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Introduction

One of the primary functions of colleges and universities is to educate students. By training and educating future leaders, scholars, workers, and professionals; higher education institutions are uniquely positioned to understand and address sustainability challenges. Institutions that offer courses covering sustainability issues help equip their students to lead society to a sustainable future.

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The usual discourse of sustainable development and its impact on students of economics: a case from Czech higher education context

  • University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

In recent decades, the concepts of sustainable development (SD) and sustainability have become a part of the everyday information flow. Is there real impact on students who have potential to …

Place-responsive Pedagogies in the Anthropocene: attuning with the more-than-human

  • The Mind Lab
  • University of Stirling (Scotland)

Drawing on New Materialist frameworks for environmental and sustainability education, we extend and deepen our understanding of contemporary place-responsive pedagogies in the light of our human-impacted geological epoch, the Anthropocene, …

Integration of environmental sustainability considerations within architectural programmes in higher education: A review of teaching and implementation approaches

  • University of Texas at San Antonio (TX)
  • University of Auckland

As education providers, universities play a pivotal role in developing and delivering quality education that contributes to the achievement of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and the related “Sustainable …

Teaching ecosystem services: a pathway to improve students’ argumentation in favour of nature conservation and sustainable development?

  • University of the Basque Country

Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits people obtain from nature contributing to our well-being. Although this concept has high didactic potential, its presence in education literature is scarce. This article …

Learning towards environmental sustainability practices: insights from a values-based participatory research approach

  • University of the Free State
  • Fudan University

Transformative Learning Theory is instrumental in fostering sustained positive change in adult learners as it explains how critical reflection in crystallization processes results in emancipatory learning. Despite its relevance, there …

From tensions to transformation: Teaching food systems in a graduate dietetics course

  • University of Toronto (ON)

Dietitians are deeply embedded within food systems, so food systems concepts are becoming an essential component of dietetic education in Canada. Yet how can we, as educators, better prepare future …

Investigating critical community engaged pedagogies for transformative environmental justice education

  • University of Utah (UT)

Effective environmental justice education poses unique challenges to both educators and students. For students, this pursuit is cognitively challenging at best and emotionally paralyzing at worst. It requires deconstruction of …

Enhancing sustainability education in the accounting curriculum: an effective learning strategy

  • University of Waikato

This paper aims to examine the embedding of sustainability courses in the accounting curriculum by using the Delta Business School in New Zealand as an example. The focus of this …

If It Is Life We Want: A Prayer for the Future (of the) University

  • Antioch University, New England (NH)
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
  • University of York

Universities are one potentially important place – albeit not the only one – to initiate the next generation into becoming the adult humans needed to navigate the difficult future of …

Dealing with the Intangible: Using the Analytical Lens of Hidden Curricula for a Transformative Paradigm of Sustainable Higher Education

  • Vienna University of Economics and Business

There is a broad consensus that universities have the potential to act as drivers of education for sustainable development (ESD) and constitute fundamental vehicles to explore, test, develop and communicate …

Sustainability at Universities as a Determinant of Entrepreneurship for Sustainability

  • Universitatea din București
  • Woosong University

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of universities in promoting sustainability and sustainable development goals among Indian students as future entrepreneurs, supporting the mission of sustainability. …

Architectural Education in the Current of Deep Ecology and Sustainability

  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology

As a result of the experience and scientific research of the authors on the deep ecology and sustainability process, academic courses were created that are run at two stages of …

Education for sustainable development with transdisciplinary-oriented courses - experiences and recommendations for future collaborations in higher education teaching

  • Wuppertal Institut

The paper investigates how teacher trainees in higher education geography and external, non-scientific partners perceive and experience collaborations in an active teaching and learning approach. Such formats are recommended in …

The contribution of sustainability education pedagogies to the development of Greek preservice teachers’ sustainability consciousness about social issues in urban environments

  • Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Kentriki Makedonia)

This study explores the role of specific sustainability education pedagogies in developing preservice teachers’ sustainability consciousness (SC). The participants were 77 Greek preservice teachers from a Department of Primary Education, …

Engaging Students in the Development of an Atmospheric Science Course: A Discourse Analysis

  • Beijing Normal University

Aims:

With increasing emphasis on learners-centered approach in teaching and learning, engaging students in course development and refinement is crucial. This study aims to foster a participatory approach in course …

Climate change concern among youth: Examining the role of civics and institutional trust across 22 countries

  • Columbia University (NY)

Although scholars have long documented perceptions of climate change and the public’s evolving response to the perceived risk it poses, only more recently have these analyses begun to examine youth …

Pedagogy for sustainable tourism: reflections on the curriculum space of a master programme in Sweden

  • Dalarna University

Tourism education has matured from vocational to more liberal education while current trends underline the importance of critical studies and the shift of curricula to more action-oriented forms of education …

A data driven approach to curriculum development for responsible management education

  • Delhi Technological University

Education evolves with the changes in technological innovations. This paper aims to explore a model for curriculum development at higher education level. A curriculum which evolves dynamically taking inputs from …

A review of responsible management education: practices, outcomes and challenges

  • Estonian Business School (Harjumaa)

Research on management education (ME) over the past 2 decades signals a growing level of concern in response to increasing societal demands for ethical, responsible and sustainable considerations in management …

Educating for the Environment: The Role of the Host Destination in Education Travel Programs

  • Franklin University Switzerland (Ticino)

The benefits from educational travel programs (ETPs) for students have been well-documented in the literature, particularly for programs looking at sustainability and environmental issues. However, the impacts the ETPs have …

Circular economy, cradle to cradle and zero waste frameworks in teacher education for sustainability

  • Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences

Sustainability is a major concern in education policies. This paper aims to describe how alternative economic education including concepts of the circular economy (CE), cradle to cradle (C2C) and zero …

Metaphorical perceptions of academicians in administrative positions in higher education regarding the concept of sustainability

  • İstanbul 29 Mayıs Üniversitesi

The aim of this study, which was in a qualitative research design, is to reveal the perceptions of education administrators working in higher education institutions about the concept of sustainability …

Integrating global sustainability into social studies teachers' education: a collaborative self-study

  • Kennesaw State University (GA)

There have been increasing calls for social studies educators to engage issues of sustainability. Proponents argue that the very survival of the planet depends on the degree to which teachers …

Promoting language education for sustainable development: a program effects case study in Japanese higher education

  • Konan University

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of education for sustainable development (ESD) approaches in English as a foreign language (EFL) in Japanese higher education. A content …

A proposal of personal competencies for sustainable consumption

  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg

Despite advances in Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) scholarship and practice, ESE has not yet contributed to mitigate the sustainability-related problems it is meant to remedy. As part of an …

The Global Goals: bringing education for sustainable development into US business schools

  • Loyola University Chicago (IL)

This paper aims to learn how sustainability and the circular economy were being integrated into the curriculum of a Dutch university and to transfer that knowledge back to a US …

How management education is engaging students in the sustainable development goals

This paper aims to explore if, and how, business schools globally have been engaging their students in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both inside and outside the classroom, since the …

Business schools are embracing the SDGs – But is it enough? – How business schools are reporting on their engagement in the SDGs

This paper explores the extent to which business schools are engaging in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and what that engagement looks like based on how schools have reported their …

Education for Sustainable Development and Action-Oriented Learning at Higher Education Institutions: Reflections on a Trans-Disciplinary Teaching Project

  • Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg

The objective of ESD is to make people think differently about lifestyles as well as economic and political structures, to raise awareness for complex problems, to sharpen political judgment and …

Teaching Environmental Sustainability while Transforming Study Abroad

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)

Environmental issues are of especially great importance to younger individuals, such as university students. Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are a proven methodology for transforming short-term study abroad to yield …

Making Change Visible – An Explorative Case Study of Dealing With Climate Change Deniers in Forest Education

  • School Administration of Lower Saxony

This case study addresses the issue of climate change denial among students in their firstyear of vocational education. It was possible to shake the belief that man-made climatechange was not …

Addressing the higher education for sustainable development agenda at the College of Open and Distance Learning, St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia: opportunities and challenges

  • St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia

This study aims to assess the extent to which sustainable development practices are prevalent at the College of Open and Distance Learning (CODL), St. Mary’s University, Ethiopia. The assessment focused …

Sustainability and accounting education: perspectives of undergraduate accounting students in Saudi Arabia

  • Tanta University

The purpose of this study is to explore undergraduate accounting students' perceptions and understanding of the concept of sustainable development. Moreover, this study aims to explore students' perceptions of the …

Sustainable Smart Cities Challenges in Project Management Curriculum

  • The Academic College of Tel Aviv–Yaffo

Business schools aim to educate and train tomorrow’s managers, who will be responsible to lead their organizations towards success. Since businesses use projects as the main means to implement innovative …

Internationalization, Whiteness, and Biopolitics of Higher Education

  • The Ohio State University (OH)

From a postcolonial perspective, U.S. higher education is entangled with the colonial past and the neoliberal neo-colonial present as an economic actor that dominates global educational markets through internationalization. The …

Learning for the Future: Exploring Effective Characteristics of Sustainability Leadership Programs in Higher Education

  • Thompson Rivers University (BC)

In response to global environmental, economic, and social issues, universities and colleges have begun to create and expand leadership courses and programs that aspire to foster sustainability change agents. This …

Sustainability in Top Hospitality/Leisure Management Programs: Teaching for a Sustainable Future?

  • University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland

Higher education (HE) programs in hospitality/leisure management studies offer the theoretical knowledge which should prepare graduates to be effective thought leaders for a changing global workplace. Previous research examined HE …

Enabling Sustainable Development by Embedding Tongan Knowledge into University Science Curricula

  • University of Auckland

Sustainable development requires the valuing of Indigenous knowledges. The complex and intertwined processes of coloniality and globalisation have contributed to spreading a dominant set of Western knowledge, values, and practices …

Social Responsibility and the World of Nature: an interdisciplinary environmental studies course for inspiring whole system thinking and environmental citizenship

  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)

Environmental educators face many challenges in university settings, including improving students’ capacity for systems thinking, the effective use of educational technology, and supporting a sense of agency for participation in …

Engaging students in education for sustainable development: The benefits of active learning, reflective practices and flipped classroom pedagogies

  • University of Edinburgh

Effective Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) requires appropriate pedagogies that engage learners in transformative learning. These pedagogies include reflective and active learning, involving experiential, collaborative and learner-centred activities. This paper …

How to Bring About Change – A Literature Review About Education and Learning Activities for Sustainable Development

  • University of Gothenburg

Sustainable development and transformational change have become more critical thanever in the era of climate change. The aim of this literature review was to increase know-ledge on education and learning …

“We Can’t Wait Anymore”: Young Professionals Engaging in Education for Sustainability

  • University of Memphis (TN)

Sustainability-minded young professionals are needed to facilitate movement toward a sustainable planet. Their development has largely been left to Higher Education Institutions charged with equipping future generations of professionals to …

Higher Education for Sustainability: A Critical Review of the Empirical Evidence 2013–2020

  • University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna

Higher education for sustainable development (HESD) has grown into a substantial field of research and practice. HESD proposes that higher education will be central in a transition towards more sustainable …

Junkyard Planet: Using Stories to Teach Managerial Accounting with a Sustainability Theme

  • University of St. Thomas (MN)

The purpose of this article is to share my experience teaching managerial accounting as a sustainability-themed course using stories. Theme-based learning suggests a relatable theme can make course content more …

Beyond Western and Indigenous Perspectives on Sustainability: Politicizing Sustainability With the Zapatista Rebellious Education

  • University of Stavanger

This article discusses the contributions of different worldviews to the debates on what a transformative sustainability education could be. It focuses on mainstream and alternative strands of thought present in …

Transforming sustainability education through transdisciplinary practice

  • University of Technology Sydney

Addressing urban sustainability challenges through transformative learning requires learners to be receptive to alternative viewpoints and to critically analyse their own assumptions and worldviews. Higher education institutions have an important …

Towards an eco-literate tertiary music education: Notes from a South African context

  • University of the Witwatersrand

On 20 September 2019 in Cape Town, as part of the global protests on inaction on climate change, the African Climate Alliance submitted a memorandum of demands to South African …

Growing action research on environmental learning in schools: a school-university partnership

  • University of Toronto (ON)

A team of teacher-researchers in a large urban school board is working in partnership with researchers from a leading Canadian university to use action research to broaden and deepen environmental …

Turtle Island (North America) Indigenous Higher Education Institutions and Environmental Sustainability Education

  • University of Waterloo (ON)

This article explores the environmental and sustainability programs of Indigenous Higher Education Institutions (IHEIs) in North America. There are 38 Tribal Colleges and Universities in the United States and 26 …

The role of community-based learning in teaching about industrial ecology and sustainability in the context of engineering education: A case study from the field

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)

Industrial ecology and sustainability education have evolved over time, as this relatively new discipline has emerged and has been refined. Courses engaging with these topics are often found in engineering …

This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.

All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.

AC 1: Academic Courses

AC 2: Learning Outcomes

AC 3: Undergraduate Program

AC 4: Graduate Program

AC 5: Immersive Experience

AC 6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

AC 7: Incentives for Developing Courses

AC 8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

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