Introduction of sustainable development in engineers' curricula

Abstract

PurposeOwing to its complexity, sustainable development cannot be simply integrated as a supplementary course within the engineers' curricula. The first point of this paper aims to focalise on how to reflect pedagogically. After dealing with these questions, a tool that can evaluate the student's understanding of sustainable development concepts will be presented.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis of a student's sustainability comprehension, based on cognitive maps, has been developed. The students are asked to write and connect by arrows all the terms that they associate with the concept of sustainable development. The assessment of the aforementioned cognitive maps is based on an approach via semantic category.FindingsThis study shows that the students' perception of sustainable development before the training seems mainly focalised on environmental and economical aspects. After the SD course, an increase in the number of words quoted is noted for each category (social and cultural aspects; the stakeholders, the principles of sustainable development and the allusions to complexity, temporal and spatial dimensions). Their vision seems richer and wider. The training seemed useful to help the students who did not associate sustainable development with diverse dimension to improve this perception.Research limitations/implicationsTo reduce the length of the elaboration of the maps, there is no preliminary training for the construction of maps. To simplify this elaboration, only one type of arrows is used to connect words. To minimise the time of analysis of the maps, the relevance of the relations made between the words is not verified. Besides, the classification of words within the semantic categories implies a certain level of subjectivity.Practical implicationsThis cognitive map method can be a useful tool to improve learning in quantitative terms but also in qualitative terms. Identifying knowledge gaps and misunderstood ideas allows the improvement in the training.Originality/valueThis study presents a new method that can be used to evaluate the impact of training sessions on students. Another advantage is to analyse how the students' knowledge is interconnected. This seems particularly interesting because the study of this transdisciplinary concept also necessitates an integrated vision.

Sustainability and ethics as decision‐making paradigms in engineering curricula

“…A game approach advocated by Gondran et al (2003) appears to be suitable for the multi-stakeholder nature of sustainability. However, while Lourdel et al (2005) show that this approach has improved students understanding of sustainability, there is no evidence that the approach improves the skills of students at sustainable decision making. Ashford (2004) argues that the problem lies beyond individual courses and curricula and can be found in the wider structural constraints on traditional engineering schools which prevent the emergence of faculty members, curricula and syllabi that live up to the systemic change and inter-disciplinarity implicit in sustainability.…”

“…While the course has been effective in drawing students into these debates, it does not provide for a systematic approach to decision making that might emerge from these insights. Gondran et al (2003) and Lourdel et al (2005) describe a method of teaching multi-stakeholders dynamics in environmental decision making based on specially designed games that students play. However, there is little in the literature about teaching social sustainability to engineering students.…”

Education to Face the Wicked Challenges of Sustainability

“…Brand and Karvonen (2007) suggest that sustainable development poses challenges to the discourse of technical experts that do not fit within traditional disciplinary boundaries. Nathalie Lourdel et al (2005) and colleagues look at a number of approaches to education for sustainable development for engineers and emphasize the need for a holistic approach: "Theoretical classes are not sufficient. It seems important to help them to transpose theoretical knowledge into professional and day-to-day activities."…”

Sustainable spatial development in higher education

“…The following measures have been proposed to overcome the resistance of higher education institutions to integrate sustainable development: implementing the principles of sustainable development into academic activities and into everyday life and work, including more realistic teaching methods, including the content of sustainable development in all subject areas with an appropriate degree of cross-curricular links, gradually integrating sustainable development into the curriculum, taking advantage of the multiplier effects of sustainable development (Ferrer et al, 2010), preparing high-quality educational resources in sustainable development, enabling teachers to have access to examples of good practice and teaching materials for sustainable development, establishing new models of professional development and continued education and teacher training in sustainable development (Lourdel et al, 2005;Fadeeva, 2010), facilitating the integration of sustainable development through cooperation and promotion by the ministry and other departments, cooperating with other higher education institutions at the local and global levels, maintaining a vision and implementation plan for sustainable development, stating the reasons for change (Lozano, 2006), increasing or improving communication and providing feedback, holistically addressing issues of sustainable development, integrating social and economic issues, and motivating teachers and students to become actively involved in the process (Huisingh & Mebratu, 2000;Rogers, 1995;Elton, 2003). Peter Glavič et al (2009) state that it is necessary to incorporate the principles of sustainable development not only in the structure and organisation of universities, but also in educational programmes.…”