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Sustainable Development Goals in Tertiary Education for Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 11451

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Mathematics and Science Education, Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Science, University of South-Eastern Norway, Notodden, Norway
Interests: education for sustainable development; environmental education; higher education for sustainable development; partnership for the SDGs; science education; student active learning methods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) were agreed to by the UN General Assembly in 2015, capacity-building has been recognized as one of the means of implementation for the achievement of global sustainability. Tertiary education is certainly important in this context. Higher education institutions across all subject areas are engaged, through education, research, and regional and international partnerships. Educators and researchers have taken innovative steps towards improving education regarding sustainability challenges by implementing ambitious transitions in higher education, developing pedagogical skills and experience, and gained in-depth knowledge and expertise. However, there is a need for increased knowledge sharing, exchange, and reflection.

With this Special Issue, Sustainable Development Goals in Tertiary Education for Sustainability, we aim to promote the exchange of research on education experience and insights in this important field of knowledge on a global scale. We invite theoretical and research-based contributions, case studies, and critical views on the practice competence-building in higher education regarding Agenda 2030, on a local, regional, or global scale.

This Issue, with a selection of papers focusing on Sustainable Development Goals in Tertiary Education for Sustainability, will strongly contribute to existing experience and knowledge. Therefore, I encourage you to submit articles and contribute to this Special Issue of Sustainability.

References:

Albareda-Tiana, S.; Vidal-Raméntol, S.; Mónica Fernández-Morilla, M. Implementing the sustainable development goals at University level International. Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 2018, 19(3), 473–497, doi:10.1108/IJSHE-05-2017-0069

Chaleta, E.; Saraiva, M.; Leal, F.; Fialho, I.; Borralho, A. Higher Education and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)—Potential Contribution of the Undergraduate Courses of the School of Social Sciences of the University of Évora. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1828, doi:10.3390/su13041828

Heleta, S.; Bagus, T. Sustainable development goals and higher education: leaving many behind. Higher Education 2021, 81, 163–177, doi:10.1007/s10734-020-00573-8.

Perales Franco, C.; McCowan, T. Rewiring higher education for the Sustainable Development Goals: the case of the Intercultural University of Veracruz, Mexico. Higher Education 2021, 81, 69–88, doi:10.1007/s10734-020-00525-2.

Purcell, W. M.; Henriksen, H.; Spengler, J. D. Universities as the engine of transformational sustainability toward delivering the sustainable development goals: “Living labs” for sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 2019, 20(8), 1343–1357, doi:10.1108/IJSHE-02-2019-0103.

Purushothaman, P. P.; Abhilash, C. From piecemeal to holistic: Introducing sustainability science in Indian Universities to attain UN-Sustainable Development Goals. Journal of Cleaner Production 2020, 247, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119133.

Rebelatto, B. G.; Salvia, A. L.; Reginatto, G.; Daneli, R. C.; Brandli, L. L. Energy efficiency actions at a Brazilian university and their contribution to sustainable development Goal 7.  International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 2019, 20(5), 842-855, doi:10.1108/IJSHE-01-2019-0023.

Sáez de Cámara, E.; Fernández, I.; Castillo-Eguskitza, N. A Holistic Approach to Integrate and Evaluate Sustainable Development in Higher Education. The Case Study of the University of the Basque Country. Sustainability 2021, 13, 392, doi:10.3390/su13010392.

Dr. Kerstin Sonesson
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • competencies for sustainable development
  • education for sustainable development
  • higher education
  • sustainability
  • sustainable development goals
  • tertiary education
  • 21st century skills

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1119 KiB  
Article
A Critical Reflection on Online Teaching for Sustainability
by Rosalyn McKeown and Lorna Down
Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13905; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113905 - 26 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2002
Abstract
By practicing the scholarship of teaching the authors examine their own practices in teaching online applied to in-service teacher education and education for sustainable development as part of ongoing quality improvement effort and annual course revision. This study focuses on “Planetary Perspectives: Toward [...] Read more.
By practicing the scholarship of teaching the authors examine their own practices in teaching online applied to in-service teacher education and education for sustainable development as part of ongoing quality improvement effort and annual course revision. This study focuses on “Planetary Perspectives: Toward a Culture of Peace, Sustainability, and Well-Being” which is the first in a four-course Online Certificate in Education for Sustainable Development organized by the Earth Charter Education Center and the University for Peace. The course explores principles of sustainability and the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals and then goes deeper into the environmental, social, and economic spheres of sustainability. The course emphasizes pedagogical practices, such as systems thinking and developing a sustainability worldview. The course also invites students to be involved in their communities, talking to neighbors and colleagues about sustainability issues like climate change and poverty. This community focus is important to ground participants in the communities where they live and work and make progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Working in the local community can be transformative to both students and communities. Full article
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31 pages, 1840 KiB  
Article
Experiential Learning for Sustainability in Supply Chain Management Education
by David Ernesto Salinas-Navarro, Christopher Mejia-Argueta, Luis Montesinos and Ericka Z. Rodriguez-Calvo
Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13133; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013133 - 13 Oct 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 6376
Abstract
This work is about sustainability-related learning experiences for the discipline of supply chain management (SCM) in Higher Education. It arises from the need to motivate students with relevant and interesting activities to improve their learning performance. Higher Education must respond to dynamic demands [...] Read more.
This work is about sustainability-related learning experiences for the discipline of supply chain management (SCM) in Higher Education. It arises from the need to motivate students with relevant and interesting activities to improve their learning performance. Higher Education must respond to dynamic demands to keep impactful topics for students, organizations, and society over time. This work addresses the relevance of contemporary challenges in real-world SCM situations concerning Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also provides an actionable framework integrating experiential learning ideas, the ADDIE model for instructional design, the Triple Bottom Line for sustainability, the continuous improvement cycle, and the SDGs into an SCM model. In a case study, the article illustrates the use of this framework for instructional design in a learning experience from an undergraduate course in an Industrial and Systems Engineering program. The application describes the impact of food ecosystems on cities and communities during the COVID-19 crisis. The results suggest positive attainment levels in students’ learning outcomes and highly favorable opinions regarding learning relevance, interest, motivation, and the recommendation of the course. Therefore, this work contributes to SCM education by including sustainability-related challenges and disciplinary topics in novel instructional designs that will actively prepare future professionals and decision-makers. Full article
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14 pages, 263 KiB  
Article
Exploring Deficiencies in the Professional Capabilities of Novice Practitioners to Reshape the Undergraduate Human Resource Development Curriculum in South Korea
by Hee-Jun Choi and Ji-Hye Park
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12121; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912121 - 25 Sep 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1613
Abstract
At a time of global economic crisis, professional programs in universities are demanded to make continuous improvements based on new information on performance gaps of novice incumbents, in order to make their graduates more competitive, which ultimately leads to their job security and [...] Read more.
At a time of global economic crisis, professional programs in universities are demanded to make continuous improvements based on new information on performance gaps of novice incumbents, in order to make their graduates more competitive, which ultimately leads to their job security and decent work. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess discrepancies in the importance and performance levels of professional capabilities required of novice Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners and priorities in instructional needs, as perceived by immediate superiors as an initial effort to improve the curricula of undergraduate HRD courses. Data were collected from 193 HRD supervisors in organizations in South Korea and were analyzed using paired t-test and the ranked discrepancy model. These findings indicated that instructional needs in terms of professional capabilities were high in the following order: instructional design, learning science, career and leadership development, coaching, training delivery and facilitation, knowledge management, and technology application. The results implied that most undergraduate courses developed for the education of prospective HRD practitioners need to be updated and improved. This study also proposed an idiosyncratic and periodic formative evaluation process for the ongoing improvement of professional programs in universities as a part of efforts to sustain the global economic growth. Full article
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