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Sustainability in the Modernization of Higher Education: Curricular Transformation and Sustainable Campus—A Literature Review

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  • Carolina Feliciana Machado

    (Department of Management, School of Economics and Management, University of Minho, Campus Gualtar, 4710-054 Braga, Portugal
    Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences (CICS.NOVA.UMinho), University of Minho, 4710-054 Braga, Portugal)

  • J. Paulo Davim

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Campus Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

Abstract

Supported by a literature review, the present article looks to address the issue of sustainability in the modernization of higher education. Education for sustainability and the encouragement of a sustainable lifestyle are increasingly present in the academic and professional training of individuals. Progressively more responsible for the environment in which they operate, individuals, in order to preserve their quality of life and, above all, ensure quality of life for future generations, begin to assume new behaviors, such as the rationalization of energy and water consumption, reducing the use of paper, recycling products, and eliminating the use of plastics, among other behavioral changes. In this context, considering higher education institutions as a vital source for the development of sustainability and, consequently, a key lever in the definition and implementation of strategies conducive to sustainable development, it is through the teaching, training, research, and development carried out by them that these behavioral changes occur. Aware of this issue’s relevance, the present article, consisting of a critical review of the literature, seeks to answer a set of questions, such as “What role do academic managers, teachers and students assume in the search for sustainability?”; “What measures/actions have been developed by the HEIs in terms of curricula reform and the promotion of a sustainable campus?”; “What sustainability metrics are used in higher education?”. Giving particular emphasis to some studies about sustainability in different HEIs, the results of the research allow us to conclude that education for sustainability is seen as a tool of crucial importance in the current decade of the 21st century.

Suggested Citation

  • Carolina Feliciana Machado & J. Paulo Davim, 2023. "Sustainability in the Modernization of Higher Education: Curricular Transformation and Sustainable Campus—A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-28, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8615-:d:1155808
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. United Nations UN, 2015. "The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015," Working Papers id:7097, eSocialSciences.
    2. Peterson K. Ozili, 2022. "Sustainability and Sustainable Development Research around the World," Managing Global Transitions, University of Primorska, Faculty of Management Koper, vol. 20(3 (Fall)), pages 259-293.
    3. Joseph Sarkis & Qingyun Zhu, 2018. "Environmental sustainability and production: taking the road less travelled," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(1-2), pages 743-759, January.
    4. Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, 2022. "The Influence of Higher Education on Student Learning and Agency for Sustainability Transition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-35, March.
    5. Carolina Feliciana Machado & João Paulo Davim, 2022. "Higher Education for Sustainability: A Bibliometric Approach—What, Where and Who Is Doing Research in This Subject?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-15, April.
    6. Rodrigo Lozano & Maria Barreiro-Gen & Francisco J. Lozano & Kaisu Sammalisto, 2019. "Teaching Sustainability in European Higher Education Institutions: Assessing the Connections between Competences and Pedagogical Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-17, March.
    7. United Nations UN, 2015. "The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015," Working Papers id:7222, eSocialSciences.
    8. Arocena, Rodrigo & Sutz, Judith, 2021. "Universities and social innovation for global sustainable development as seen from the south," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    9. Joachim H. Spangenberg, 2004. "Reconciling sustainability and growth: criteria, indicators, policies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(2), pages 74-86.
    10. Luis Alípio Gomes & Tânia Suely Azevedo Brasileiro & Sandra Sofia F. S. Caeiro, 2022. "Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions in the Amazon Region: A Case Study in a Federal Public University in Western Pará, Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-20, March.
    11. Carola Garrecht & Till Bruckermann & Ute Harms, 2018. "Students’ Decision-Making in Education for Sustainability-Related Extracurricular Activities—A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Andra-Teodora Gorski & Elena-Diana Ranf & Dorel Badea & Elisabeta-Emilia Halmaghi & Hortensia Gorski, 2023. "Education for Sustainability—Some Bibliometric Insights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Mariusz Jaworski & Ewa Chojnowska & Leena Viitaharju, 2024. "Striving for Sustainability in Educational Institutions: Assessing the Effectiveness of an Intervention Using the ‘Getting Involved in a Change Process (ECP)’ Tool," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-18, December.
    3. Wenliang Li & Ti Hu, 2023. "Research on the Construction of Index System to Promote the Sustainable Development of Core Literacy of Physical Education Teachers in Chinese Universities from the Perspective of Higher Education Mod," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-23, September.

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