Purpose The reported research aims to examine the extent to which sustainability capabilities have been delivered by a specific example of Education for Sustainability (EfS) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and how important the capabilities have been in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach Students who participated in an undergraduate internationally based research project were electronically surveyed. Questions sought responses related to demographics, the relevance of five “sustainability competencies” to the participant’s employment, the degree to which the five competencies had been developed within the students’ project and capabilities participants felt were important to their careers. Findings Clearly supported was the relevance of all five sustainability competencies, especially that of “interpersonal competence”. Practical implications A problem-based learning (PBL) design guided the students’ project and the findings indicate that these designs can be effective in delivering the five capabilities discussed. Interpersonal capability appears to be strongly developed, probably because PBL typically involves teamwork, often across disciplines. Nonetheless, those running these PBL-based subjects could note that careful design may be needed to ensure the development of systems thinking, anticipatory and normative capabilities. Also, the five competencies provide a reasonably good guide for what is important in the workplace and for designing learning experiences. Originality/value Clarification of competencies valued in the workplace provides guidance for the design of higher education curricular so that graduates become effective sustainability professionals.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.