Abstract:Since the 1970s, interest in caring for the environment has gained traction and the environmental education movement has gained momentum. The Talloires Declaration was the first document to incorporate sustainable development into higher education. After that, higher education institutions assumed the social responsibility of training human resources with a sustainable vision. This study aimed to contribute to the design of indicators that could be used to evaluate the efficacy of the sustainability taught at the Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero (Autonomous University of Guerrero) in Mexico. We administered a survey to 63 teachers and 511 students from four academic units in high schools, and undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The answers were analyzed using the F-test and the variable descriptions. For the environmental, social and economic indicators, the satisfaction levels of teachers and students were more positive in graduate and undergraduate programs than in the high school. To determine the efficacy of the teaching function in terms of sustainable education, as well as to fulfill the commitments acquired to achieve sustainability, institutional processes need to be strengthened.

Teachers and university students require knowledge to generate positive changes and to overcome environmental challenges through innovative and relevant research. The Autonomous University of Guerrero lacks reliable methodologies and instruments required to evaluate progress towards sustainable development. This research proposes sustainability indicators as substantive functions at the educational levels of high school, bachelor’s degree, and postgraduate study. Indicators were developed via two surveys of 63 teachers and 511 students from four educational programs. Data processing was undertaken using SPSS 21 and Excel 2011. The results show that the environment was ranked more highly than the social and economic indicators. In terms of the participants, the functions of extension (61%), research (58%), teaching (45%), and management (43%) were ranked higher for students; in relation to teachers, research (15%), extension (18%), and teaching (43%) were ranked lower. It was concluded that students show greater socio-environmental concern, while teachers focus more on teaching rather than on the other substantive functions. These results represent relevant and well-founded information that can be used to make decisions that lead the university toward sustainability.

Superior education institutions are interested in training human resources with a holistic and critical vision, which contribute to the attention of environmental problems from the health area. The objective was to analyze, with indicators and indexes, the achievement reached regarding the level of sustainability in the functions of directors, teachers, and students at the Superior School of Nursing No. 1 of the Autonomous University of Guerrero, Mexico. The methodology was quantitative; interviews were applied to three directors, and surveys to 18 teachers and 226 students. On environmental issues, the findings show that teachers have scarce knowledge, with 14%; directors vary significantly, registering 58%; meanwhile, students are located at 60%. In the social indicator, students had 66%, directors 64%, and teachers 31%; the economic indicator was the least valued with 41% for students, 40% for directors, and 15% for teachers. The sustainability index for teachers was 0.19%, in “collapse”; for directors and students, it was “unstable”, with 0.56% and 0.58%, respectively. It was concluded that teachers prioritize disciplinary content; students express greater concern, knowledge, and interest for the environment.

Solid teacher training can be a transcendental tool in solving the most pressing environmental problems of our time. The purpose of this study was to reinforce the competencies of in-service teachers through a training process on environmental and sustainability issues. The research was carried out during the 2020–2021 cycle in Preparatory School No. 47 of the Autonomous University of Guerrero. We sought to broaden the teachers’ knowledge of environmental education for sustainability, the sustainable development goals and methodological strategies. The information was collected through an initial questionnaire, as well as the record of teachers’ activities during the course, which was structured in four topics: socio-environmental problems, environmental education for sustainability, sustainable development goals 2030, and methodological strategies. The training process influenced the teachers’ perception, achieving a more complex vision of the topics studied. The didactic and pedagogical strategies proposed facilitated the integration of transversal activities in their discipline. The work carried out demonstrated the importance of strengthening training processes that include methodological strategies such as transversality taking advantage of the physical characteristics of the rural community. Teachers develop environmental competencies for sustainability in their educational practice, to contribute to the integral formation of their students.

El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar la percepción de la sustentabilidad en estudiantes de una preparatoria ubicada en Texca, Guerrero. La metodología fue cuantitativa; se empleó la técnica de la encuesta mediante la opción de respuesta en escala de Likert a 79 participantes (34 hombres y 45 mujeres). El alcance fue exploratorio por ser un fenómeno poco estudiado. Los hallazgos más destacados muestran que, en la dimensión ambiental, 71 % de los estudiantes tiene conocimientos y actitudes favorables hacia el cuidado del medio ambiente; en la social, 72 % está muy satisfecho con el desempeño de sus docentes y las condiciones de equipamiento de las instalaciones escolares, aun y cuando consideran que se requieren mejores condiciones físicas para la realización de sus actividades; en el área económica, 61 % está de acuerdo con el pago de los aranceles institucionales, pero les gustaría saber cómo y en qué se invierten los recursos cobrados. Este estudio concluye con el reconocimiento de una adecuada percepción de los temas ambientales y de la sustentabilidad por parte de los docentes y estudiantes del nivel medio en una comunidad rural; sin embargo, también se reconoce que es necesario continuar con el desarrollo de procesos de capacitación con los docentes.