Sustainability in Brandenburg Study Programs. Perspectives for Anchoring Sustainability in Higher Education Curricula

  • The study investigates the extent to which sustainability is anchored in university curricula of a federal state (Brandenburg, Germany). (1) It provides a baseline for identifying opportunities for sustainability-related curriculum reform by analyzing study programs, levels and type of degree, level of anchoring, and context within the documents. (2) The case studies included an analysis and quantitative evaluation of 748 curricular documents. (3) A third of the study programs refer to sustainability; to an equal extent in both bachelor’s and master’s programs, and to an above-average extent in the fields of science and engineering. There is a strong commitment to sustainability in 12% of the curricula; however, it is strongly anchored in only 3% of study and examination regulations, and in only 9% of module descriptions. (4) For the first time, we have comprehensive results on sustainability in university curricula of an entire federal state and can discuss potentials for its further integration. The innovative method was developedThe study investigates the extent to which sustainability is anchored in university curricula of a federal state (Brandenburg, Germany). (1) It provides a baseline for identifying opportunities for sustainability-related curriculum reform by analyzing study programs, levels and type of degree, level of anchoring, and context within the documents. (2) The case studies included an analysis and quantitative evaluation of 748 curricular documents. (3) A third of the study programs refer to sustainability; to an equal extent in both bachelor’s and master’s programs, and to an above-average extent in the fields of science and engineering. There is a strong commitment to sustainability in 12% of the curricula; however, it is strongly anchored in only 3% of study and examination regulations, and in only 9% of module descriptions. (4) For the first time, we have comprehensive results on sustainability in university curricula of an entire federal state and can discuss potentials for its further integration. The innovative method was developed out of the National Monitoring on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and adapted to the federal state level; the analysis of curricula through a wider set of variables is transferrable to other states. (5) The study provides indications for the regional development of universities which is crucial for future regional sustainability transformation.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author:Jennifer Krah, Julian Reimann, Heike Molitor
URN:urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2438
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073958
ISSN:2071-1050
Parent Title (English):Sustainabilty
Publisher:MDPI
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2021
Date of Publication (online):2022/05/27
Date of first Publication:2021/04/02
Publishing Institution:Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde
Release Date:2022/05/27
Tag:curricula; document analysis; education for sustainable development (ESD); education policy; governance; higher education; monitoring and evaluation; regional development; sustainability; sustainability courses; transformation
Volume:13
Issue:7
Article Number:3958
Page Number:32
Institutions / Departments:Fachbereich Landschaftsnutzung und Naturschutz
Dewey Decimal Classification:3 Sozialwissenschaften / 37 Bildung und Erziehung / 378 Hochschulbildung
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
University Bibliography:University Bibliography
Zweitveröffentlichung
Peer-Review / Referiert
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International
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