Sustainability in Brandenburg Study Programs. Perspectives for Anchoring Sustainability in Higher Education Curricula

Abstract

The study investigates the extent to which sustainability is anchored in university curricula of a federal state (Brandenburg, Germany). (1) It provides a baseline for identifying opportunities for sustainability-related curriculum reform by analyzing study programs, levels, type of degree, level of anchoring, and context within the documents. (2) The case studies included an analysis and quantitative evaluation of 748 curricular documents. (3) A third of the study programs refer to sustainability; to an equal extent in both bachelor’s and master’s programs, and to an above-average extent in the fields of science and engineering. There is a strong commitment to sustainability in 12% of the curricula; however, it is strongly anchored in only 3% of study and examination regulations, and in only 9% of module descriptions. (4) For the first time, we have comprehensive results on sustainability in university curricula of an entire federal state and can discuss potentials for its further integration. The innovative method was developed out of the National Monitoring on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and adapted to the federal state level; the analysis of curricula through a wider set of variables is transferrable to other states. (5) The study provides indications for the regional development of universities which is crucial for future regional sustainability transformation.

Monitoring SDG 4.7: Assessing Education for Sustainable Development in policies, curricula, training of educators and student assessment (input‐indicator)

“…Various authors have already conducted document analyses on ESD (e.g., Beveridge et al, 2019; Fredriksson et al, 2020; De Haan, 2021; Holst et al, 2020; Krah et al, 2021). However, evaluating the results of these studies has often proved difficult and, because of the lack of clear criteria for “sufficient” or “satisfactory” ESD implementation, it has not been possible to compare evaluations across different contexts and over time.…”

Innovative Teaching and Learning Formats for the Implementation of Agroforestry Systems—An Impact Analysis after Five Years of Experience with the Real-World Laboratory “Ackerbaum”

“…Inter-and transdisciplinary approaches As well, in the federal state of Brandenburg in Germany, universities are contractually mandated to integrate education for sustainable development into their curricula [16]. This is also relevant for farm practitioners, who may benefit from adaptive skills acquired through Innovative Teaching and Learning formats (ITL), which combine theoretical and practical learning approaches.…”

“…This may be driven by interacting socioeconomic and political factors and is likely compounded by limitations of supporting scientific knowledge [13] and biases or gaps in training curricula [14]. Higher education institutions are central agents of change driving sustainability transitions, as they contribute to shaping the knowledge and skills of farmers, researchers, and policy makers [15][16][17][18].…”

Connecting Didactic Approaches and Sustainability Competencies: Evidence from a Teacher Education Institution in Vietnam

“…The integration of sustainable development (SD) into learning content and learning outcomes has involved an increasing body of literature over the last decades. Indeed, many studies have focused on discussing the integration of sustainability themes into learning content at higher education level (Albareda-Tiana et al, 2018;Krah et al, 2021;Lovren et al, 2020;Lozano & Peattie, 2011;Lozano & Young, 2013;Nguyen, 2022). The incorporation of sustainability competencies in higher education has appealed growing interest from scholars (Barth & Rieckmann, 2012;Brundiers et al, 2021;de Haan, 2010;Lambrechts et al, 2013;Mogensen & Schnack, 2010;Nguyen et al, 2022;Stough et al, 2018;Wiek et al, 2011 Ceulemans and De Prins (2010) suggest student-activating methods that can be used in the classroom to address sustainability such as videos, brainstorming, case studies, demonstrations, forms of dialogue, teamwork, jigsaw, assignments, problem-oriented education, oral presentations, project learning, small discussion groups, voting, and questions.…”