Key Competencies for Sustainability in University of Iceland Curriculum
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Their Implementation in Universities
1.2. Implementing Qualification Frameworks in Universities
1.3. University of Iceland—The Context of the Research
1.4. The Sustainability Key Competencies and SDGs Learning Outcomes
- Systems thinking competency: The ability to recognise and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty;
- Anticipatory competency: The ability to understand and evaluate multiple futures—possible, probable, and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes;
- Normative competency: The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate sustainability values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interests and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions;
- Strategic competency: The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and farther afield;
- Collaboration competency: The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives, and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving;
- Critical thinking competency: The ability to question norms, practices, and opinions; to reflect on own one’s values, perceptions, and actions; and to take a position in the sustainability discourse;
- Self-awareness competency: The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires;
- Integrated problem-solving competency: The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive, and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the above-mentioned competencies.
2. Method
3. Results
3.1. Overall Results for the University of Iceland
3.2. Signs of Sustainability Key Competencies for Each School of the University of Iceland
3.3. Signs of Sustainability Key Competencies—Comparison among the Five Schools of the University of Iceland
4. Discussion and Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Subject Area | Ranking | Overall | Citations | Research | Teaching |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Art and humanities | 251–300 | 27.3–30.4 | 71.6 | 17.5 | 13.3 |
Business & economics | 401–500 | 27.2–30.8 | 55.2 | 21.0 | 10.9 |
Clinical, pre-clinical & health | 401–500 | 30.5–33.4 | 50.3 | 15.8 | 13.8 |
Education | 251–300 | 31.9–34.4 | 59.7 | 18.7 | 18.2 |
Engineering & technology | 201–250 | 41.7–44.9 | 98.2 | 19.8 | 12.5 |
Life sciences | 151–175 | 51.5–53.0 | 98.7 | 20.1 | 16.2 |
Physical sciences | 201–250 | 47.1–50.0 | 84.9 | 19.4 | 17.2 |
Psychology | 251–300 | 35.0–38.0 | 63.0 | 18.6 | 16.0 |
Social sciences | 251–300 | 35.3–37.8 | 69.2 | 22.3 | 16.3 |
Research Project: The SDGs and Study Offering of the University of Iceland | Language | Sustainability Key Competencies | ||||||||||
Name of courses | Course number | ECTS | Icelandic | English | 1. Systems thinking competency | 2. Anticipatory competency | 3. Normative competency | 4. Strategic competency | 5. Collaboration competency | 6. Critical thinking competency | 7. Self-awareness competency | 8. Integrated problem-solving competency |
Schools | Number of Courses Analysed | Number of Signs of Key Competencies per Course | Average Signs of Key Competencies per Course |
---|---|---|---|
SoEd | 463 | 2336 | 5.0 |
SoEN | 689 | 1382 | 2.0 |
SoHS | 642 | 1517 | 2.4 |
SoHu | 770 | 848 | 1.1 |
SoSS | 675 | 1569 | 2.3 |
TOTAL | 3239 | 7652 | 2.4 |
1. Systems thinking competency | 2. Anticipatory competency | 3. Normative competency | 4. Strategic competency | 5. Collaboration competency | 6. Critical thinking competency | 7. Self-awareness competency | 8. Integrated problem-solving competency | |
SoEd | 228 | 190 | 408 | 392 | 348 | 450 | 165 | 155 |
SoEN | 195 | 140 | 602 | 185 | 103 | 74 | 1 | 82 |
SoHS | 144 | 218 | 483 | 163 | 224 | 188 | 26 | 71 |
SoHu | 277 | 5 | 123 | 6 | 175 | 233 | 29 | 0 |
SoSS | 184 | 107 | 89 | 461 | 142 | 551 | 22 | 13 |
TOTAL | 1028 | 660 | 1705 | 1207 | 992 | 1496 | 243 | 321 |
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Pálsdóttir, A.; Jóhannsdóttir, L. Key Competencies for Sustainability in University of Iceland Curriculum. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8945. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168945
Pálsdóttir A, Jóhannsdóttir L. Key Competencies for Sustainability in University of Iceland Curriculum. Sustainability. 2021; 13(16):8945. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168945
Chicago/Turabian StylePálsdóttir, Auður, and Lára Jóhannsdóttir. 2021. "Key Competencies for Sustainability in University of Iceland Curriculum" Sustainability 13, no. 16: 8945. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168945