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Greening the Ivory Tower: A Review of Educational Research on Sustainability in Post-Secondary Education

Author

Listed:
  • Philip Vaughter

    (College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, 28 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X1, Canada)

  • Tarah Wright

    (School of Environmental Science, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, P.O. Box 15000, Halifax, NS B3H 3Z1, Canada)

  • Marcia McKenzie

    (College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, 28 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0X1, Canada)

  • Lauri Lidstone

    (School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, 6100 University Avenue, Suite 5010, P.O. Box 15000, Halifax, NS B3H 3Z1, Canada)

Abstract

There is a deficit of multi-site studies examining the integration of sustainability in the policies and practices of post-secondary institutions. This paper reviews what comparative empirical research has been undertaken on sustainability in post-secondary education (PSE) within eight leading international journals publishing on sustainability and education. Three predominant themes of research on the topic are identified within the review: research comparing sustainability curricula across institutions (both within specific disciplines of study and across disciplines); research comparing campus operations policies and practice across multiple institutions; and research on how to best measure or audit approaches and outputs in sustainability in PSE. This review of the research literature supports the contention within the literature on sustainability in PSE that most research on the topic is focused on case studies rather than comparison of multiple institutions. The comparative research that is emerging from the field is concentrated on assessing measurable outputs for environmental externalities within institutional operations, with little examination of sustainability uptake and outcomes across broader institutional policies and practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip Vaughter & Tarah Wright & Marcia McKenzie & Lauri Lidstone, 2013. "Greening the Ivory Tower: A Review of Educational Research on Sustainability in Post-Secondary Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(5), pages 1-20, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:5:p:2252-2271:d:25838
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Masaru Yarime & Yuko Tanaka, 2012. "The Issues and Methodologies in Sustainability Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 6(1), pages 63-77, March.
    2. Oecd, 2007. "On the Edge: Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education," OECD Education Working Papers 7, OECD Publishing.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sally R Lampkin, 2015. "The challenges of introducing sustainable development in the curriculum at a UK university," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 30(3), pages 352-360, May.
    3. Florian Findler & Norma Schönherr & Rodrigo Lozano & Barbara Stacherl, 2018. "Assessing the Impacts of Higher Education Institutions on Sustainable Development—An Analysis of Tools and Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Nicolae Al. Pop & Steluta Todea & Cristina-Veronica Partenie & Cristina Ott, 2020. "Stakeholders’ Perception Regarding Sustainable Universities," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(54), pages 330-330, April.
    5. Qi Zhang & Yubing Fan & Mingyang Zhang, 2018. "An Empirical Analysis of Students’ Involvement and Exit Behaviors in College Organizations: The Case of Nanjing Agricultural University in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Bandar Alkhayyal & Wafa Labib & Talal Alsulaiman & Abdelhakim Abdelhadi, 2019. "Analyzing Sustainability Awareness among Higher Education Faculty Members: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-13, December.
    7. Lauri Lidstone & Tarah Wright & Kate Sherren, 2015. "Canadian STARS-Rated Campus Sustainability Plans: Priorities, Plan Creation and Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-22, January.
    8. Jane Lu Hsu & Maja Pivec, 2021. "Integration of Sustainability Awareness in Entrepreneurship Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, April.
    9. Shirley Vincent & Stephen Mulkey, 2015. "Transforming US higher education to support sustainability science for a resilient future: the influence of institutional administrative organization," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 341-363, April.
    10. Elizabeth Davey, 2017. "Recapturing the learning opportunities of university sustainability indicators," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 7(4), pages 540-549, December.
    11. Kim Ceulemans & Rodrigo Lozano & María Del Mar Alonso-Almeida, 2015. "Sustainability Reporting in Higher Education: Interconnecting the Reporting Process and Organisational Change Management for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-23, July.
    12. Andrew Bieler & Marcia McKenzie, 2017. "Strategic Planning for Sustainability in Canadian Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-22, January.

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