Systematic curriculum integration of sustainable development using life cycle approaches

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a consistent and systematic integration framework of sustainable development (SD) in a civil engineering (CE) curriculum, given the connection between the two. Curriculum integration is a challenging project and requires the development of certain protocols to ensure success. Design/methodology/approach This paper thus proposes a framework for the systematic integration of SD through the lenses of life cycle approach and associated tools to attain effective curriculum integration. The proposed framework suggests the following five steps: mapping the curriculum, setting learning targets, developing an action plan for the assessed program, implementing the action plan and assessing the final performance. Findings This framework was applied to the CE curriculum at Sherbrooke University. To assess its success, a student satisfaction survey was conducted, and teachers’ feedback was obtained; the results showed 85 per cent positive responses. The authors show how this study allowed the CE curriculum to be properly updated and brought in line with today’s engineering profession requirements with regard to SD. Originality/value The integration focuses on the application of life cycle approaches and tools such as environmental life cycle assessment and life cycle costing on CE content. Additionally, the presented approach can be easily adapted to other engineering curriculums and, to a certain extent, to other non-engineering curriculums.

A Systematic Review of the Different Methods Assessing Sustainability Integration in Engineering Curricula

“…", the findings indicate that each method gives one kind of limited result (Table 4), which is why employing multiple methods is preferable for obtaining more robust results. As previously noted, by relying solely on content analysis, for instance, the study may then lack accuracy, especially when instructors incorporate sustainability approaches in their classes with such information lacking from the official course syllabus [32,37]. STAUNCH [18,37] and other auditing tools, using software, are useful to identify what the curriculum offered but did not reflect in the quality of the content.…”

“…Content analysis [15,20,27,28,33,35,36,41] Engineering Sustainability Map [19,24,29] Sustainability presence map [19,24,29] Tracing sustainability learning outcomes within the faculty's graduate attributes, subject learning outcomes, and assessment learning outcomes [4] Survey/questionnaire [3,16,17,19,21,25,26,32,[36][37][38][39][40]42] Fuzzy Cognitive Maps [22] Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model [25] Systematic review [3,4,20,23,30,34] STAUNCH (Sustainability Tool for Auditing University Curricula in Higher Education) [18,37] TOPSIS [3] Benchmarking [31,40,42] Comparative analysis [39] Interviews [22,35] Students' deliverables (quizzes, projects, etc.) [26,…”

Transition in Architecture Education? Exploring Socio-Technical Factors of Curricular Changes for a Sustainable Built Environment

“…An exploratory case study approach with a nuanced perspective on sustainability in architecture is conducted to investigate trends of single-curricular changes via a multiple-level perspective (MLP). To derive trends, a new approach based on "curriculum mapping" [54] is elaborated in this section to identify crucial socio-technical factors for a temporal data series on architectural curricular changes. The multiple steps needed to describe the method are illustrated in Figure 1.…”

“…The analysis of curricula is conducted by extending "curriculum mapping" [54] in time via a longitudinal approach within the chosen time frame to investigate curricular changes in four sub-steps: (1) the categorization of clusters of courses, (2) the identification of various curricular changes over time, (3) the characterization of selected structural changes, and (4) the derivation of sub-periods. Curricular changes are identified based on a simple visual analysis of the inclinations of trend lines between yearly steps.…”

Otimização da matriz curricular para os cursos de Engenharia de Produção no Brasil: Uma aplicação da teoria dos Grafos para a integração da sustentabilidade

“…Para isso os objetivos são ligados aos conhecimentos, através de uma matriz d e incidência, visto a seguir na Tabela 1. (Womack et al 1990), Gestão e Estratégia (Rodrigues,50), a Informatização e Automação modificou a estrutura do trabalho (Sheer, 1993) e a Sustentabilidade precisa estruturar as empresas para integração do meio ambiente na estratégia de produção (Roure, Anand, Bisaillon, & Amor, 2018).…”