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Expanding Student Engagement in Sustainability: Using SDG- and CEL-Focused Inventories to Transform Curriculum at the University of Toronto

Author

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  • Rashad Brugmann

    (Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A4, Canada)

  • Nicolas Côté

    (Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada)

  • Nathan Postma

    (Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada)

  • Emily A. Shaw

    (London School of Economics and Political Science, London WC2A 2AE, UK)

  • Danielle Pal

    (Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada)

  • John B. Robinson

    (Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1H8, Canada)

Abstract

The Expanded Student Engagement Project (ESE) has developed three comprehensive inventories which aim to increase student knowledge of sustainability-related course content and increase student engagement in on- and off-campus, curricular, and non-curricular sustainability projects at the University of Toronto (U of T). The first is a sustainability course inventory (SCI) generated using keyword search based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is the first SCI that has been based on the SDGs. The inventory identified 2022 unique sustainability courses and found that SDG 13 had the greatest representation and SDG 6 had the least. The second inventory is a community-engaged learning (CEL) sustainability inventory which found 154 sustainability-focused CEL courses and identified 86 faculty members who teach sustainability CEL. Finally, an inventory of sustainability co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities revealed that U of T has 67 sustainability-focused student groups and identified 263 sustainability-focused opportunities. These inventories are an important foundation for future initiatives to increase student engagement in sustainability on campus and in the community. The ESE will integrate this data into U of T’s course management system and use the inventories to develop a new sustainability pathways program.

Suggested Citation

  • Rashad Brugmann & Nicolas Côté & Nathan Postma & Emily A. Shaw & Danielle Pal & John B. Robinson, 2019. "Expanding Student Engagement in Sustainability: Using SDG- and CEL-Focused Inventories to Transform Curriculum at the University of Toronto," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:530-:d:199286
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    3. Francisco Zamora-Polo & Jesús Sánchez-Martín, 2019. "Teaching for a Better World. Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals in the Construction of a Change-Maker University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-15, August.
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    6. Amila Omazic & Bernd Markus Zunk, 2021. "Semi-Systematic Literature Review on Sustainability and Sustainable Development in Higher Education Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-45, July.
    7. Miguel Leiva-Brondo & Natalia Lajara-Camilleri & Anna Vidal-Meló & Alejandro Atarés & Cristina Lull, 2022. "Spanish University Students’ Awareness and Perception of Sustainable Development Goals and Sustainability Literacy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-26, April.
    8. Ya-Ching Chang & Hsing-Lung Lien, 2020. "Mapping Course Sustainability by Embedding the SDGs Inventory into the University Curriculum: A Case Study from National University of Kaohsiung in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-21, May.
    9. Francisco J. Tapiador & Andrés Navarro & Josu Mezo & Sergio de la Llave & Jesús Muñoz, 2021. "Urban Vegetation Leveraging Actions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.

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