Introducing sustainability into university curricula: an indicator and baseline survey of the views of university teachers at the University of Valencia

• Published in: Environmental education research Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 145 - 166
• Main Authors: Aznar Minguet, Pilar, Martinez-Agut, M. Pilar, Palacios, Belen, Piñero, Albert, Ull, M. Angeles
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01.04.2011; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: College Faculty; Curricula; curriculum; environmental education; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; Intellectual Disciplines; Interdisciplinary Approach; Perceptions; Spain; Surveys; Sustainability; Teacher Attitudes; Teaching Methods; Spain; Valencia Spain; Spain, Valencia
• ISSN: 1350-4622; 1469-5871
• DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2010.502590

Many higher education institutions have assumed the role of diffusing knowledge, values, attitudes and behaviours that favour sustainability. A key objective in such work is training university teachers to apply sustainability criteria to their respective disciplines. While university teachers' active participation is essential to achieving this goal, their ideas about and predispositions towards introducing sustainability into curricula are not always understood or appreciated. In this paper, we report on a questionnaire survey at the University of Valencia, Spain, on the current baseline situation for introducing sustainability across the university's curricula. We also report on a measure to periodically review the situation, including progress of and/or decline in introducing sustainability into diverse subject areas, focusing on a series of indicators grouped under the common name 'π Indicator'. Key findings from the survey include the widespread support for introducing sustainability across the university's curricula; however, as might be expected, significant differences occur in how questions are addressed by staff from various disciplines, including how they relate to departmental perceptions, interpretations and performance of sustainability-related teaching.