This paper presents a methodology to analyze the sustainability presence level in the curriculum of an engineering degree. The methodology is applied to ten engineering degrees of the Spanish university system, taught in three different universities. The design used for the research is quantitative and correlational. The analytical instrument used is the engineering sustainability map, which contains the learning outcomes related to sustainability that are expected of engineering students upon completion of their studies. The methodology is used to analyze the curricula of the ten engineering degrees in order to identify what learning outcomes of the engineering sustainability map are developed in each degree. The results indicate that the sustainability competency least present in all the degrees is the “participation in community processes that promotes sustainability,” with an average presence of 23.3%, while the most present is the “application of ethical principles related to the values of sustainability in personal and professional behavior,” with an average presence of 76.6%. In general, learning outcomes related to sustainability have an average presence of 52.1%, so practically half of the cells in the ten engineering sustainability maps are not developed in the degrees under study.

This work presents an analysis of student perception of Spanish university education degrees regarding their training in sustainable development. A sample of 942 students was used. The methodology consists of analyzing the results of a survey answered by the first- and fourth-year students from nine education degree courses in four Spanish universities. Comparison of the perception of learning by fourth-year students against those of the first year enables improvements in learning regarding sustainability to be ascertained. The questionnaire consists of 18 questions concerning four sustainability competencies: C1-Critical contextualization of knowledge, C2-Sustainable use of resources, C3-Participation in community processes, and C4-Ethics. Two composite indicators are defined to analyze the absolute learning (achieved on completion of their studies) and the relative learning (achieved with respect to what should have been achieved) declared by the students in each competency, degree and university. The results show that students declare an improvement in all their sustainability competencies, although the results of the final learning are far from those expected: they have learned only 27% of what they should have learned. Moreover, the learning achieved in the four competencies depends on the degree and the university.

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the presence of sustainability in 16 Spanish higher education curricula in the fields of education and engineering. Design/methodology/approach The methodology uses two instruments: sustainability map and sustainability presence map. These instruments enable analysis of the number of subjects that develop sustainability and the sustainability presence level in each curriculum; identification of what domain levels of the learning taxonomy sustainability is most developed; and analysis of whether a correlation exists between the sustainability presence and the number of subjects that develop sustainability in each curriculum. Findings A wide variety of subjects develop sustainability in a given degree, depending on the university. The presence of sustainability is more homogeneous in education degrees than in engineering degrees. Education degrees have a greater presence of sustainability in the lower domain levels of taxonomy, while in engineering degrees the lower levels of taxonomy have a lower presence of sustainability than the higher levels. Finally, a correlation appears to exist between the number of subjects that develop sustainability in the curriculum and the sustainability presence. However, engineering degrees seem to need fewer subjects than education degrees to achieve the same degree of sustainability presence. Originality/value This paper proposes a methodology to measure sustainability presence that can be applicable to the curricula of a higher education degree if the corresponding sustainability map is available. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the largest study yet conducted to analyze the presence of sustainability in different higher education curricula.

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Humankind is faced with major global challenges to ensure the future of our planet. Target 4.7 of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (quality education) of the 2030 Agenda establishes the importance of ensuring that all learners acquire the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to promote sustainable development through education for sustainable development, human rights, gender equality, and global citizenship, amongst others. The research presented in this article is based on an exploratory study on the views of a group of university teachers from the area of Didactics of Mathematics in the Faculty of Education Sciences at Universidad de Cádiz with regard to Education for Sustainability and its integration in the field of training future teachers in mathematics education. It aims to analyse the perceptions teachers have regarding the subject of study, the work methodologies they use, etc. in greater depth. The authors of the research later interviewed three teachers in the area of Didactics of Mathematics who teach in different education degrees: bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, bachelor’s degree in primary education, and master’s degree in teacher training for compulsory secondary education and baccalaureate. Three instruments were used to collect data: the syllabi of the subjects for which the teachers were responsible, an initial exploratory questionnaire, and a semi-structured personal interview. The instrument employed to analyse the information was the Tool for Methodological Analysis through Sustainability (Herramienta de Análisis Metodológico desde la Sostenibilidad, HAMS in Spanish). The results show the different views and positions the university teachers in the area of Didactics of Mathematics at Universidad de Cádiz have with respect to integrating sustainability into future teachers’ training in mathematics education. It is concluded that the effective integration of sustainability into mathematics education requires university teachers to change and to work together from the same perspective—the one they intend to promote.