Empowering first year students by immersion in a “grand challenges” course on sustainable development

JOM ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 8-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diran Apelian
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Grand Challenges

Education for sustainable development in Spanish higher education: an assessment of sustainability competencies in engineering and education degrees

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo ◽  
Daniel Romero-Portillo ◽  
Bàrbara Sureda Carbonell ◽  
Francisco Manuel Moreno-Pino
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Spanish Higher Education ◽  
Percentage Measure ◽  
University Degree

Purpose This paper aims to present a methodology for analysing the extent to which students of a university degree perceive that they have received a good education for sustainable development (ESD). The methodology enables us to quantify this perception, which, in turn, allows us to determine: to what extent the objectives related to ESD are achieved in the degree, and to compare the learning in ESD perceived by students of different degrees. The methodology is applied to nine engineering degrees and nine education degrees in the Spanish university system. Design/methodology/approach ESD is analysed from the students’ learning perception. This perception is measured by comparing the responses of first- and fourth-year students to a questionnaire about their sustainability competencies. Two indicators have been designed to analyse the results. The first indicator, learning increase, measures the declared learning difference between fourth- and first-year students. The second indicator, learning percentage, measure the amount of learning as reported by fourth-year students compared to how much they could have learned. Findings The results show that the average learning percentage perceived by students is higher in engineering degrees (33%) than in education degrees (27%), despite the fact that the average learning increase declared by students at the end of their studies in both areas of knowledge is similar (66%). Engineering students report having achieved higher learning than education students in all sustainability competencies, with the exception of ethics. Originality/value This paper analyses ESD from the student’s perspective. Furthermore, to the knowledge of the authors, this is the first study that compares the perception of ESD between engineering and education students. This comparison allows us to determine the different approaches that university Professors take to ESD according to the discipline they teach.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Quality Education Awareness Competence of Pre-Service Educators Using Vignettes

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (23) ◽  
pp. 10203
Author(s):  
Ana-Inés Renta-Davids ◽  
Marta Camarero-Figuerola ◽  
Juana-María Tierno-García
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Spanish Universities ◽  
The University ◽  
Sustainability Principles ◽  
High Degree

For decades, higher education institutions have been incorporating sustainability principles. Spanish universities have considered it important that sustainability principles are integrated into the university curriculum, in order to contribute to the education of socially-responsible professionals. The present research aims to estimate pre-service educators’ awareness of selected challenges posed by Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), and it identifies the learning experiences that contribute the most to these students’ awareness of quality education. Moreover, the study aims to explore the potential of the use of the vignettes approach for the evaluation of students’ awareness. The study drew on a sample of n = 202 first year students pursuing education-related degrees at a Spanish university. The data was collected using a vignette survey, and the data analysis was conducted using quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results show a high degree of awareness within the context of most of the challenges posed by SDG 4 and, in the search for the factors that contributed to the degree of awareness in the students, personal interests and classes taken at the university stand out. In addition, the study provides the methodological implications of the use of the vignette approach in the assessment of students’ awareness. This paper discusses the practical implications for universities of the integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competences into the curriculum.

scholarly journals Freedom and responsibility as key elements of sustainable development of education

2021 ◽  
Vol 295 ◽  
pp. 05015
Author(s):  
Valentina Remizova ◽  
Tatyana Nesterova ◽  
Irina Moiseeva
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
First Year ◽  
Future Teachers ◽  
School Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Full Extent ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Freedom And Responsibility

The paper reveals the future teachers’ attitude towards freedom and responsibility in the context of sustainable development of education. Sustainable development seems to be impossible without the new generation of free, dignified, respectful, and responsible individuals. Freedom and responsibility are outlined from a pedagogical point of view. The concepts under study are considered to be of great significance for child’s development. The information obtained during the survey and questionnaire conducted with first-year students of the pedagogical university indicates that future teachers do not yet have sufficient experience to correlate adequately the possibility of revealing school students’ freedom and the need to be in charge of the behavior, actions and thoughts of their own. University students believe that school students generally take responsibility for completing individual assignments rather than common ones. Future teachers do not think that school students’ attitude towards education is responsible and trustworthy, would-be teachers doubt that school students are able to manifest freedom and responsibility to full extent. The empirical data drive to the conclusion that it is necessary to change future teachers’ attitude towards freedom and responsibility in their pedagogical activities. Future teachers are advised to change their attitude to freedom and responsibility in their activities.

scholarly journals How Does Sustainability Become Professionally Relevant? Exploring the Role of Sustainability Conceptions in First Year Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sundermann ◽  
Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Academic Affiliation ◽  
Disciplinary Background ◽  
Professional Fields ◽  
Past Experiences

One of the main objectives of higher education for sustainable development is to nurture holistic conceptions of sustainability in students, so that they can use sustainability as an approach to analyze and solve complex problems in their future professional fields. Existing studies have shown that students differ substantially in how relevant they consider the concept of sustainable development to their future careers. Previous studies have identified socio-demographic characteristics, disciplinary background and past experiences with sustainability education as potential influencing factors. To date, the relationships between one's own “understanding” of sustainability (sustainability conception) and the importance students attach to sustainability has hardly been investigated. This case study offers a first systematic examination of how the perceived professional relevance of sustainability is influenced by different individual characteristics and sustainability conceptions. Based on data from a recent survey of n = 1,364 first year undergraduate students from 14 different major subjects, our findings indicate that in addition to the previously reported individual characteristics like sex and academic affiliation, sociocultural sustainability conceptions are an important influential factor for the perceived importance of sustainability for their professional contexts. However, the regression analysis shows that the model based on predictors found in the literature lacks incremental power. This paper unveils that further research is needed on the underlying factors that explain the strength of perceived relevance of sustainability in students and that these influences need to be taken more into account in curriculum development.

scholarly journals Methodology to Analyze the Effectiveness of ESD in a Higher Degree in Education. A Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocío Valderrama-Hernández ◽  
Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo ◽  
Lucía Alcántara Rubio ◽  
Dolores Limón-Domínguez
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The University ◽  
Work Done

This paper presents a methodology to evaluate (1) to what extent students of a higher degree in the field of education acquire sustainability competencies, and (2) to determine whether the subjects that develop Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) achieve their learning objectives. The methodology is applied to a case study. The instruments used are the sustainability survey and the sustainability presence map developed by the EDINSOST project. The survey consists of 18 questions, and has been answered by 104 first-year students and 86 fourth-year students belonging to the Bachelor Degree in Primary Education Teaching at the University of Seville. The Mann-Whitney U test has been used to compare the results of the two students groups, and Cohen’s D has been used to measure the effect size. Students only obtain significant improvements, with 95% confidence, in three questions: Q4 (I know procedures and resources to integrate sustainability in the subjects), Q5 (I analyze the opportunities presented in the subjects to plan educational projects to integrate sustainability) and Q6 (I design educational projects from the perspective of sustainability), all concerning critical thinking and creativity. An improvement is also detected in question Q11 (I know how to develop myself satisfactorily in community educational projects, encouraging participation), with a confidence of 90%. Surprisingly, no subject in the curriculum develops the learning outcomes concerning questions Q4, Q5 and Q6, and only one subject develops the learning outcomes regarding question Q11. However, up to five subjects declare development of the learning outcomes regarding questions in which there is no improvement in student learning. These results suggest that the subjects are failing to reach their ESD learning objectives, and that the students are either trained in sustainability outside the university or the subject learning guides do not reflect the work done by the students throughout their studies.

AN ANALYSIS ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ABILITY THROUGH STORYTELLING FOR GRADE X SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khairani Nur Adha And Rahmad Husein
Keyword(s):  
Research Finding ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
First Grade ◽  
First Year ◽  
English Teacher ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Descriptive Research ◽  
Oral Test ◽  
Fluency And Comprehension ◽  
Low Ability

The aim of this research was to find out the ability of the first year students in speaking by using storytelling at MAS. Al-Jam’iyatul Wasliyah. The design of this research was descriptive research. The population of this research was 20 students of XC class in the first grade at MAS. Al-Jam’iyatul Wasliyah. In selecting the sample the writer used random sampling technique. The total number of the sample was 12 students. The data was collected by using oral test. The researcher only measured the ability of students’ speaking in storytelling by considering five components of speaking: (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency, and comprehension). And their speaking had been recorded by using phone recorder. From the result of analyzing the data, the researcher found that the students’ speaking ability by using storytelling was moderate. It proved by the fact that 4 students (33.33%) classified as high ability, 4 students (33.33%) classified as moderate ability, and 4 students (33.33%) classified as low ability. Based on the data, the students’ score were bigger in the high and moderate level than in the low ability level. Based on the research finding, the English teacher is suggested to consider the five components in scoring speaking ability (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency, and comprehension). The students are suggested to do more practice in pronunciation and fluency, because they dominantly speak incorrect pronunciation and have pauses in the sentences. Students are also suggested to enrich their vocabulary by using storytelling.

THE EFFECT OF USING NOTING INTERACTING SUMMARIZING AND PRIORITIZING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN READING COMPREHENSION

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maruh Sianturi And Berlin Sibarani
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
Teaching Reading ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Level Of Significance ◽  
Experimental Group

This study was aimed at finding out the effect of using Noting, Interacting, Summarizing, and Prioritizing Strategy on Students’ Achievement in Reading Comprehension. This study was designed with the experimental design. The population of this study was the first year students at academic 2013/2012 of SMA swasta YP St. Paulus Martubung, Medan. There were fourty students taken as the sample of the research. The sample was divided into two groups: the first group (20 students) as the experimental group and the second group (20 students) as the control group. The experimental group was taught by Using Noting, Interacting, Summarizing, and Prioritizing Strategy, while the control group was taught by using conventional method. The instrument for collecting the data was multiple choices which consisted of 40 items. To obtain the reliability of the test, the researcher used Kuder -Richardson (KR-21) formula. The calculation showed that the reliability of the test was 0.75. The data were calculated by using t-test formula. The result of the analysis shows that t-observed (4.98) was higher than t-table (2.025) at the level of significance (α) 0.05 and the degree of freedom (df) 38. Therefore, the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected and alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted. It meant that teaching reading comprehension by using Noting, Interacting, Summarizing, and Prioritizing Strategy significantly affects reading comprehension.

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