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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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Responsible Management Education as Socialization: Business Students’ Values, Attitudes and Intentions

  • Nazareth University (NY)
  • University of Melbourne (Victoria)
  • Macquarie University (NSW)

The growing interest in sustainable development in all sectors of the economy has fostered a noteworthy shift toward responsible management education (RME). This emerging view underscores that business schools provide …

Educational contexts and designs for cultivating leaders capable of addressing the wicked issues of sustainability transitions.

  • Blekinge Institute of Technology

The ongoing sustainability crisis offer numerous, multifaced societal challenges as a result of the ongoing degradation of socio-ecological systems by human activity causing massive ecological damage and human suffering. Overcoming …

Emotional reactions to climate change and associated coping strategies: a grounded theory study on graduate students of sustainability-related programmes

  • Uppsala University

Climate change is happening. Yet this phenomenon does not only concern the environment, but also has various notable and important psychological implications for individuals in particular and society in general. …

Synchronizing Sustainability Education Across Higher Education Community Orientations

  • The University of British Columbia (BC)

With increased concerns surrounding the global climate emergency, the need to address the issue emerges across individuals and large organizations alike. The University of British Columbia is one of the …

Assessing Undergraduate Sustainability Knowledge at California Polytechnic State University

  • California Polytechnic State University (CA)

Sustainability education has become an important focus of many higher education institutions (HEIs), with the inclusion of many sustainability-related learning objectives for undergraduate students. As sustainability is a new, rising …

Providing a ‘point of entry’: Approaches to framing sustainability in curriculum design in Higher Education

  • RMIT University

The rationale for including sustainability in Higher Education curriculum has been made clear, yet how to facilitate effective learning in this field has received less research attention. This article focuses …

Co-learning for sustainable design: The case of a circular design collaborative project in Ireland

  • Koç University
  • University of Limerick

Incorporating concerns of sustainability and circularity into design practice is undoubtedly important for both design research and education. There is a need to equip novice designers with the skills to …

Collaborating for transformation: applying the Co-Laboratorio approach to bridge research, pedagogy and practice

  • Simon Fraser University (BC)

Intractable issues such as poverty, environmental degradation and economic and social exclusions, as exemplified in the SDGs, are inherently systemic problems that require multi-actor collaborations. This paper presents the learnings …

The COVID-19 pandemic and the growing need to train engineers aligned to the sustainable development goals

  • University of Campinas
  • Universidade Federal de São Carlos
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Universidade Federal Fluminense
  • Hamburg University of Applied Sciences

Considering the requirements of sustainable development regarding professionals training and the challenges evidenced during Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, this study aims to contribute to the debates regarding the need to …

Raising awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals through Ecological Projects in Higher Education

  • Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Kentriki Makedonia)
  • University of Western Macedonia

This research demonstrates a novel method to communicate in Higher Education and raise awareness of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and particularly of Sustainable Development Goals, a vital step …

A Successive Change in the Curriculum for Sustainable Public Administration

  • Åbo Akademi University (Varsinais-Suomi)

Sustainable development is considered to be one of the most important issues for the future, as evidenced by the growing interest in sustainable development in higher education. The draft revision …

Education, anthropocentrism, and interspecies sustainability: confronting institutional anxieties in omnicidal times

  • University of Gothenburg

Deborah Britzman’s remarkable question, ‘What holds education back?’, appears more urgent than ever in a world of accelerating environmental crises, climate change, and what has been described as omnicide – …

The Emotional Experience of Sustainability Courses: Learned Eco-Anxiety, Potential Ontological Adjustment

  • Concordia University (QC)
  • Queen's University
  • York University (ON)

The knowledge content of university-level introductory sustainability courses elicits emotional reactions by students that are novel within the typical classroom context. Common negative reactions include ‘sadness’, ‘worry’, ‘guilt’ and ‘disgust’, …

Student-Centered Learning and Sustainability: Solution or Problem?

While discussions surrounding education for sustainable development (ESD) are diverse, most scholars and policy makers view student-centered learning (SCL) as axiomatic. In contrast, we argue that promoting SCL potentially stymies …

  • Posted April 23, 2021
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Developing Sustainability Competences Through Pedagogical Approaches: Experiences from International Case Studies

  • Gävle University College

This book is aimed at developing sustainability competences through pedagogical approaches by comparing 15 case studies from 12 countries in 4 continents (Africa, America, Australia, and Europe) analysing how Sustainable …

  • Posted April 23, 2021
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The impacts of higher education institutions on sustainable development: A review and conceptualization

  • Gävle University College
  • Vienna University of Economics and Business

This paper aims to conceptualize impacts of higher education institutions (HEIs) on sustainable development (SD), complementing previous literature reviews by broadening the perspective from what HEIs do in pursuit of …

  • Posted April 23, 2021
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How to run a sustainability science research group sustainably?

  • University of Kassel
  • University of Hohenheim
  • University of Turku

Rigorous sustainability science includes addressing pressing real-world problems, weaving multiple knowledge systems, and striving for transformative change. However, these key attributes of sustainability science often conflict with university structures and …

  • Posted April 23, 2021
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Key competencies in sustainability in higher education—toward an agreed‑upon reference framework

  • Furman University (SC)
  • Bellevue College (WA)
  • Northern Arizona University (AZ)
  • University of Hawaii at Manoa (HI)
  • Leuphana University of Lüneburg
  • University of Michigan (MI)
  • University of Vechta
  • University of Auckland
  • Arizona State University (AZ)
  • Chatham University (PA)
  • University of South Dakota (SD)
  • Université Laval (QC)
  • Rovira i Virgili University
  • UNESCO

Hundreds of sustainability programs have emerged at universities and colleges around the world over the past 2 decades. A prime question for employers, students, educators, and program administrators is what …

  • Posted April 23, 2021
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Exhausted: Education and the Response to the Planetary Crisis

  • University College London (London)

The climate crisis is of a severity that fills many with a sense of hopelessness. The modest steps that ordinary citizens can take to reduce energy consumption and waste seem …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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What Ought to Be Done to Promote Education for Sustainability in Teacher Education?

  • James Cook University (Queensland)

Teachers are major players in the development of future citizens who have the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and dispositions to respond to existential threats such as climate change, land degradation, …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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The Risk and Potentiality of Engaging with Sustainability Problems in Education—A Pragmatist Teaching Approach

  • Ghent University

This article engages in the discussion about education's role in relation to sustainability problems, a debate characterised by a tension between two legitimate concerns: a concern about the instrumentalisation of …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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‘Business as Usual’: Critical Management Studies and the Case of Environmental Sustainability Education

  • University of Queensland (QLD)
  • University of South Australia

The inclusion of sustainability and ethics teachings in management education for many seems a positive step forward for creating more environmentally just and ethically sound managers. However, the type of …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Green competencies: insights and recommendations from a systematic literature review

  • Indian Institute of Management (Jharkhand)

This study conceptualises the construct – green competencies. The concept is in the niche stage and needs further elaboration. Hence, to address the research gap, this study follows the steps …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Exploring transformative pedagogies for built environment disciplines: the case of interdisciplinarity in low carbon transition

  • Oxford Brookes University

The integration of transformative pedagogies into curricula is recognized as a strategy to deal with the new demands of complexity in learning, which include equipping future professionals with the necessary …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Circular economy, sustainability and teacher training in a higher education institution

  • University of A Coruña (a Coruña)

Higher education institutions have a valuable dual role in disseminating the circular economy (CE) as a new sustainability paradigm. First, the university teaches students about this subject. Second, it prepares …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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The Cruel Optimism of Transformative Environmental Education

  • The University of British Columbia (BC)

The article is a reflection on the author's experience teaching a Master's seminar in Philosophical Debates in Environmental Education. It frames the attachment to transformative environmental education as a form …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Teaching sustainable development through entrepreneurial experiences

  • University of Gothenburg
  • Chalmers University of Technology

The purpose of this study is to address the challenges of teaching sustainable development to computer engineering students. Part of the problem is that they perceive the topic as irrelevant …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Geographic Education in the Anthropocene: Cultivating Citizens at the Neoliberal University

  • University of Delaware (DE)

In the Anthropocene, the charge to address climate change has been taken up by youth. From the landmark climate lawsuit filed in 2015 by twenty-one young people to secure the …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Rhetoric and Emotion Save Science: Lessons from Student Eco-Activists

  • New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NM)

This essay is a qualitative study of the experience of undergraduate students learning how to teach issues of sustainability to their campus communities through an innovative outreach program at a …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Constructivist approach in teaching sustainability and business ethics: a case study

  • Åbo Akademi University (Varsinais-Suomi)

This paper aims to explore methods of teaching sustainability and business ethics, relevant to the modern demand for student’s skills and knowledge. The study explores the challenges of teaching a …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Bolstering responsible management education through the sustainable development goals: Three perspectives

  • Breda University of Applied Sciences
  • University of Antwerp

Acknowledging the roles and responsibilities of business in society and the importance of realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), contemporary management education is characterized by the integration of a rich …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
  • Publications
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Long-Term Impact of Study Abroad on Sustainability-Related Attitudes and Behaviors

  • University of Florida (FL)
  • University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)

Using study abroad as a vehicle for sustainable education is a growing trend. However, an examination of the impact of study abroad on participants’ sustainability-related attitudes and behaviors years after …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Art Education Beyond Anthropocentricism: The Question of Nonhuman Animals in Contemporary Art and Its Education

  • Aalto University

In this article, I explore human relationships to nonhuman animals through posthumanism, contemporary art, and critical animal studies (CAS), offering perspectives for contemporary art education beyond anthropocentricism. I investigate the …

  • Posted April 22, 2021
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Sustainable Literary Competence: Connecting Literature Education to Education for Sustainability

  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Ecocritical scholarship has always had pedagogical ambitions. It is commonly assumed that education based on ecocritical readings of literature will change the attitudes and actions of pupils and students and …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Student-led sustainability transformations: employing realist evaluation to open the black box of learning in a Challenge Lab curriculum

  • Chalmers University of Technology

While sustainability-oriented education is increasingly placing importance on engaging students in inter- and transdisciplinary learning processes with societal actors and authentic challenges in the centre, little research attends to how …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Educators’ experiences and strategies for responding to ecological distress

  • University of Sydney (NSW)
  • University of Cambridge

Research is increasingly identifying the issues of ecological distress, eco-anxiety and climate grief. These painful experiences arise from heightened ecological knowledge and concern, which are commonly considered to be de …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Students, sustainability and education: Results from a survey of students in higher education around the world

  • Students Organising For Sustainability (SOS-UK)

Between April and October 2020, SOS International invited higher education institutions and student-facing organisations to send out a survey designed to gather insight into student experiences of sustainability and education. …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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The wicked problem of teaching about wicked problems: Design thinking and emerging technologies in sustainability education

  • Montpellier Business School (Montpellier)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)

In this paper, we explore the system-level challenges found in sustainability-focused education and consider how the intersections of design thinking and emerging technologies in augmented and virtual reality (AVR) can …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Students as change agents for campus sustainability in Malaysian universities

  • University of Malaya

The notion of students as change agents have widely been used in the campus sustainability literature, but very little has been done to unpack what it really means in practice. …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Sustainable economic development in higher education institutions: A global analysis within the SDGs framework

  • Universidad de Almería (Almeria)

Universities must focus their efforts on being economically competitive without harming the chances of being sustainable. The study of sustainable economic development (SED) of higher education institutions (HEIs) has experienced …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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How An Arboretum Outreach Activity Changed Students’ Attitudes Towards Sustainable Development

  • Penn State Brandywine (PA)

In Fall 2017, Penn State Brandywine kicked off an initiative titled Sustainovation, emphasizing programming and community collaborations through sustainability and innovation. The campus identified Tyler Arboretum as a community partner …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Geographers declare (a climate emergency)?

  • University of Wollongong (New South Wales)

Over the last two decades ‘climate emergency’ has grown from a little-known term to a mainstream public issue. In Australia, the term gained traction during the 2019-2020 ‘Black Summer’ bushfires. …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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The paradox model: towards a conceptual framework for engaging with sustainability in higher education

  • Canterbury Christ Church University

The growing awareness of climate change, biodiversity loss and the wider global environmental emergency has led to calls for decisive and immediate action from all sections of society. This paper …

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Collection of produce, eggs that was part of the subscription box

UCCS Food Next Door | Farm Subscription Program

  • University of Colorado Colorado Springs (CO)

The Food Next Door Farm Subscription Program strives to help fight hunger, promote food access, boost food literacy, and support regional farmers and ranchers in our community.

  • Posted April 21, 2021
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Field-Based Experiential Education in Geography: Discovering and Rethinking Urban Environmental Challenges and Possibilities

  • Boise State University (ID)
  • York University (ON)

Drawing on our experience teaching a 2-week field-based geography course on urban environmental issues, we reinforce the value of field-based experiential education (EE) especially as it faces growing threats. We …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Perceptions of salient stakeholders on the integration of sustainability education into the accounting curriculum: a Jordanian study

  • University of Waikato

This paper aims to examine the perceptions of salient stakeholders in Jordan concerning the importance of integrating sustainability education (SE) into the accounting curriculum.

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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A New Face of Mining Engineer—International Curricula to Sustainable Development and Green Deal (A Case Study of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology)

  • Wrocław University of Science and Technology

The mining industry in the world has undergone a major metamorphosis in recent years. These changes have forced higher education to modify the curricula in a thorough way to meet …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Teaching about sustainable consumption with sustainable tools

  • Universitat Internacional de Catalunya

This paper focuses on the topic of sustainable consumption in order to support teacher trainers and future primary teachers in planning and integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competencies within …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
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Academic Research on the 2030 Agenda: Challenges of a Transdisciplinary Field of Study

  • Loyola Universida Andalucía

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with the scope to shift the world on to a resilient path focused on promoting …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
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Locating a Course on Environmental Justice in Theories of Environmental Education and Global Citizenship

  • University College London (London)

Environmental education is an increasingly important concern for policymakers and universities, as it is critical to the success of the broader agenda represented by the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Achieving …

  • Posted April 8, 2021
  • Publications
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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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