Assessing sustainability education in a transdisciplinary undergraduate course focused on real‐world problem solving

Remington‐Doucette, Sonya M.; Connell, Kim Y. Hiller; Armstrong, Cosette M.; Musgrove, Sheryl L.

doi:10.1108/ijshe-01-2012-0001

Cited by 134 publications

(124 citation statements)

References 66 publications

(116 reference statements)

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“…In short, it seems clear that having access to environmental information (MORIGI and KREBS, 2012;SILVEIRA and CRUZ, 2012), to specific contents on the undergraduate courses (MINTZ and TAL, 2014;REMINGTON-DOUCETTE et al, 2013;GROSS, 2013) and projects developed in the educational institutions (CHANG, 2013;BARTH, 2013) may contribute to increase and develop an environmental consciousness on individuals. The current study, however, does not provide evidence about the contribution of each of the aforementioned aspects and, for that reason, this is precisely a suggestion for futures works, to adapt the construct about "Environmental Behavior" to include that possibility.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Behavior: A Comparative Study Between Brazilian and Portuguese Students

et al. 2016

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Although undergraduate students have great access to environmental information, it does not mean that an environmental behavior is being developed. With the use of a scale applied to 1035 university students from Brazil and Portugal, it was examined how the environmental behavior of these students is structured. Using multivariate statistical techniques, it was verified that there is a similarity in the environmental behavior of both groups, with environmental beliefs being manifested by an opposition to the anthropocentric view. The environmental attitudes have the concerns related to the environment as their predecessor. These concerns influence the option to control economic growth, which is reinforced by the ecocentric point of view of the respondents and is manifested by the perspective of a decrease in production and in consumption as well as the promotion of welfare. Although there is a tendency, the option for green consumption is not fully accomplished.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Behavior: A Comparative Study Between Brazilian and Portuguese Students

et al. 2016

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“…The work of Wiek and his colleagues provides a comprehensive discussion of five key competencies within a problem-solving framework [29]. While the proposed key competencies have been applied to assess students' learning outcomes in a transdisciplinary course [30], a general need for research on pedagogy and evaluation in sustainability science programs remains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

https://www.acadlore.com/article/CIS/2017_5_1/cis2017.05010052

Arce

Yoshida

Kudo

2017

CiS

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A growing number of educational programs in sustainability science has paralleled the rise of the field itself. The educational approach of these programs follows the problem-driven, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary nature of the field itself. However, its effectiveness has yet to be systematically evaluated. Similarly, while ad-hoc evaluation schemes have attempted to monitor the quality of the educational programs, there is no standard method that accounts for the particularities of sustainability science programs. This study thus addresses the need for an assessment of the problem-driven approach of educational programs in sustainability science. We have conducted student self-assessments of field courses in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science (GPSS-GLI) at The University of Tokyo, which positions its field courses at the center of its curriculum. The self-assessments were based on five key competencies identified as particularly important for sustainability professionals. Workshops and questionnaires engaged students in a reflection of the six field courses and of their own personal development through the activities offered. Our questionnaire results indicate that the majority of participants were satisfied with how the courses furthered their personal development. While some participants expressed frustration at being unable to sufficiently address the respective field's sustainability challenges due to time constraints, students generally recognized the five key competencies as important for addressing sustainability issues after participating in the courses. Moreover, participants attributed much of their learning to their active engagement in planned field research activities, rather than to passive learning. Variations in results across different course units provide material for further analysis and development of the curriculum. This study is an initial attempt at assessment, with room for ongoing improvement and further research to address additional requirements for fostering the next generation of sustainability professionals.

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“…However, the study found out there are some supportive successful cases applied in non-academic higher education which should not be the best practices in academic sector. A recent study conducted by (Remington-Doucette, Hiller Connell, Armstrong, & Musgrove, 2013) measured sustainability competencies mainly for undergraduate business majors in which the study results found that there are no clear improvements and applications on key business competencies. However, the paper shed light on how long term sustainability and quality programs are important in creating more effective academic programs.…”

Section: A Review Of Qms Applications In Academic Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%