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Exploring Sustainability Assessment Practices in Higher Education: A Comprehensive Review through Content and Bibliometric Analyses

Author

Listed:
  • Najihath Basheer

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates)

  • Vian Ahmed

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates)

  • Zied Bahroun

    (Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 26666, United Arab Emirates)

  • Chiraz Anane

    (Department of Foreign Languages, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 27272, United Arab Emirates)

Abstract

The drastically increasing significance of sustainability development has motivated higher education institutions (HEIs) to make efforts to achieve sustainability development goals (SDGs). This has led to the inevitable need to track and assess these efforts. This review is centered on the meticulous collection and analysis of pertinent papers within the context of HEIs, subsequently organizing and consolidating them into distinct sustainability domains by utilizing the PRISMA methodology. A collection of 83 pre-existing articles and publications retrieved from the Scopus database is employed for an in-depth exploration of the current research. This study employs both bibliometric and content analyses to explore distribution and citation dynamics and identifies six primary thematic concentrations within the field. The key findings highlight a significant increase in the importance of sustainability, emphasizing the critical need for HEIs to integrate SDGs across all departments. Additionally, the development of cross-institutional evaluation tools tailored to various sustainability aspects is underscored. These tools elucidate key competencies and broaden the application of educational sustainability in both research and curriculum development. The study also identifies a need for future research to explore how effectively these assessment methodologies drive tangible sustainability outcomes within HEIs. It suggests that developing more nuanced and adaptable evaluation tools could better meet the diverse needs of institutions globally. Additionally, the findings support HEIs’ and stakeholders’ decision making by identifying potential challenges in the implementation and assessment of sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Najihath Basheer & Vian Ahmed & Zied Bahroun & Chiraz Anane, 2024. "Exploring Sustainability Assessment Practices in Higher Education: A Comprehensive Review through Content and Bibliometric Analyses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-32, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:13:p:5799-:d:1430858
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. María Delfina Luna-Krauletz & Luis Gibran Juárez-Hernández & Ricardo Clark-Tapia & Shafía Teresa Súcar-Súccar & Cecilia Alfonso-Corrado, 2021. "Environmental Education for Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions: Design of an Instrument for Its Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-11, June.
    2. Yawei Du & Monique H. Arkesteijn & Alexandra C. den Heijer & Kun Song, 2020. "Sustainable Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions: Guidelines for Developing a Tool for China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-30, August.
    3. Mohammad A. Alsharif & Michael D. Peters & Timothy J. Dixon, 2020. "Designing and Implementing Effective Campus Sustainability in Saudi Arabian Universities: An Assessment of Drivers and Barriers in a Rational Choice Theoretical Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-23, June.
    4. Giulio Mario Cappelletti & Luca Grilli & Carlo Russo & Domenico Santoro, 2023. "Benchmarking Sustainable Mobility in Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-12, March.
    5. Elena De la Poza & Paloma Merello & Antonio Barberá & Alberto Celani, 2021. "Universities’ Reporting on SDGs: Using THE Impact Rankings to Model and Measure Their Contribution to Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-28, February.
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