scholarly journals Integrating education for sustainable development into a higher education institution: beginning the journey

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Richard Howarth ◽  
Tabani Ndlovu ◽  
Sihle Ndlovu ◽  
Petra Molthan-Hill ◽  
Helen Puntha
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Leader ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Uk

Much of the current literature on integrating sustainability into HEIs is focussed on why HEIs should embrace sustainable development (SD) and what is still missing or hindering work and the integration of efforts. There is much less exploration of how SD has been interpreted at the individual HEI level and action taken as a result. This case study reflects on important elements of the journey Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in the UK has taken to integrate sustainability, focussing on key decisions and activity in 2009/10. In highlighting this, the authors seek to empower those looking to support and/or lead the embedding of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), separately or as part of an integrated effort, in their own institution. Today in 2019, NTU is a global leader in integrating ESD as part of a wider SD agenda. The work which this paper presents, to understand and establish a baseline of key elements of NTU’s existing ESD activity and systems, was an important turning point.  Activities undertaken to review and assess ‘where are we now?’, primarily through an institution-wide survey in 2009/10, led to important insights and supported dialogue, as well as the connection and underpinning of core administrative elements of the NTU SD framework and systems. Further recommendations are given in the final section of this paper on other drivers that can help to embed ESD within an HEI.

Promoting language education for sustainable development: a program effects case study in Japanese higher education

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-798
Author(s):  
Joshua John Jodoin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Japanese Higher Education ◽  
Program Effects

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of education for sustainable development (ESD) approaches in English as a foreign language (EFL) in Japanese higher education. Design/methodology/approach A content and language integrated learning (CLIL) University-level course was run over two separate semesters: the first as a lecture-based course and the second was a similar course that integrated ESD best-practice. A program effects case study was used to see if any significant changes could be measured between the separate semesters. A mixed-methods approach to data collection was used and student marks, survey results using values, beliefs and norms (VBN) model and reflection tasks were collected across the two courses. Findings A meaningful change in the ascription of responsibility and personal norms was present in the ESD best-practice course. This shows that ESD best-practice integration into language teaching has a positive impact on student environmental VBN and more research is necessary for this area. Practical implications ESD integrated into language teaching correlates positively with environmental behavior change according to the VBN-model. A new field of study is proposed, language education for sustainable development, to better integrate the disciplines of EFL and ESD. Originality/value This study is looking at the integration of ESD in language teaching and CLIL based courses in Higher Education and, at present, there are no other studies of this kind.

scholarly journals Teacher Education and Sustainable Development Goals: A Case Study with Future Biology Teachers in an Angolan Higher Education Institution

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3344 ◽  
Author(s):  
António Valter Chisingui ◽  
Nilza Costa
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Biology Teachers ◽  
Higher Education Institution

National education policies are increasingly regulated by international agendas, for example the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SD). However, in order to put such policies into practice, social actors like teachers and teacher educators must include them in their practices. In this context, this study stems from the following research question: how does initial teacher education (ITE) promote the SD Agendas (2030 and 2063 for Africa)? The approach to this question is carried out through a case study focused on an Angolan teacher education higher education institution, in its graduate course for future secondary school biology teachers. The main aims of this study are (i) to characterize how ITE includes SD and (ii) to suggest ways to improve SD, particularly focusing on students’ future professional needs. Data were gathered from document analysis (the pedagogical curriculum plan of the course; titles and abstracts of final-year future biology teachers’ essays) and an interview with the course director of the biology teaching program of the Angolan institution. Content analysis of the gathered evidence was based on a three-dimensional framework: (a) SD goals (SDG) and the curriculum; (b) teacher education principles; and (c) current Angolan curricular perspectives. Results show that although the Pedagogical curriculum plan and the formative path, from the interviewee’s point of view, do not explicitly integrate SDG and its challenges for biology ITE, the majority of essays analyzed are locally contextualized and in a number of cases articulated with some of the 17 SDG. Suggestions for inclusion of SDG in ITE and for teacher education research are put forward.

scholarly journals The Economic Impact of a Higher Education Institution – The Study Case of the Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Portugal

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-66
Author(s):  
Sandra Saúde ◽  
Carlos Borralho ◽  
Isidro Féria ◽  
Sandra Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Polytechnic Institute ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Study Case

It is widely recognized that the investment in human capital, innovation, and knowledge transfer is essential to sustainable development and growth. Within this context, the role and action of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are vital. This paper aims to reflect on the role and the economic impact of a higher education institution, based on the case study of a public HEIs in Portugal namely the Polytechnic Institute of Beja (IPBeja). This institution belongs to the subsystem of polytechnic higher education and is located in a region that has one of the lowest economic and population densities in Europe.

scholarly journals Higher Education for Sustainability in the Developing World: A Case Study of Rafik Hariri University1 in Lebanon

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamil Hammoud ◽  
Mohamed Tarabay
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
Sustainable Society

Responding to heightened global interest in and concern for the sustainability of the planet and our ways of life on it, The United Nations’ Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015) came out as a very ambitious and historic global agreement. The agenda identified what have become known as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with their detailed targets to mobilize and guide global efforts toward ending poverty, fostering peace, safeguarding human rights and protecting the planet. Education for Sustainable Development forms part of Target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goal 4, which seeks to “ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles…”Departing from the Brundtland Commission’s (1987) definition of sustainable development as a paradigm of resource use that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” universities have progressively been incorporating sustainability values, practices and initiatives into their activities, throughout the realm of what they do in teaching, research, administration and operational systems.  Indeed, Commitment to sustainability at universities worldwide dates back to the 1980’s, with a number of landmarks and declarations such as the Magna Charta of European Universities (1988), and the Talloires Declaration of University Presidents for a Sustainable Future (1990).However, the debate so far has centered mostly on the rationale and reasoning for broad adoption, rather than the various actions to be undertaken by higher education institutions (HEIs). Moreover, Efforts and initiatives to integrate sustainability into higher education in the developing world have been ad-hoc, modest and small (Mohamedbhai 2012).  We could only find a few research studies covering such efforts and initiatives anyways (Awuzie & Emuze, 2017; Bhat et al., 2017; Khalaf-Kairouz, 2012).This paper aims to describe sustainable practices of higher education institutions in the developing world, via a case study of Rafik Hariri University in Lebanon.  The authors utilize the 12 Features of Sustainable Society, developed by the Forum for the Future (2003) as an analytical framework, based on the Five Capitals Model.  The research instrument was a questionnaire derived from the 12 Features of a Sustainable Society and designed to identify the strategies, policies, values and practices pursued by the university to contribute to sustainable development.The outcome is a detailed level analysis into the ways in which a small institution of higher education in a developing country contributes to the betterment of the world via engagement in sustainability. Keywords Sustainability; Sustainable Development; Higher Education; Developing World; Higher Education for Sustainable Development; Rafik Hariri University; Lebanon; ESD; SDG; HESD

scholarly journals FACTORS INFLUENCING STUDENTS’ CHOICES AND DECISION- -MAKING PROCESS: A CASE STUDY OF POLISH STUDENTS STUDYING IN A BRITISH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-95
Author(s):  
Grażyna Rembielak ◽  
Tahir Rashid ◽  
Agnieszka Parlińska
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Pull Factors ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Uk

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the factors which influence students when deciding to study abroad. The case study is based on Polish students studying in the British higher education system (UK HE) and the paper examines these students’ choices and their decision-making process when selecting their university studies. The literature review suggests that there are two types of factors influencing students’ decision- making process: push factors, which operate within the home country, and pull factors, meaning that students are attracted by the host country and encouraged to study there. Polish students constitute a significant group of EU students who study in the UK and yet there are very few studies on this particular group. The results from this qualitative research on Polish students studying in a selected British university indicate that, contrary to a number of other studies, pull factors could be more important in influencing Polish students’ decision-making process regarding studying abroad.

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