Teaching and learning sustainability: An assessment of the curriculum content and structure of sustainability degree programs in higher education

Abstract

Sustainability degree programs in higher education have proliferated with the emergence of sustainability as a recognized academic field. This study evaluated the curricula of English-language programs granting degrees in sustainability by analyzing 27 bachelor's and 27 master's sustainability programs based on their (1) curricular structure, in terms of the proportion of core versus elective courses, (2) breadth of the core courses, which were classified into one of ten disciplinary categories, and (3) specific disciplinary content of core course subjects. We found that core courses made up the majority of both curricula, although bachelor's programs were more flexible than master's. Within these core courses, sustainability and social sciences were found in more than 85 % of both bachelor's and master's programs, as were natural sciences at the bachelor's level. Less than half of sustainability master's programs required a natural science course, which on average made up just 2 % of required course credits. No text was widely used in core sustainability courses. Our findings demonstrate that there is a wide divergence between the content of programs granting degrees in sustainability; many do not appear to be achieving the integration of natural and social sciences proposed in the literature. We believe that some shared foundations between programs is necessary for sustainability to develop into a mature scientific program that is recognizable across universities and understood by academics, employers, and civil society, and is effective in training the next generation of sustainability scholars and scientists.

Analysing the factors affecting the incorporation of sustainable development into European Higher Education Institutions' curricula

“…One of the few tools focusing specifically on curricula is the “Sustainability Tool for Assessing UNiversities' Curricula Holistically” (STAUNCH®). Curricula assessment can provide an overview on how courses and programmes incorporate SD (R. Lozano, ; R. Lozano & Peattie, ; O'Byrne, Dripps, & Nicholas, ; Stough, Ceulemans, Lambrechts, & Cappuyns, ).…”

“…Curricula assessment can provide an overview on how courses and programmes incorporate SD (R. Lozano, 2010;R. Lozano & Peattie, 2011;O'Byrne, Dripps, & Nicholas, 2015;Stough, Ceulemans, Lambrechts, & Cappuyns, 2018). STAUNCH® 1 was developed with the aim of assessing holistically and systematically how a university's curricula (at course, degree, school, faculty, and university levels) contribute to SD (i.e., SD issue coverage, depth, and breadth; R. Lozano, 2010;R.…”

Weaving Equity and Sustainability into the Fabric of Higher Education: The University of Utah Experience

“…4,7 Additionally, students are prone to conflate sustainability with what Annie Leonard 15 refers to as good moral hygiene-things such as recycling and green consumption. 16 Data suggest that the content of these programs rarely achieves the necessary integration, 17 thus conceptual clarity and more defined measurement strategies are critical. Given that this need coincides with institutional and national support for the integration of both sustainability education and equity, 2 a multidisciplinary faculty group considered how a systems thinking learning outcome rubric can elucidate the inextricable nature of sustainability and equity, and facilitate broad goals in higher education.…”

Model konstruksi kognitif metaphora kewirausahaan: pendekatan konseptual

“…2012. Kurikulum, konten dan metode pembelajaran merupakan instrumen penting dalam proses pembelajaran yang diaplikasikan pada berbagai bidang ilmu (O'byrne dan Nicholas, 2015;Loertscher, 2014;Zohrabi, 2011;Harris dan Koehler, 2009;Horndan Banerjee, 2009;Vartulidan Rohs, 2008;Nygaard dan Hermansen, 2008). Beberapa penelitian telah menunjukkan bahwa pendidikan merupakan variabel intermediasi yang menjelaskan hubungan antara kewirausahaan dengan pertumbuhan ekonomi, sebagaimana dinyatakan oleh (Bahmani, et all, 2012) bahwa kewirausahaan tidak berdampak langsung pada pertumbuhan ekonomi akan tetapi melalui pendidikan.…”