Wheels of change in higher education

Soares

et al. 2020

IJSHE

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report a literature review on sustainability funding in higher education and an analysis of the theoretical influence on academic research. The theoretical contribution and the most influential authors were examined to better understand the intellectual structure that links the theories and authors that have researched this topic. This study not only allows comprehension of the current research scenario but also, based on the gaps identified, provides guidelines for future studies on sustainability in higher education. Design/methodology/approach Citations and co-citations were analyzed in a sample of 745 papers, published between 1994 and 2018 in international journals, found in the Web of Science database on the topic of sustainability in higher education. Using the co-citations map, multidimensional scaling (MDS) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the conceptual and theoretical relations in these studies were identified. Findings It was possible to identify five clusters of the topics investigated, namely, sustainability competences; campus greening; co-creation and transfer of knowledge; sustainability science; and sustainability in university courses and curricula. A considerable number of studies were found in the areas of sustainability competencies and campus greening that focus on sustainability aspects. The clusters co-creation and transfer of knowledge, and sustainability science are related to the management of sustainability in higher education. The sustainability in university courses and curricula cluster focuses on actions within the scope of the courses and academic training. Research limitations/implications Although there are limitations related to the choice of a single database (Web of Science), as the study was limited to 745 papers, the analysis of the citations and co-citations provides important information on the study of sustainability in high education. The results are also limited to the presentation of the data grouped according to the factors extracted in the period analyzed, as it is not the objective of this study to examine in depth the characteristics of each of the 745 papers and their relationship with the theoretical dimensions identified. Originality/value This paper is original, as it identifies by applying MDS and EFA to scientific papers, the topic of sustainability in higher education and the clusters that constitute this field of study. The main contribution of this research is the finding that, although there are five different theoretical dimensions of sustainable financing, they are not treated separately. This study also contributes to increasing the knowledge on the main topics, concepts and relations, which can guide future research.

Section: Sustainability Sciencementioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability funding in higher education: a literature-based review

Soares

et al. 2020

IJSHE

Environmental Management

“…Information access and disclosure by universities to their residents or the general public regarding sustainability performance or environmental compliance are not straightforward (Larrán Jorge et al 2018). Accordingly, some argue a sustainable campus requires a multi-pronged, top down and bottom up approach-responding to student interest/investment and a combination of infrastructure, curriculum and policy changes (Pedersen et al 2017;Parnell 2016). Finally, universities possess fewer and less flexible financing tools than cities, where problems with adequate revenue for environmental compliance are already well documented (Keeley 2007;Grigg 2012;Garrett 2017).…”

Section: Environmental Regulatory Compliance Regimes and University Campus Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

University Stormwater Management within Urban Environmental Regulatory Regimes: Barriers to Progressivity or Opportunities to Innovate?

Pierce

Gmoser‐Daskalakis

Jessup

et al. 2020

U.S. public university campuses are held directly responsible for compliance with many of the same federal-and state-level environmental regulations as cities, including stormwater management. While operating as 'cities within cities' in many respects, campuses face unique constraints in achieving stormwater regulatory compliance. To compare the abilities of campuses to comply with stormwater regulations to municipalities, we conduct mixed-methods research using primary data from five University of California (UC) campuses. Public universities constituted over 20% of California's "nontraditional" permittees under the municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) regulation regime in 2013. We utilize semi-structured interviews with campus and regulatory officials, a survey of campus students and staff around support and willingness to pay for innovative stormwater management, and content analysis of campus stormwater management documents to examine challenges to public university stormwater compliance. We find that, despite their progressive environmental practices in other areas like energy and water conservation, even as compared to cities, stormwater management practices on the evaluated campuses are constrained by several factors: infrastructure financing limitations, lack of transparent and coordinated decision-making, a lack of campus resident involvement, and regulatory inflexibility. Our study provides new insights, both for understanding campuses as sustainable 'cities within cities' and more broadly for urban environmental compliance regimes globally.

“…Faculty educators need to ensure a holistic approach to education, which is the venue in which students can grow in both personal and professional aspects. Such teachers tend to have a solid impact on students' decisions for professional realisation and academic progress (McNickle, 2014;Warr Pedersen, Pharo, Peterson & Clark, 2017).…”

Section: The Critical Roles Of First-year Faculties During the Studenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2018

IJE

His area of specialisation is Educational Evaluation and his research interests cover psychometrics, teaching-learning improvement and programme evaluation. His most recent research has focused on the effects of teaching and assessment for mastery, embedded assessment and personalised instruction on students' achievement in secondary schools. He has also worked on test development processes and improvement of assessment practices in