Design of a curriculum proposal for development of sustainability competencies in higher education

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Monday I)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Integrating environmental sustainability in higher education: comparative perspectives

Proposal

Abstract
This research presents a general competence for sustainability that can be incorporated into higher education curricula, along with five subcompetences, or skills, each of which is associated with a corresponding attribute and descriptor. The process for defining this general competence involved the review and analysis of theories and concepts associated with the competences for and definitions of sustainability previously described in the literature. This curricular proposal will serve as a general framework for the design, intervention and evaluation of instructional strategies aiming to the incorporation of sustainability in higher education. The present work is a part of a larger research project that includes the design, implementation and evaluation of an educational intervention for the development of competences for sustainability in a higher education institution in Mexico.

The present and future challenges posed by the social and environmental crisis of western civilization burst into higher education institutions (HEI), questioning these institutions´ social purpose, and forcing them to rethink their learning goals and pedagogical actions associated to the possible transformation of our current civilization project into an environmentally, sustainable and more socially just society.

In this sense, it is urgent that HEIs reorient higher education in order to bring about more autonomous, reflective, responsible and committed citizens and young professionals, with a solid formation in social and environmental values, and capable of participating actively and contribute to the construction of a more sustainable world.

Education for sustainability involves combining conceptual knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and emotions, all of which contribute to the generation of committed and joint environmental and social actions. This pedagogical challenge involves transcending traditional teaching and learning schemes, based on the transmission of information, and promoting instead an education that articulates cognitive, affective, procedural and axiological concepts and skills. Therefore, it is considered that a competence learning approach towards sustainability in higher education would be an effective resource for developing professionals capable of addressing and finding solutions to the social and environmental crisis.

In recent years, several authors (Barth, 2007, Murga, 2015, Wiek, 2016;) have discussed what would be the key competences that a university student should possess in order to think and act within a sustainability framework and mindset. Although the these outlined proposals differ, agreements can be found among all of these perspectives.

In order to have a conceptual framework for the incorporation of a competence learning approach for sustainability in the curriculum of the Universidad Iberoamericana, a private higher education institution in México, it was first necessary to construct a general definition of the competence for sustainability in accordance with the educational philosophy of this institution and the graduate profile of its students. The definition of this competency was achieved through an extensive review of the literature associated with the competences for sustainability in higher education, the key competences for sustainability as stated by UNESCO (2017), and by taking into account the general academic competences of the Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad of Mexico itself (Universidad Iberoamericana, 2012). The general competence for sustainability was then divided into five subcompetences, or associated skills, namely: systemic thinking, critical thinking, ethical commitment, collaboration and prospective thinking. In parallel, attributes were ascribed to each of these subcompetences, as well as their corresponding descriptors, which were defined to guide the curricular incorporation of this competence as well as the corresponding instructional design.

In that sense, critical thinking was defined as a skill to achieve intellectual autonomy and a stronger commitment to the transformation of reality, leading us to take a stand against the environmental and social crisis of western civilization by providing reason and argument in favor of adopting and achieving a sustainable social and economic development. The ethical commitment component intents to facilitate a free, conscious and responsible relationship between human actions and activities and nature. The skill of collaboration is intended to help articulate collective solutions for the common good. Systemic thinking is defined as fundamental for understanding and representing the complexity and interconnectivity of our current reality, its problems and possible solutions; and finally, prospective thinking helps us envision future scenarios for decision making and action.

The subcompetences, or skills, defined in this work are interrelated and act synergistically, resulting in academic and profesional profile whose fundamental feature is the ability to act in favor of sustainability and social justice, with a sense of solidarity and equity.

These curricular proposal aims to show in this first stage of research possible elements for operationalization, evaluation, instructional design and intervention in higher education programs.

Authors

• Dulce María Ramos, Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México

• cimenna chao rebolledo, Universidad Iberoamericana

• Claudia Celis, Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México

• Casandra Guajardo, Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México