344
O. Ahel and K. Lingenau
by UNESCO), which reiterates that education is not only an end in itself but also a
means to achieving the broad global sustainable development agenda.
Education, research, innovation and leadership will be essential in assisting society
to address sustainable development challenges. Because of their unique position
within society and their educational mandate, universities have a critical role to play
in the achievement of the SDGs. As mentioned by the Sustainable Development
Solutions Network (SDSN), universities can contribute to achievement of the SDGs
in several ways:
– Teaching and learning: provide students with competencies required for sustainable development through ESD; develop and offer accessible education to all; provide expertise to implement SDG solutions; empower and mobilize young people;
educate teachers and lecturers in SDGs and how to teach sustainable developments
successfully
– Research: providing knowledge, technologies, innovations etc. to support the
implementation of the SDGs by the community; transdisciplinary approaches to
science; collaborating with developing countries and companies to implement
SDG solutions; student training for sustainable development research
– Organizational governance, culture and operations: implementing the principles
of the SDGs through own structures and operational decisions
– External leadership: strengthening public engagement and participation; helping
with the design of SDG policies (SDSN 2017).
Even though the adoption of the SDGs is a recent development, several studies
examining the integration and implementation of the SDGs in higher education or
the steps to achieve Goal 4 Quality Education have already been published.
Despite all these developments, not only ESD but also the SDGs have not yet
been fully integrated into the higher education system. The Sustainable Development
Goals Report 2017, launched by the UN, reports on targets and steps which have
been taken towards achievement of these goals. In general, the reports concludes
that “… the rate of progress in many areas is far slower than needed to meet the
targets by 2030” (UNSD 2017, Introduction, p. 4). In the field of education and
specifically higher education, the UN reports on a lack of teachers trained in ESD at
every education level (UNSD 2017) and therefore in igher education as well.
A study by Giesenbauer et al. (2017) about the integration of the SDGs at all educational levels in Germany, concludes similarly: Universities are still focusing mainly
on receiving external research grants, to generate publications etc. The important
role of appropriate and innovate teaching methods and content related to sustainable development is often not fully embraced. On a more positive note, this study
indicates that a community of interdisciplinary sustainability researchers has indeed
been established in higher education. Although several ways through which ESD
finds its way into curricula can therefore be identified, integration in terms of concrete subjects are not that common (Giesenbauer et al. 2017).
O. Ahel and K. Lingenau
by UNESCO), which reiterates that education is not only an end in itself but also a
means to achieving the broad global sustainable development agenda.
Education, research, innovation and leadership will be essential in assisting society
to address sustainable development challenges. Because of their unique position
within society and their educational mandate, universities have a critical role to play
in the achievement of the SDGs. As mentioned by the Sustainable Development
Solutions Network (SDSN), universities can contribute to achievement of the SDGs
in several ways:
– Teaching and learning: provide students with competencies required for sustainable development through ESD; develop and offer accessible education to all; provide expertise to implement SDG solutions; empower and mobilize young people;
educate teachers and lecturers in SDGs and how to teach sustainable developments
successfully
– Research: providing knowledge, technologies, innovations etc. to support the
implementation of the SDGs by the community; transdisciplinary approaches to
science; collaborating with developing countries and companies to implement
SDG solutions; student training for sustainable development research
– Organizational governance, culture and operations: implementing the principles
of the SDGs through own structures and operational decisions
– External leadership: strengthening public engagement and participation; helping
with the design of SDG policies (SDSN 2017).
Even though the adoption of the SDGs is a recent development, several studies
examining the integration and implementation of the SDGs in higher education or
the steps to achieve Goal 4 Quality Education have already been published.
Despite all these developments, not only ESD but also the SDGs have not yet
been fully integrated into the higher education system. The Sustainable Development
Goals Report 2017, launched by the UN, reports on targets and steps which have
been taken towards achievement of these goals. In general, the reports concludes
that “… the rate of progress in many areas is far slower than needed to meet the
targets by 2030” (UNSD 2017, Introduction, p. 4). In the field of education and
specifically higher education, the UN reports on a lack of teachers trained in ESD at
every education level (UNSD 2017) and therefore in igher education as well.
A study by Giesenbauer et al. (2017) about the integration of the SDGs at all educational levels in Germany, concludes similarly: Universities are still focusing mainly
on receiving external research grants, to generate publications etc. The important
role of appropriate and innovate teaching methods and content related to sustainable development is often not fully embraced. On a more positive note, this study
indicates that a community of interdisciplinary sustainability researchers has indeed
been established in higher education. Although several ways through which ESD
finds its way into curricula can therefore be identified, integration in terms of concrete subjects are not that common (Giesenbauer et al. 2017).