How Do You Teach Undergraduate University Students …
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this second component is echoed by Sterling (2010) who states that an educational
focus on critical thinking, capacity building, and resiliency in the face of future
uncertainty, threat, and surprise creates individuals who can best respond to the
needs of sustainable development efforts.
Other scholars have noted that ESD must contain opportunities for social learning
through the interrogation of values, norms, and beliefs as these are often neglected
in ESD curriculum and yet undergird every aspect of sustainable development (Wals
2007). As such, ESD practices designed in a culturally sensitive framework are often
the most nimble and effective at aligning with local and regional values and norms
(Savelyeva and Douglas 2017). Further still, even if knowledge and attitudes change
due to educational interactions, Arbuthnott (2009) contends that university students
need opportunities that help them find ways to influence social norms and practice
and to act in ways consistent with their beliefs.
As a whole, research on ESD highlights several important tenets of the practice
as noted above (reviewed extensively in Wiek et al. 2011). These include a focus on
the rational examination of relevant information; emphasis on the development of
critical thinking skills; applied experimentation where students are forced to negotiate
inherent tensions between economic, environmental and social dimensions of SD and
align beliefs with practice; space to wrestle with the values and norms that drive and
shape social, economic, and political decisions; and the cultivation of flexible and
adaptive practices to support resiliency.
Such tenets align well with the mission of the liberal arts model of higher education. The term “liberal arts” is used mainly by United States (US) institutions that
offer a smaller student body and class sizes, smaller faculty-to-student ratios, faculty
that focus primarily on teaching undergraduate students, and a wide-ranging curriculum designed for breadth and holistic integration. The aim of a liberal arts education
as stated by Gerald Greenberg is to teach students “to think critically, communicate
clearly, analyze and solve complex problems, appreciate others, understand the physical world and be prepared to learn continuously so they can work with others and
on their own to meet the challenges of the future” (Strauss 2015). Students are often
trained to solve complex, real-world problems both independently and in groups
(Ensign 2017). Graduates with a liberal arts education are well prepared to problem
solve and tackle a plethora of challenges that come with executing the UN SDGs.
Ensign (2017) argues that universities and colleges are responsible for producing
students with both traditional degrees, but also the ability to act as agents of change
throughout the world. These individuals will graduate and enter society as part of
“the energetic society” that is required to ensure that sustainable development goals
become reality (Hajer et al. 2015).
Unfortunately, in recent years, the term “liberal arts” in the U.S. has become
associated with institutions serving a political agenda while the focus on breadth
of education and integration of concepts and disciplines has been questioned by
those advocating a more skill- or discipline-focused education (Strauss 2015). In a
time when the liberal arts needs a champion and creative re-branding, the UN SDGs
provide a unique opportunity. Demonstrating how liberal arts institutions prepare
students to meet the needs of the world, as determined by the United Nations, is
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this second component is echoed by Sterling (2010) who states that an educational
focus on critical thinking, capacity building, and resiliency in the face of future
uncertainty, threat, and surprise creates individuals who can best respond to the
needs of sustainable development efforts.
Other scholars have noted that ESD must contain opportunities for social learning
through the interrogation of values, norms, and beliefs as these are often neglected
in ESD curriculum and yet undergird every aspect of sustainable development (Wals
2007). As such, ESD practices designed in a culturally sensitive framework are often
the most nimble and effective at aligning with local and regional values and norms
(Savelyeva and Douglas 2017). Further still, even if knowledge and attitudes change
due to educational interactions, Arbuthnott (2009) contends that university students
need opportunities that help them find ways to influence social norms and practice
and to act in ways consistent with their beliefs.
As a whole, research on ESD highlights several important tenets of the practice
as noted above (reviewed extensively in Wiek et al. 2011). These include a focus on
the rational examination of relevant information; emphasis on the development of
critical thinking skills; applied experimentation where students are forced to negotiate
inherent tensions between economic, environmental and social dimensions of SD and
align beliefs with practice; space to wrestle with the values and norms that drive and
shape social, economic, and political decisions; and the cultivation of flexible and
adaptive practices to support resiliency.
Such tenets align well with the mission of the liberal arts model of higher education. The term “liberal arts” is used mainly by United States (US) institutions that
offer a smaller student body and class sizes, smaller faculty-to-student ratios, faculty
that focus primarily on teaching undergraduate students, and a wide-ranging curriculum designed for breadth and holistic integration. The aim of a liberal arts education
as stated by Gerald Greenberg is to teach students “to think critically, communicate
clearly, analyze and solve complex problems, appreciate others, understand the physical world and be prepared to learn continuously so they can work with others and
on their own to meet the challenges of the future” (Strauss 2015). Students are often
trained to solve complex, real-world problems both independently and in groups
(Ensign 2017). Graduates with a liberal arts education are well prepared to problem
solve and tackle a plethora of challenges that come with executing the UN SDGs.
Ensign (2017) argues that universities and colleges are responsible for producing
students with both traditional degrees, but also the ability to act as agents of change
throughout the world. These individuals will graduate and enter society as part of
“the energetic society” that is required to ensure that sustainable development goals
become reality (Hajer et al. 2015).
Unfortunately, in recent years, the term “liberal arts” in the U.S. has become
associated with institutions serving a political agenda while the focus on breadth
of education and integration of concepts and disciplines has been questioned by
those advocating a more skill- or discipline-focused education (Strauss 2015). In a
time when the liberal arts needs a champion and creative re-branding, the UN SDGs
provide a unique opportunity. Demonstrating how liberal arts institutions prepare
students to meet the needs of the world, as determined by the United Nations, is