing education, research, campus operations, and community engagements towards sustainability in higher education: a literature review

Cited by 136 publications

References 223 publications

A Holistic Approach to Integrate and Evaluate Sustainable Development in Higher Education. The Case Study of the University of the Basque Country

A Holistic Approach to Integrate and Evaluate Sustainable Development in Higher Education. The Case Study of the University of the Basque Country

Transnational universities, host communities and local residents: social impacts, university social responsibility and campus sustainability

Organizational Change Management for Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Quantitative Literature Review

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