scholarly journals The patterns of curriculum change processes that embed sustainability in higher education institutions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Weiss ◽  
Matthias Barth ◽  
Henrik von Wehrden
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Open Communication ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Specific Implementation ◽  
Internal Stakeholders

AbstractImplementing education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education institutions (HEIs) is critical to facilitating a transition toward sustainable development. However, little is known about the specific implementation processes that lead to the institutionalization of sustainability curricula in HEIs. This meta-study and cluster analysis uses 131 international case studies to shed light on six distinct implementation patterns: (1) collaborative paradigm change, (2) bottom-up, evolving institutional change, (3) top-down, mandated institutional change, (4) externally driven initiatives, (5) isolated initiatives, and (6) limited institutional change. A cluster comparison reveals two distinct implementation phases: ESD can be implemented from the bottom-up, from the top-down, or both, and the impetus can stem from manifold external or internal stakeholders. To achieve more comprehensive ESD implementation, open communication among all stakeholders should be facilitated and feedback as well as reflection encouraged. Maintaining a unified vision statement and active participation of all stakeholders fosters a sense of ownership in ESD implementation and ensures that it will be long-lasting. Collaboration between isolated ESD initiatives and various stakeholders leads to shared knowledge and resources. Strong informal collaboration and communication can compensate for a lack of formalized leadership support from the top. Moreover, thorough planning that involves creating a strategy with detailed steps, and balancing shared responsibilities among internal stakeholders further enables fuller implementation of ESD. This analysis represents a first synthesis of small-N case studies and facilitates a better understanding of sustainability curriculum implementation patterns, which are shared in different contexts. Most HEIs and practitioners can benefit from these findings by reflecting on the specific implementation pattern with which the most overlap is found and focusing on this pattern’s most pertinent drivers.

The promotion of sustainable development in higher education institutions: top-down bottom-up or neither?

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 1429-1450
Author(s):  
Gisele Mazon ◽  
João Marcelo Pereira Ribeiro ◽  
Carlos Rogerio Montenegro de Lima ◽  
Brenda Caroline Geraldo Castro ◽  
José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
Exploratory Factorial Analysis

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the sustainability approach within higher education institutions. Universities, as institutions of knowledge, play an important and strategic role in maximizing social and economic benefits in a hands-on way. However, some studies on sustainable development and HEIs reveal a distancing between students and the application of sustainable initiatives in universities. This fact differs from the premises of the Talloires Declaration, which points to students as a community and as global leaders and ambassadors for sustainability. Design/methodology/approach This paper mapped the approaches, present in the literature, used to develop sustainable campuses and in particular the apparent dichotomy between the changes indicated as top-down or bottom-up in HEIs. To that end, scientific articles focused on sustainable actions in HEIs were analyzed to identify implementation approaches for sustainable development and student involvement in the process. Findings Results have shown that sustainability promotion models in universities generally occur in a top-down manner, where students are receptors and not sources of development for sustainable policies in universities. Thus, the authors highlight the importance of students becoming central players in sustainable initiatives. Originality/value The article becomes original when it identifies the dichotomy between top-down and bottom-up approaches. It does so through multidimensional scaling and exploratory factorial analysis in scientific articles on the topic Sustainability Funding in Higher Education. These findings show that, unlike what is discussed in the literature, sustainability promotion in universities generally occurs in a top-down manner, where students are receptors and not active agents in promoting sustainability. In response to this, the authors discussed the importance of the bottom-up approach, where they are key players.

scholarly journals Green curriculum: Sustainable learning in higher education

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willa Petronella Louw
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Study Material ◽  
Open And Distance Learning

<p>The United Nations (UN) constituted 2005–2014 as the decade for educational sustainable development when bridges have to be built between academic institutions and their communities. In this article I will therefore do a literature search from 2005–2011 on what it means to be a sustainable university with a sustainable curriculum by looking at case studies from other higher education institutions in order to begin to give guidelines for such an endeavour in an open and distance learning (ODL) institution. Thereafter I will focus on recommendations on how to transform present study material into a green curriculum by using a qualification in Human Settlements as a case study.</p>

scholarly journals Interdependencies of Culture and Functions of Sustainability Governance at Higher Education Institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mara Bauer ◽  
Sebastian Niedlich ◽  
Marco Rieckmann ◽  
Inka Bormann ◽  
Larissa Jaeger
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Organizational Culture ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Cultural Factor ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Cultural Orientations ◽  
Sustainability Governance

Sustainable development practices in higher education institutions are diverse, with regard not only to the types of challenges that have to be addressed, but also to the forms of sustainability governance adopted by individual higher education institutions. This paper aims to reflect on the aspects of organizational culture that are particularly crucial for the implementation of sustainable practices at higher education institutions. Specifically, it addresses the research question: how do different organizational cultures affect approaches to sustainability governance at higher education institutions (HEIs)? It reflects on data from multi-case studies at eleven German higher education institutions. Four of the cases are analyzed in this paper to draw out the insights they offer on how organizational culture shapes the institutions’ approach to sustainable development. A governance equalizer is used as a functional framework for evaluating and discussing the influence of different cultural orientations on sustainability governance. In addition to providing many insights and findings in relation to specific cases, comparison of the different institutions, their governance structures and their cultures of sustainable development helps to emphasize that there is no single cultural factor that can be identified as directly promoting particular governance structures. Rather, there is an active interplay between cultural orientations, which influence, and are also influenced by, the measures deployed. Such influence is not instantly apparent but needs time to develop, and it evolves in a variety of ways as illustrated by the case studies.

scholarly journals Semi-Systematic Literature Review on Sustainability and Sustainable Development in Higher Education Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7683
Author(s):  
Amila Omazic ◽  
Bernd Markus Zunk
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
Development Goals

Public sector organizations, primarily higher education institutions (HEIs), are facing greater levels of responsibility since adopting and committing to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SD) and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). HEIs are expected to provide guidance for various stakeholders on this matter, but also to implement this agenda and the SDGs in their institutions. Although the role of these organizations has been recognized, the fields and issues that HEIs should address on their path towards sustainability and SD are still unclear. To provide further clarity, a semi-systematic literature review on sustainability and SD in HEIs was conducted to identify both the key concepts and main research themes that represent sustainability and SD in HEIs and to identify research gaps. This review increases our knowledge of this topic and enhances our understanding of sustainability and SD in the context of HEIs.

scholarly journals Sustainable Development of Operations: Actors’ Involvement in the Process of Energy Efficiency Improvements

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6121
Author(s):  
Naghmeh Taghavi
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Operational Decisions ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Strategic Goals ◽  
Secondary Information ◽  
Inside Out

This study empirically investigates the involvement of actors in the process of energy-efficiency improvements in operations to align strategic sustainability goals across and within operations. The study analyzes development efforts stemming from actors’ decisions and actions that contribute to the process of energy efficiency improvements using semi-structured interviews and secondary information. Data is analyzed using thematic coding. The study deepens the understanding of how firms undertake the transition towards integrating strategic goals for energy efficiency into operations by strategizing for energy efficiency improvements through actors’ involvement. By exploring actors at both strategic and operational levels, and their decisions and actions, the study includes examples of different approaches, namely, top-down vs. bottom-up and inside-out vs. outside-in, thereby conceptualizing the process of energy-efficiency improvements in terms of a framework that outlines the entities of this process. The study further provides an integrative framework for the development efforts by different actors and presents propositions for incorporating energy-efficiency improvements in daily strategic and operational decisions and actions instead of regarding it as a separate or an add-on process.

scholarly journals Conceptual Framework for Teaching Sustainable Development Course in Blended Learning Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-23
Author(s):  
Tilagavati Subramaniam ◽  
Muthu Alagan Thangavelu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Young Generation ◽  
Framework For Teaching

Purposes: This paper presents a conceptual framework for teaching sustainable development courses in an online learning environment in institutions of higher education.  Sustainability development courses are becoming essential in higher education institutions mainly to educate the younger generations who will be part of the community to make it happen. Higher education institutions are experiencing dramatic shift to cater a young generation of prospective students, to integrate technical innovations in teaching practices and to concentrate on increasing concerns about global sustainability issues. There has been little research to promote an innovative learning in the teaching of sustainable development. The goal of this paper was to create a framework for teaching sustainable development in a virtual learning environment (blended learning) due to the lack of a conceptual framework that could direct this implementation. Findings: Hence, the blended learning method is eco-friendly, whereby protects global environmental resources. For hands-on experiences, students will develop projects to make their campus and community more sustainable. In the process, students learn how to analyse sustainability and able to apply online learning knowledge into practice. Implication: The conceptual framework proposed will support all educators in higher education institutions engaged in the promotion of quality online education in this pandemic circumstance to develop an effective online practise that are aligned with the corresponding learning needs, skills and facilities.

scholarly journals Education and Sustainable development: interplay and implications

2020 ◽  
Vol 208 ◽  
pp. 09010
Author(s):  
Ansgar Belke ◽  
Andrei Zenkov ◽  
Larisa Sazanova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Development Goals

Universities and other Higher education institutions are more than ever on the cusp of disruptive and radical changes while struggling to keep their traditional remit from falling entirely into the hands of managers and accountants. This paper examines the role of (higher) education in achieving sustainable development goals and addresses the important changes facing higher education from multiple perspectives and divergent cultural viewpoints.

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