Exploring education for sustainable development (ESD) course content in higher education; a multiple case study including what students say they like

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute to the field of knowledge surrounding Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) curricula with a view to filling a gap in ESD literature by identifying features that may help ESD course designers. The study asks the questions: what is taught in ESD courses in higher education? and what content do students say they like? Working within the constructivist tradition, this study involved two groups of participants: 13 ESD design/delivery participants from six universities based in five countries (Group One) and 737 ESD students (Group Two) from three of those universities. The overarching methodology of comparative analysis was used to address the research questions. Data collection included course learning materials, participant questionnaires, one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and feedback on teaching. Group One data was analysed using comparative/descriptive analysis and reflexive thematic analysis was used for Group Two data. The methods were complementary to de/reconstruct data for comparability of features. NVivo software was employed to acquire results which are presented visually using tables and concept maps. The study identifies common content taught in stand-alone ESD courses and makes recommendations for course modelling based on Group One data contributions and what content Group Two say they like. The recommendations are presented as seven categories of consolidated curricular themes including science and sustainability based, contextually relevant, and futures hope. Consideration is given to student internal/external motivational domains and possible connection to curricular themes. Recommendations are practical and flexible, not prescriptive. The original contribution to knowledge lies in suggestions for ESD course content.

Keywords:

• Education for sustainable development (ESD)
• curriculum
• environmental education

Introduction

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) presents a vision of education seeking to empower people and increase agency to assume responsibility for creating sustainable futures (SF), regardless of their chosen field of study (UNESCO 2005). The aim of this study is to identify and compare what is taught in some ESD courses and to discern what content students like. This may help fill an existing gap in the literature regarding what exactly is taught in ESD courses in higher education (HE). To do this, it draws on examples of ESD courses. Due to ESD’s multidisciplinary nature, the content of specific courses and programs can vary, based on the disciplines involved and the aims of the program. For instance, environmental management, corporate governance, business ethics (Matten and Moon 2008), corporate social responsibility (Wood 1991), and sustainability management orientation (Seidel et al. 2018) stem from business and social sciences, whereas scientific and technical literacy (Tan 2004) originates in the hard sciences, physical sciences, engineering, and related STEMM disciplines. Adding to the complexity, ESD can be delivered as a broad entry, stand-alone course, or as part of another discipline-focused course, in any year of tertiary study and professional development programs. Mokski et al. point out this is true for applied and social science HE cohorts however, they suggest ‘students outside of these disciplines are far less likely to attend such courses due to the distance between their area of study and their current ESD’ (2023, 108).

ESD is typically multi, inter, or transdisciplinary since is it a merging of three strands of education: environment, society, and economics (Darner 2009). This is reflected in the triple bottom line (TBL) approach to development, which is the first of five guiding ESD principles (UNESCO 2005). The principles, listed below, were introduced at the beginning of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) 2005–2014, when many HE ESD courses were implemented and reflect a multidisciplinary approach

1. Integrate TBL—all decision-making processes effectively integrate and address economic, environment, and social concerns equally.

2. Precautionary Principle—if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, a lack of full, scientific certainty should be used as a reason for postponing measures, to prevent environmental degradation.

3. Intergenerational Equity—the present generation ensures the health, diversity, and productivity of the environment are maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations.

4. Biodiversity/Ecological Integrity—the conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity are fundamental considerations in decision-making. (Biological diversity: maintaining the variety of interdependent life forms existent within an ecosystem, including animals, plants, and micro-organisms. Ecological integrity: maintaining an ecosystem so that it can support all life forms that exist within it.)

5. Valuation and Incentives—the provision of improved valuation, pricing, and incentive mechanisms. (Valuation: environmental assets should be appropriately valued to reflect the full social and environmental cost of their use. Pricing: that reflects the true value of resources. Incentives: that encourage efficient resource use.

In 2016 this innovated educational approach (Biasutti et al. 2018) was followed by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals (Appendix A). The goals further emphasise the interconnected and multidisciplinary nature of sustainability issues. The goals ‘call for action by all countries, poor, rich, and middle-income to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognise that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while talking climate change and environmental protection’ (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda-retired/). The principles and the goals along with other ESD doctrines and declarations can be seen as guides to aid HE in incorporating the concept of sustainability into all institutional dimensions (Sylvestre, McNeil, and Wright 2013). Because this study originated before 2016 when the goals were introduced, it focuses primary on the principles. Their relevance seems still apparent as Shava et al. (2023, 1321) state ‘the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development clearly reflects the agency to embed the principles of ESD into the education curriculum’.

It has been argued that understanding broad scientific principles relating to environmental sustainability contributes to people being more likely to understand their place in the ecosystem (Dahl 2019; Dillon and Scott 2002; Orr 1992; Oskamp 2000; Padalino 2001; Svanström, Lozano-García, and Rowe 2008) and therefore, humanity’s interrelationship with nature, which is a key underlying feature of the principles and the goals. Scholars have been pointing out for decades that most citizens do not possess sufficient understanding of scientific principles and paradigms to make sense of contemporary and/or relevant data in an informed way (Baker 2008; Dillon and Scott 2002; Duit and Treagust 2003; Loughland et al. 2003; Orr 1992; Oskamp 2000; Padalino 2001; Schultz 2001). Nicklason (2006) asserts the non-acceptance of science by the public as being at the root of nonaction regarding expanding Environmentally Responsible Behaviour (ERB), which could be seen as an ultimate learning objective of ESD. Hamiti and Wydler (2014) point out developing student capacity to apply basic physical scientific principles to environmental issues or problems is imperative. They state, ‘applied sciences are oriented to concrete social problems (the systemic perspective); they are application-and implementation-oriented (the procedural dimension), and every change, plan or project requires a consensus on the decisions involved’ (Hamiti and Wydler 2014, 3293). While Hamiti and Wydler name science as a foundational component of ESD, exactly what science is taught is missing from their modular ESD course design.

In line with the first ESD principle of TBL approach to development, ESD course design has grown to encompass social and economic understanding alongside scientific. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by naming common course content taught in multidisciplinary ESD courses and connection to what students like. Although this study’s results suggest a multidisciplinary approach to content is mostly used, the results do suggest students like scientific foundational understanding when considering social and economic future development. It seems this understanding helps student to learn to live sustainably. This study’s results can also be applied to Environmental and Sustainability Education (ESE) research and education policy, possibly adding to the continual debate in the literature regarding ESD curricula content (Lingard 2021).

Many scholars agree that universities are uniquely positioned to deliver ESD (Christensen et al. 2009; Karatzoglou 2013; Leininger-Frézal et al. 2023; Sedlacek 2013; Thomas 2004; Weiss and Barth 2019: Wilhelm, Förster, and Zimmermann 2019;). As a result, the popularity ESD courses has grown over the past decades throughout the developed world (Seidel et al. 2018; Stern 2000; Tilbury 2006). As well, focus on action and citizenship within ESD courses has grown involving socio-emotional and behavioural approaches that support learner agency (UNESCO 2023). However, exactly what is taught is missing from current and past ESD literature. This study addresses this gap.

The call for common language is also decreed by scholars in the literature across all ESD course qualities, including learning outcomes (LOs) to enable a solid foundation in this developing field of study. In this space, Rowe (2007) highlights the importance of language and decrees that old, inaccurate paradigms, such as endless resources and man conquers nature be corrected, based on scientific evidence. Further, the call for clarity in LO development has not been answered by documentation, including the 2018 Global University Network for Innovation. In the 92-page report, which claims to offer recommendations for HE ESD initiatives (Vilalta, Betts, and Gómez 2018), however, there are no recommended LOs. The only recommendation found is yet another call for revising LOs and other ESD course qualities.

Furthering the evolution of ESD curricula throughout the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) is the work of Brundiers and Wiek (2011, 108) who were inspired to bridge ‘a gap between good intentions and actual implementation’. As a means to this end, the pair implemented a framework to include real world sustainability research education including basic scientific principles, into the curricula. Also bridging the gap between theory and practice, Albareda-Tiana et al. (2018) reinforce future teachers to do hands on dynamic activities to develop environmental and social commitment. Within teacher education Ferguson et al. (2022, 69) found ‘positive results have been reported on awareness and capacity building from ESD infusion in teachers’ preparation and professional development’.

Similarly, Sipos, Battisti, and Grimm (2008) along with Albareda-Tiana et al. (2018) acknowledge students learn by doing; through using intelligence (learning to know) and their hands (learning to do) as well as their hearts (learning to live together and learning to be). Likewise, Albareda-Tiana et al. (2018) promote a holistic approach, a project-oriented learning approach to sustainability. Jarchow et al. (2018) agree, naming their approach experiential learning. Taking it a step further into the community, they state ‘this situated learning experience provides students with practical experience of how to run a project, ideally within their area of specialization, in a real-world setting’ (Jarchow et al. 2018, 551). Along with other scholars (McNall et al. 2009) Brundiers and Wiek (2011) request more investigation into integration of sustainability in HE, especially curriculum along with common or global LOs (Brundiers and Wiek 2013). As well, Ramos et al. (2015) state a need for guidelines for developers of ESD assessment. This study addresses these quests through the defined boundaries of commonalities and differences in course design, including features of content, assessment, and LOs and what students say they like.

As ESD gains prominence and momentum within HE, its value is widely acknowledged among scholars. Again, however, the specific content of ESD courses remains a subject of inquiry, particularly in comparison to more established science-focused disciplines like chemistry or biology. The multifaceted nature of ESD, encompassing aspects of people, place, and profit, leads to varying course content across institutions, as noted by Tabone (2006). Kioupi and Voulvoulis (2022, 13) suggest ‘improving focus on sustainability attributes, such as health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion and the social dimensions of sustainability can result in wider approaches to teaching and learning that can support the holistic development of students as competent sustainability practitioners’. Crafting effective ESD curricula involves intricate considerations, including the interdisciplinary nature of the field, educators’ competencies, student motivations, and the overarching goals of fostering prosperity while safeguarding the environment. There remain gaps in the literature which leads to questions regarding exactly ‘what’ content is taught in ESD courses in HE (Araneo 2021).

This research aims to address the nuanced aspects of curricular design within multidisciplinary stand-alone ESD courses. By examining both the commonalities among course content defined by educators and the content students say they like, this study contributes to understanding of ESD’s diverse curriculum. Because the relationship between ESD learning and academic achievement does not necessarily translate to increased ERB, the significance of affecting intrinsic and extrinsic motivational domains to foster ERB in ESD, the next section takes a brief look at student motivational domains.

Motivational domains

Literature suggests that for ESD curricula to have a connection to ERB it must have influence on motivational domains (Stern 2000). Booth (2009) acknowledges that motivation is a difficult field of investigation, due to the vast number of variables that need consideration, as well as non-conscious factors, resulting in unreliable empirical data. Stern (2000) names individual choice, consumption, sacrifice, values, attitudes, education, motivation, incentives, and emulation as motivational domains of consideration for ESD in HE. Stern (2000) also suggests that, along with these internal domains, there are external forces operating on individuals and social systems that need consideration, such as prices, technological changes, laws, regulations, the built environment, and socioeconomic status. Kollmuss and Agyeman (2002, 39) point out ‘the question of what shapes pro-environmental behaviour is such a complex one that it cannot be visualized through one single framework or diagram’. They assert increased knowledge of science and awareness of environmental issues alone did not lead to ERB, stating ‘demographic factors, external factors (e.g. institutional, economic, social and cultural) and internal factors (e.g. motivation, pro-environmental knowledge, awareness, values, attitudes, emotion, locus of control, responsibilities and priorities)’ must be considered as well (Kollmuss and Agyeman 2002, 39). Additionally, Zeegers (2004) points out a positive relationship was shown to exist between a deep meaning approach to ESD learning and academic achievement but may not necessarily increase ERB. Several previous studies reflect the same outcome (Jones and Jones 1996; Watkins and Hattie 1985; Zeegers and Martin 2001). With that said scholars agree that affecting motivational domains, be they intrinsic or extrinsic, is key to enabling ERB in ESD. Hence, information regarding what course content affects ESD student motivation is included in this paper. This is because conceivably if students are motivated, they are more likely to learn and possibly act on that understanding in environmentally responsible ways as determined through responses to the research question of what content students say they like.

Methods

This study is constructivist in nature, recognising that multiple realities can exist. According to Crotty (1998), a constructivist epistemology asserts that truth or meaning comes into existence or is constructed as people, including researchers (Charmaz 2008), engage with their realities. This philosophical stance argues that basic notions of reality lie within the individual (Tashakkori, Teddlie, and Teddlie 1998) and therefore can vary from person to person. Many factors, internal and external, combine to create belief systems that guide citizens’ actions and decisions. Because ESD aims to promote transformation towards ERB, a methodology within a constructivist epistemology that explores worldviews and belief systems underpinning behaviour is desirable. Understanding the question of why behaviour occurs is key to knowing how to create effective ESD.

The overarching methodology of comparative, descriptive, and thematic analysis (TA) was employed in this multiple case study. Stenhouse and Rudduck (1985, 50) note that case study is a valued educational tool ‘providing educational actors or decision makers with information that will help them to judge the merit and worth of policies, programs or institutions’. Pinsonneault and Kraemer (1989) point out that case study research provides descriptive data analysis appropriate for curricula inquiry. According to Yin (2006), a case study needs to rely on multiple sources of evidence. Several methods of data gathering from two groups of participants are used in this participatory, iterative approach (Kemmis 2006). Data collection began in 2008 and ended in 2018. Group One, design/delivery participants’ evidence included questionnaires (Appendix B), and collections of course materials; course outlines, lecture slides, reading/video lists, assessment tasks, rubrics, curriculum frameworks, textbook recommendations, tutorial activities, and intended LOs. The collected material was substantiated and corroborated by Group One participants’ questionnaires. Group One’s data was analysed using comparative and descriptive methods. Group Two, student participants also filled out a questionnaire (Appendix C). Some students took part in one-on-one interviews and/or focus groups based on student availability. These were conducted at the author’s university for 6 semesters between 2009 and 2011. Open ended questions were asked regarding ESD curricula and student experience. Student feedback on teaching was also included in the data corpus. Reflexive TA ‘is concerned with exploring the truth or truths of participants’ contextually situated experiences, perspectives, and behaviours’ (Braun and Clarke 2022, 8) was used to analyse Group Two’s data. The Results section of this paper segregates the two sets of findings before amalgamating them for analysis and interpretation in Discussion and Recommendations.

Selection of participants

Thirteen design/delivery participants (Group One) from six universities based in five countries contributed data along with 737 students (Group Two). Selection was based on email invitations (Appendix D) sent to potential Group One participants through internet searches of HE ESD courses in English speaking countries. This email garnered no participants, however, it did produce a recommendation to recruit through Green School Listserv. Green School Listserv (https://listserv.brown.edu/?A0=GRNSCH-L viewed January 3, 2019), which ‘has served campus sustainability professionals in the exchange of ideas and information since 1992’, is an ESD database provided by Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. The server discussion at the time involved over 600 colleges and universities (pers. Email communication, Debra Rowe, September 13, 2016). This recommendation produced 8 participants. The remaining five Group One participants were obtained through personal referral or professional networks. All 13 Group One participants answered the questionnaire, with seven providing course materials requested. Students within Group One’s courses were invited to participate. Students from seven Group One participating courses contributed to the data pool by answering the questionnaire through email. Students from two of the 13 Group One participants also contributed through face-to-face interviews and focus groups. All totaled, 750 people were involved, not counting the researcher. Data collection began in 2008 and ended in 2018.

Methods of analysis

The research drew on various methods to answer the research questions. The first question, what is taught in ESD courses was answered through Group One’s data which was re-formed into a common template using comparative and descriptive methods. Comparative and descriptive analysis (Kemmis 2006; Porta 2008) allowed for the comparison of data to identify similarities and differences between participating courses. It was useful in providing a broad overview of the data and for identifying patterns and relationships between course qualities. Qualities of course summary, meeting mode, and frequency, cohort, recommended reading and video lists, content, assessment, and learning outcomes (LOs) were used in the course reconstructions, Table 1 is an example. NVivo was used to acquire results as content topics. Next, the information was comparatively analysed to conceive groupings of content topics, presented in Table 2.

Table 1. Reconstruction of the qualities of the ESD course titled a Sustainable future.

Course: a sustainable future
Summary: The University Colloquium; A Sustainable Future brings together students from all five colleges in a series of interdisciplinary learning experiences. Experiences are designed to address the ecological perspective outcome in relation to other university outcomes and guiding principles. Critical thinking and communication skills will be enhanced through field trips, discussion, projects, and a journal to be maintained by each student. Students complete 10 h of service learning related to the natural environment. University Colloquium is a College Level Writing Skills Course.
Meets: Once weekly for 1.5-h discussion/lecture/activities and 5 times for field experience.
Cohort: Required course for all majors. It is writing-intensive and helps students meet that university requirement. No pre-requisite.	Number of Students: Approximately 35 sections (classes) of 25 students each = ∼875 each semester
Recommended Reading List: Instructors choose from a broad list of resources including: Robertson, M 2014 Sustainability Principles & Practice. Routledge; Louv, R, 2005 Last Child in the Woods; University Colloquium Reader 2011; Leopold, A 1949 Sand County almanac: With essays on conservation from Round River, “The land ethic” & Grunwald, M 2006 The swamp: The Everglades, Florida, & the politics of paradise “Endgame”
Content—Module A: Experiential Education and Service Learning Progressive (experiential) education vs. Traditional education Nature-deficit disorder Restorative environment Third frontier Benefits of nature Field experiences Module B: Global Issues/ State of the World/Ecological Footprint Sustainability Climate change Carbon footprint Ecological footprint State of food and its availability Field experience Module C: The Southwest Florida Land Ethic/Sense of Place Land ethic Sense of place Wilderness Conservation Conservation 20/20 Exotic Species Native Species Southwest Florida habitats Field experiences Module D: Ecological Literacy/Sustainability Environmental health Environmental justice Environmental ethics
Activities: Online Learning Management System Canvas is used. Attendance and participation are vital. There are 5 required field trips exploring campus, freshwater, marine, agricultural, and urban environments. Students must attend all. Students are required to complete 10 h of service-learning related to the natural environment outside of regularly scheduled class time. Experiential Learning Participation Policy: Participation is more than just being physically present in the room. It means being attentive and involved in mature and appropriate ways. Participation is 30% of grade and represents proper class preparation, participation and involvement both online and during class. Points may be deducted for inappropriate classroom behaviour, such as sleeping and use of phones.
Assessment: Essay 30%, Self-reflection 10%, Blog 10%, Group Project 20%, and Presentation 30%
LOs: 1. Provide a ‘sense of place’ and an understanding of unique ecological features your environment 2. Assist in developing an ecological perspective and a commitment to community awareness and involvement to know issues of economic, social, and ecological sustainability, analyse and evaluate ecological issues locally and globally, participate in projects requiring awareness and/or analysis of ecological and environmental issues. 3. Provide experiences to assist in moving toward achieving the university learning goals of effective communication skills and critical thinking skills as well as the university’s stated mission of ‘practicing and promoting environmental sustainability’ and ‘encouraging civic responsibility’, 4. Enable a practical understanding of sustainability, of environmental education, and of ecological literacy. Students are expected to: 1. Demonstrate an understanding of environmental issues through writing and class participation. 2. Critically analyse environmental issues from economic, social, political, and ecological perspectives. 3. Describe the unique ecological features of the area and analyse Southwest Florida’s unique environmental and ecological challenges. 4. Demonstrate a practical understanding of sustainability, sense of place, and ecological literacy.

Table 2. Comparative review of content topics within the seven participating courses.

Content topic	Course #1*	Course #2	Course #3	Course #4	Course #5	Course #6*	Course #7
Defines sustainability	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Teaches through triple bottom line	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Futures content			x	x			x
Field trips		x	x	x			x
Service-related learning	x		x	x
Research based learning		x
Science of climate change	x	x		x	x		x
Focus on social aspects						x
Focus on decision making					x	x	x
Ethics component	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Economics component					x
Systems thinking/concepts				x	x	x	x
Life cycle analysis					x		x
Focus on politics			x	x	x
Energy/food production	x	x	x		x		x
Geographic specific content	x	x	x	x	x	x	x

*Two courses did not supply all teaching materials; hence the table may be incomplete concerning those two courses.

To answer the second question, what students say they like, the data corpus from Group Two participants was thematically analysed to develop descriptive/interpretive naming and to construct themes that corresponded to those identified in Group One’s data. The researcher is aware that results can be compromised due to researcher bias, hence strategies of consistency, neutrality, applicability were exercised throughout the collection and analysis of both groups of data (Noble and Smith 2015). It did this through identifying recurring themes and patterns in the data and was used to identify specific concepts or ideas (Braun and Clarke 2006) salient to the research question of what ESD content do students liked. Student preference was determined through quantity (repetition of themes) and quality (expressed emotive emphasis within theme topics).

The reflexive TA (Braun and Clarke 2022) process began with transcribing the data corpus from various student data sets including student questionnaires (Appendix C), student feedback on teaching responses, semi-structured-open-ended-one-on-one-interviews and focus group audio tapes. Because this study is also interested in what if any content initiated behaviour change in students, focus group questions included did the course have any impact on your behaviour? If so, please explain in as much detail as you can. Student feedback on teaching responses focused on course content and what students said they liked. These transcribed word documents were done by the researcher/author. Moran (2019) asserts data is best transcribed by the researcher to aid understanding of the transcribed information. Based on the case study methodology (Bassey 1999; Yin 2006), data reduction was the next step. From the data sets, individual data extracts were organised into categories derived through the lens of the research question. Categories of specific curricular themes were identified based on what students said were effective for them. As well, what content motivated behaviour change was also identified for this study.

Data extracts within the categories were then coded. Braun and Clarke (2006) recommend individually coding each data item. Coding reliability involves development of themes as topics, summarised as themes as related to the data collection questions (Braun and Clarke 2022). Braun and Clarke note ‘themes can be developed both inductively, following some data familiarization, and deductively, from prior research or theory’ (2022, 7). Moran (2019) notes themes and sub-themes are formed from codes, not from data collected emphasising codes should identify interesting features, be descriptive (of the data), and interpretive (derived through the researcher) instead of vague. Descriptive and interpreted notation is a time-consuming process reliant on researcher expertise. Once the data extracts were deconstructed from the raw (not coded and not themed) data sets and reconstructed into categories, the process continued. Describing codes were established within each category symbolising important and/or interesting student responses, or aspects of responses within each area. This process was not linear; instead, it moved between the macro, (data corpus) and the micro (individual data extracts) as meanings were identified for presentation and analysis. In TA it is understood that there is no one conclusion; instead it ‘seeks to theorise the sociocultural contexts, and structural conditions’ (Braun and Clarke 2006, 85). Braun and Clarke (2006) point out that several positions can be supported with good reason using TA. Acknowledging that controversy requires more than one position, Browne and Keeley (2007) emphasise that issues requiring the closest scrutiny are those reasonable people disagree on, hence, they recommend a critical questioning strategy be employed by the researcher in analysis of data collected. Moran (2019) notes that coded data can—and often does—apply to more than one theme, and that qualitative research does not seek to find one right answer. Instead, several—or many—outcomes are acceptable.

Comparative and thematic analysis used together helped to ensure reliability and validity through providing a systematic and transparent approach to analysing the data and have helped to mitigate against personal biases and subjective opinions. They are compatible methods of analysing qualitative data, as both are descriptive and allow the researcher to not make assumptions or impose preconceptions on the data, instead allowing the researcher to report on what is observed or stated by participants (Vaismoradi, Turunen, and Bondas 2013). The combination of these two methods provided understanding of the groups’ data connections and helped to validate and triangulate the findings. The use of comparative/descriptive analysis aided the identification of themes while TA provided a more detailed and nuanced understanding of specific themes. Overall, the compatibility of these two methods lied in their ability to complement each other and provided a holistic approach to analysing the qualitative data.

Results

This section is divided into two parts. The first part responds to the first research question of what is taught in ESD courses in HE and is answered by Group One. These results are divided into three sections; contents, assessment, and LOs. While Group Two’s results reply to the second research question, what students say they like. These results have one main section; content and assessment.

What is taught

To answer the first question Group One’s data contributions have been deconstructed and reconstructed into tables for homogeneity. This is done to enable data content comparative analysis between Group One’s contributions. One reconstruction is presented here in Table 1. As well selected responses from Group One are presented in this section as quotes. These provide additional qualitative evidence related to course content. Assessment and LO comparisons, similarities, and differences are also presented in this section.

Dialogue regarding commonalities and differences in curricula, assessment, and LOs with the seven participating courses follows. The courses are referred to numerically:

1. Climate Change Education Uppsala University, Sweden.

2. Sustainable Planet, Monash University, Malaysia.

3. A Sustainable Future, Gulf Coast University, Florida, USA. (Full reconstruction shown in Table 1).

4. Sustainability and Society, University of South Dakota, USA.

5. Engineering and Sustainable Development, University of Waterloo, Canada.

6. Foundations of Sustainability, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia.

7. Environment, Technology and Sustainability, University of the Sunshine Coast.

Content

Table 2 presents a comparative review of 16 content topics within the seven participating courses. All seven courses define sustainability and indicate the perspective that humans have a role in enabling sustainability. For example, Course 4’s syllabus states:

Sustainability is an emerging field that seeks to address many of society’s complex and interdisciplinary issues. Many people have different definitions of sustainability… Sustainability is often described as moving towards systems that are environmentally beneficial, socially just, and economically profitable both now and into the future. Unlike many other academic disciplines, sustainability is normative, which means that we are saying how we value things and are making claims about how they should be. We will not all have the same opinion on how things should be.

Course 3 takes the role of responsibility to task, with students required to complete 10 h of service learning related to the natural environment. Course 4 also focuses on doing, with the summary stating:

We will work in teams to apply content to specific—often local—issues. We will do sustainability. Therefore, we will be examining, evaluating, and doing.

From the information provided, it is unclear exactly what students will do. Course 2’s summary also promotes action in students, stating:

Students will undertake a group research project related to supporting sustainability of our planet.

Along with this, #2 involves a field trip—as do #4 and 7—while #3 offers students five field trips. Courses 1, 5, and 6 do not include field trips.

All courses except #3 and 6 include science and climate (change, research, and/or policy). One design/delivery participant acknowledges the value of including science in ESD, naming scientific method and systems approach as foundational:

Science offers a powerful way to learn about the world that can help us discover how the world works and how we can work to develop better systems to meet everyone’s needs.

Instead of focusing on science, #6 takes a more social position, while #3’s approach is multidisciplinary and, as mentioned, action related. The action of decision making is highlighted in Courses 5, 6, and 7. Systems thinking/concepts are highlighted in the content of four courses, while life-cycle analysis appears in two.

All highlight a values and/or ethical component, however, named differently. The various names used include civics, civic responsibility, social justice, social drivers, cultural factors, and hedonic pricing. The notion of hedonic pricing is used in #5, which differs the most from the other courses. Here the content includes mathematical modelling of air and water quality. Also different from the others, is #5’s inclusion of economic concepts and applicability to sustainability for both developed and developing countries. Course #5 is the only ESD course in this study offered to engineering students. The others are offered to a multidisciplinary cohort.

All courses include the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach to teaching sustainability in some capacity. From the information provided, it is not clear if the remaining four ESD principles are employed or not. With that said the gist is inferred that some courses do cover some of the principles. This is deduced through investigation of the listings of content in the courses. For instance, #1, taught in Sweden, teaches environmental didactic theory which employs cognitive and affective approaches—in essence, applying theory to action—which parallels the ESD principles. Course 2, taught in Malaysia, takes an interdisciplinary approach, looking at sustainability across several perspectives within sectors and areas of concern that include the environment, the economy, engineering, public health, and social justice. The third ESD Principle, Intergenerational Equity, is also inferred in the content component named Our Planet’s Resources, and the geographically relevant documentary The Disappearing Hills. Courses 6 and 7, both taught in Australia, cover all five ESD principles.

Politics or governments’ role in sustainable development is mentioned in #3, 4, and 5, with local to global scenarios mentioned in all. Additionally, content for each course contains local geographically specific content and activities. The content and activities vary based on locations. For instance, #3 (taught in Florida’s Gulf Coast) has a content related LO that states:

Students should be able to describe the unique ecological features of the area and analyse…environmental and ecological challenges.

Whereas in #2, taught in Malaysia, students partake in a two-day field trip planting trees at Raja Musa Forest Rehabilitation Site. Futures content is indicated in three courses; #3, 4, and 7. No two courses require the same textbook or even duplicate recommended readings. A compiled recommended reading/video/website list of participating courses ranges from classic seminal volumes, such as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, to children’s books, such as Dr Seuss’, The Lorax. The full listings are presented in Appendix E.

Assessment

Table 3 displays the type of assessment, focus, and other pertinent information made available by participants. The most common form of assessment is the written assignment, predominantly essays, ranging from 250 to 500 words for a project proposal, through to 1500–2000 words for a final project summary report, or research paper. Other written assessment items include reflective journals (individual or group), workbooks, literature reviews, concept maps, info graphics, and portfolios. Presentations, group, or individual are used in five of the seven courses. Attendance and/or participation is linked to grades in three courses with one deducting points for nonattendance, and two awarding marks for participation. Noting the importance of attendance and participation within ESD courses, a Group One participant states:

Table 3. Comparative review of assessments within the seven participating courses.

Course	Assessment type	Word count	Assessment focus	% Of overall mark	Linked to learning activities	Other information
#1	Written report Examination continuously throughout course		Individual basis Active participation in seminars and lectures			5 credits 2.5 credits each
#2	Essay Journal Group presentation Online quiz	1000 500	SD in SE Asia, student choice Describe activities 14 min/5 min Q&A Lecture/tute info	30% 20% 35% 15%	2 SD activities Group project	Any format
#3	Essay 1 Essay 2 Essay final Group presentation	500 250 500	Sense of place Reflective Reflective	50% 50%	Service learning Service learning	Based on song Creative
#4	ATES project Group presentation Team evaluations Collaboration Extra credit		Concept map Written summary	100pts 30 pts 30 pts 20 pts 5 pts	Topic linked Monarch Sustainability	Attended event
#5	Class participation Homework Quiz Final exam			5 pts 20 pts 25 pts 50 pts	−3 options: class presentation, letter to editor or a project.
#6	Brochure Workbook A Workbook B Report	2000		20% 20% 20% 20%
#7	Weekly forum News review Essay Ppt presentation Final exam	150 250 500	Related topics Local/global SD PR Researched Student choice	10% 10% 20% 20% 40%	Online News topic	Discussion

Specific attendance policies are up to the individual instructor, but most of us require in-class attendance and make attendance a portion of a participation grade. This is a discussion-based experiential course, so attendance is critical to student learning.

An example of a self-reflective way to incorporate pop culture into ESD assessment comes from Course 3’s creative and personal Sustainability Song Essay and Presentation:

There are many songs written about sustainability and the challenges of creating civil and sustainable families, communities, nations, and planet earth. Examples include Waiting for the World to Change, Earth Song, Big Yellow Taxi, Heal the World, Ready to Fall, Don’t Go Near the Water, and Imagine.

Students are asked to select two songs and write a 250-word essay explaining why they chose these songs. They also have the opportunity to sing it, play it on a musical instrument, or through YouTube, to the group.

Notably, this study’s participating courses do not seem to utilise group assessment, excepting #2. Whether group work is employed in a formative manner within participating courses is not discernible.

LOs

In all courses, there is a strong emphasis on student competency in communication of sustainability. Being able to explain, define, describe, discuss, and communicate sustainability, principles, issues, and concepts also reign supreme in all courses. The ability to critically reflect, analyse, and evaluate are also common LO qualities. Most courses have a significant science content, however, only two, #1 and 7 mention understanding scientific approach or scientific method in their LOs. Further, the word understanding only appears in four courses’ LOs.

Four courses place LOs within students’ personal locus of control to act:

#2, demonstrate knowledge and development of ideas about practical steps which can be taken to reverse or ameliorate unsustainable impacts and demonstrate that they can act to support the sustainability of the planet.

#3, participate in projects requiring awareness and/or analysis of ecological and environmental issues.

#4, evaluate how your lifestyle, race, and background affect social and environmental sustainability. Identify opportunities for how you can effect change.

#6, develop personal and social change strategies.

Evaluate is named in five courses’ LOs, however, in differing capacities:

#2, evaluate research into human impacts and sustainability.

#3, evaluate ecological issues locally and globally.

#4, evaluate how your lifestyle, race, and background effect social and environmental sustainability and evaluate topics using a systems-thinking approach.

#5, evaluate strategies to mitigate threats including: the prevention through economic incentives and government interventions; passive or natural treatments; engineered solutions.

#6, evaluate sustainability issues in a range of different contexts and across a range of scales.

Courses 5 and 6 seem to be preparing students for leadership in the field based on LOs. As stated above, an LO of #5’s is to evaluate strategies to mitigate threats and also states to be able to communicate technical information for various audiences. While #6’s final LO (out of 15) states acknowledge the values inherent in decision-making at individual, social, and institutional levels. These LOs indicate the courses’ intent to produce decision making leaders for the community and quite possibly beyond. One course, #3, mentions alignment with strategic university wide goals of practicing and promoting environmental sustainability and encouraging civic responsibility.

What students say they like

Student participants, Group Two, inform the response to the research question of what students say they like. Selected quotes from this group are also included to once again provide qualitative evidence.

Content and assessment

As outlined in the Methods section of this paper, from the large ESD student data pool regarding student curricular preference, researcher-derived, interpretive themes were established based on descriptive codes. Themes are presented in Figure 1’s concept map as words in boxes.

Figure 1. Concept map of 18 student identified curricular themes that they like. Themes were created from 111 raw data extracts collected over a 10-year period from 2008 to 2018.

The eighteen curricular themes presented in Figure 1, are:

Table

Assessment-focused	Practical-issues
Organica/permaculture	Understanding-science
Related-to-self	Outside-locus-of-control
Understanding-media	Futures-content
Practical-technical	Interactive-science-based
Shocking-content	International-content
University-knowledge	Appreciation-of-research
ESD-principles	Academic-focus
Historical-content	Field-trip

Connecting and/or dividing lines are used to indicate relationships between themes and/or groups of themes, based on what students said they liked. The theme of assessment-focused (lower-left-quadrant, Figure 1) tops students’ preference of curriculum. Types of assessment surround the theme. Connecting lines overlap and intertwine between and around the remaining themes with additional information indicating relationships and associations. For instance, it is noteworthy to students that assessments involving current events (news articles) are desirable because they connect their ESD learning to real world happenings. Hence, within Figure 1 newspaper is connected to assessment-focused and to the practical-issues theme. Further, students indicate they prefer course content and assessment topics that pertain to real life events vs. content solely about theory. Students report focusing on practical-issues reinforces feelings of having personal control over their environments and their futures. For one student choosing a local environmental issue as an assessment-focus, made a difference for them:

My project involved research on the Murray Darling Basin [in Queensland, Australia] and while this did not involve any behavioural change it did impress upon me the how vital the science is in getting better outcomes.

Another path to empowering students seems to be curriculum related-to-self. Students expressed the ability to share their beliefs, concerns, and feelings led to validation. One student revealed:

The course solidified and expanded my existing beliefs, and the course reinforced my feelings.

Another student emphatically declared:

Best thing! [the course] identifies things already floating around in my mind—things I couldn’t recognise or understand. It’s great to find out I wasn’t just being neurotic.

The theme of organical/permaculture also enforced a sense of personal control. Further connection to the theme of practical-issues is understanding-science, a theme that encompasses basic principles, such as systems concepts, scientific method, and life-cycle analysis. Students report that this theme greatly enhanced their feelings of empowerment as related-to-self. The role of science was also named as vital in connection to examinations. Students indicate that questions related to scientific understanding and knowledge as more desirable in exams, vs. open ended questions regarding sustainability principles which require contextual understanding. Further, students deemed sustainability principles as more difficult to explain than scientific principles.

While most students emphasised the importance of gaining personal power, some preferred an outside-locus-of-control in curricula content. These students expressed wanting a guest speaker or lecturer to tell them what to do about sustainability issues, rather than having to think it through for themselves. However, the theme related-to-self resonated loudly within the cohort responses across all data sets (student surveys, feedback on teaching responses, semi-structured-open-ended-one-on-one-interviews, focus group audio tapes). Students also noted themes, such as understanding-media, futures-content, practical-technical, and interactive-science based as important to them because, again, they valued the idea that their opinions mattered. They found content within these themes interesting, which gave them understanding. This led to empowering feelings of knowing there was scientific evidence regarding why they felt the way they did about topics. Which in turn gave them reason of why their opinions matter.

Students report understanding gained from science-based activities, such as carbon footprint mapping and life-cycle analysis, also contributed to their sense of empowerment. These curricular activities have their roots, or grounding, in the so-called hard sciences of math, chemistry, environmental science, and management, and are applied to social sustainability issues, such as eating a meat-based diet. Students also named demonstrations of science in action as curricula highlights, for instance, the use of liquid nitrogen in a lecture as an example of how temperature inversion occurs. Further, student results indicate scientific content important with two themes identified; interactive-science-based and understanding-science, including an explanation of scientific method and biomimicry:

I am more hopeful with science on side, and this was a great introductory course to university, opening eyes to the importance of sustainable science and technology…and…It was a powerful message in the course, and I think this was important for my learning as now I understand this importance and will take it with me through my time at university and into the workforce.

Interestingly, one student connects their understanding of science with hope while the other student acknowledges science and technology’s role in sustainability. Another student from a focus group also names biomimicry as along with the ESD principles as curriculum highlights. They explain:

A particular subject, biomimicry, stands out as a positive and science-based focus on creatively imagining alternatives to human processes that are sustainable. As well, for me, the ESD principles are being used to inform the basis of research for assignments in my field of full-time study, community and global development. Also, for assessing the effectiveness of solutions regarding social problems in the field of social work, whereby the same principles apply for seeking sustainable systems, rather than reproducing capitalist-based models and theory.

When asked if there is a particular aspect of the science content that could be brought forward to make more of an impact on students, one student response stands out:

It needs to be able to grab attention. Real life stories, personal experience really helped. You could see this with some of the people in the room and how their opinions changed over the course.

The themes shocking-content and historical-content were memorable for students who learned about environmental disasters, both natural and humanmade, and their effects on corresponding systems. This was connected strongly to the theme of futures-content along with hopeful, and again, to development of personal locus of control through understanding-science. Video brought the themes of international-content and understanding-science together for students, while field-trip led to behaviour change for some. Curricula that included themes of practical-technical (operating university learning platforms) and university-knowledge (where to find recycling bins) also led to increased confidence.

Student results ends where it started, with students appreciating assessment-focused curricula that highlighted a progression from simple to more complex which also activated academic-focused. For instance, starting with understanding a sustainability-related newspaper article in the beginning of the semester, to being able to identify parts of a peer review journal article at the end of semester, were deemed as helpful. This also activated the themes appreciation-of-research and understanding-media. In particular students noted that being able to recognise bias; how media can manipulate information to present a particular viewpoint was helpful. Preference towards assessments that are linked to one another were also preferred. For instance, the linkage of assessment items, beginning with a newspaper search, which led to an essay, and ended with a student chosen topic for presentation was appreciated.

The presentation we did let us focus on one subject and look into it more deeply and expand our awareness. The essays also increased awareness by giving a glimpse of the many different things regarding sustainability.

Another student appreciated skill building in assessment:

Great to see the required skills in assessment tasks and how we use these base blocks to build to our bigger assessment pieces…. excellent.

As well, futures-content assessments were looked upon favourably by the cohort, as one student elaborates:

Assessments were productive to future study, the realization that science is a very relevant study option gave me enthusiasm and love for the subject, as well as infallible subject knowledge.

A quick return of assessment and feedback was also appreciated, as one student explains:

The turnaround time for assessment marking was the best. This allowed me the opportunity to make any changes necessary to upcoming assignments.

Student comments also indicate they felt empowered through the critical thinking process required in assessment that focussed on their choice of topics. One student explains:

The main assessment item which really made me think harder about my personal impact was the assessment piece where we had to research a particular environmental problem and present it, with a PowerPoint, to our peers in small groups.

Finally, students felt connected to course content and to each other through online forums as part of the curriculum, especially when the forums were assessment-focused.

Discussion

This section discusses responses to the research questions—what is taught in ESD courses in HE and what do students say they like. It identifies how the findings speak to the literature while acknowledging original contributions to knowledge in the field.

For ease of discussion, Table 4 has been created based on the responses of both groups. It presents a merging of the 16 content topics identified by Group One participants (Table 2) regarding what is taught and the 18 curricular themes identified by Group Two participants (Figure 1) regarding what students like. This amalgamation process produced seven researcher interpreted (Braun and Clarke 2022) categories of consolidated curricular themes. With a view towards what Brundiers et al. (2021, 14) identify as ‘creating a shared frame of reference and quality standards enables credibility and professional trust in sustainability programs’. They are intended as flexible catalysts that can bend, morph, and reshape according to the time, place, and context of the ESD learning. For instance different cultural and international contexts. As well, Table 4 links curricular themes’ potential connection to scholarly identified student motivational domains as discussed in the Introduction. Awareness of curricula themes’ association with motivational domains may be useful when fleshing out ESD content, assessment, and connection to LOs (Zeegers 2004). The associations were established via the aforementioned reflexive TA process (Braun and Clarke 2022). Appendix F presents a wider look at the outcome of this process along with information regarding domain designations as related to individual course content. Note: there is not always a strong delineation, between the domains listed in Appendix F, internal or external, they imbricate.

Table 4. Seven categories of consolidated curricular themes are derived from the 16 content topics as indicated by Group One participants (Table 2) and the 18 curricular themes based on what students say they like (Figure 1), curricular categories’ connection to student motivational domains is also indicated.

16 Content topics within participating courses	18 Curricular themes preferred by students	7 Categories of consolidated curricular themes	Motivational domains indicated in literature
Energy/food production/climate change/systems/life cycle analysis	Scientific and interactive	1 Science based	Internal: knowledge
Defines sustainability/TBL	ESD principles	2 Sustainability based	Internal: knowledge, awareness
Focus on politics/economics/geographically specific	International/shocking/historical	3 Contextually relevant	Internal: knowledge, awareness, emotion
Focus on social/field trips/service related	Practical issues/media/organics and permaculture/field trip	4 Local/community focused	Internal: locus of control
Focus on ethics/food production	Practical technical/university related/related to self/outer locus of control	5 Practical empowering critically focused	Internal and external locus of control
Research based learning	Academic focus/assessment focus/application of research	6 Appreciation of capacity of HE	Internal: self-regulation
Focus on decision making/futures	Futures content	7 Futures hope	Internal: emotion, temporal discrepancy

Based on what students say they like it is recommended that courses start with Science-based and Sustainability-based content (Themes 1 and 2) beginning with defining sustainability and our role in it. It is suggested to contain scientific principles including systems concepts (or thinking/approach). A systems approach (Arnold and Wade 2015) to defining sustainability, such as sustainability exists ‘when the outputs of one system are not toxic as inputs into another system’ may simplify the concept for the multidisciplinary ESD cohort (Araneo 2021, 168). It is noted that all participating courses within this study offer some coverage of ESD principles, thus acknowledging the importance of including the principals as fundamental course content. Rowe (2007, 324) states ‘for real progress, the implementation [of ESD] has to be broad, across all HE institutions, and thorough’. This study corroborates Rowe’s suggestion, finding the ESD principles and/or the SDGs plus a definition and/or explanation of sustainability as foundational to the ESD course.

While defining sustainability and incorporating the ESD principles and the SDGs into the curricula is vital, the literature also states developing student capacity to apply basic scientific principles to issues, problems or sustainability speed bumps is just as important (Hamiti and Wydler 2014). While Hamiti and Wydler name science as a foundational component of ESD, they do not identify exactly what science. This study suggests filling that gap with practical suggestions of basic scientific paradigms to include in ESD course design. Student results indicate they find scientific content important with two themes identified; interactive-science-based, such as carbon footprinting, life-cycle analysis, and concept mapping; and understanding-science, which includes an explanation of scientific method (Ciambrone 1997), systems approach, and biomimicry. Considering the method is how new knowledge is confirmed in the sciences, clearly, its inclusion as fundamental content in ESD courses is critical. Seidel et al. (2018, 345) highlight the need to apply scientific approaches ‘with practical knowledge and the values of people’ or as this investigation indicates; relating it to real life stories. Fitting into this study’s sustainability theme is the key competencies work of Brundiers et al. (2021) who provide an enhanced framework to facilitate global program and curriculum development, integrating contemporary insights derived from various fields of study which places further emphasis on the importance of ESD topic knowledge. Their work and the findings of this study may help to fill a gap identified by Shava et al. (2023, 1323) as ‘lack of capacity to implement ESD and lack of coordinated institutional activities to address sustainability issues’ as well as ‘lack of awareness about ESD across disciplines, lack of adequate value for the essence of ESD’ among other noteworthy barriers to ESD implementation in HE.

Connecting scientific knowledge with geographically significant and/or global events is inherent in the next curricular theme (Theme 3) of Contextually relevant. As well the student identified themes of shocking content and historical content are absorbed within this category. Students find historical environmental disasters, especially human-caused, extremely uncomfortable to learn about. However, this shocking-content can cause cognitive dissonance which can lead to higher dimensions of reflective thinking (Tabone 2006). This powerful content utilises a TBL approach, which combines scientific information (statistics regarding the output of toxic contaminants, what they are, and what they do as inputs into other systems, human, animal, or earth), social information (where, what, and to whom it happened) and economic information (clean-up costs, closure of business in the area, cost to avoid it, loss of jobs, creation of new jobs).

There is a decree in the literature for more focus on community-university ESD partnerships (Brundiers and Wiek 2011). Courses 3 and 4 do this by applying newly acquired ESD knowledge to the extended community through the courses’ assessment items. These local and possibly global issues present challenges for ESD courses that beg for solutions in a co-creative way. As well, results of student responses highlight local issues as beneficial in gaining understanding of urgency and connection to sustainability challenges, thus supporting this approach. Brundiers and Wiek’s suggestion, along with Albareda-Tiana et al. (2018) and Sipos, Battisti, and Grimm (2008) call for learning through doing is satisfied with the Local/community-focused (Theme 4) within Table 4’s matrix. Relevant to this theme, student identified field trip, Leininger-Frézal et al. (2023) suggest virtual field trips as a way to introduce local/community focused learning into the ESD classroom. This is a viable option when actual field trips are not possible. They continue naming virtual field trips ‘a lever to develop blended learning courses in ESD’. As well, Ferguson et al.’s (2022, 77) recommend curricula that incorporates ‘deliberately planned community-based activities that contribute to lifelong learning’. Interestingly, global content was found to be a least used concept in the Leininger-Frézal et al. (2023) research.

Another pathway to empowering students seems to be curriculum that allows students the ability to share their beliefs, concerns, and feelings. Students expressed that their feelings were validated when ESD content aligned with their beliefs and concerns about unsustainable issues happening around them. They also expressed feeling empowered to discuss this information just because they learned it at university, putting what Kollmuss and Agyeman (2002) assert as applying theory to practice through activating motivational forces within the cohort. Based on student responses that include discussion of their feelings and beliefs, this study suggests that producing ERB in the cohort is preceded by reaching them on an emotional level. Falling into the Practical-empowering-critically-focused (Theme 5) this building block of ESD content is reinforced in the literature by Svanström, Lozano-García, and Rowe (2008) who encourage that deep understanding of ethical values be included qualities within ESD LOs. Likewise, Kioupi and Voulvoulis (2022, 12) state the ‘learning environment should become dynamic and allow learners to express their own views, explain their thinking and in return, offer them opportunities to challenge those views and ways of thinking or reinforce them’.

Based on student comments it seems they recognise and appreciate Bloom’s taxonomy of learning as they appreciate constructive alignment of curricula, assessment, and LOs (Biggs and Tang 2007). Student comments also indicate they felt empowered through the critical thinking process required in assessment that focused on their choice of topics. This self-regulated motivational domain is acknowledged in the literature (Booth 2009; Darner 2009; Stern 2000;) as part of an array of potential driving factors when discussing successful ESD content. The curricular theme of Appreciation-of-capacity-of-HE (Theme 6) focuses on the individual student’s understanding of the nature of research in the HE context and empowering them towards the final block in the curricular matrix—Futures-hope.

When using the curricular themes in designing an ESD course it should be noted that content needs to build upon itself towards effective assessment and achievement of LOs, and that content needs to provide direction towards desired futures. This perspective is reflected in student results regarding curricula, where futures-content and assessment-focused are identified by students as being noteworthy. These factors are culminated in the final theme, Futures-hope (Theme 7). An example of how this looks in the curricula would be introducing shocking-content after science-based-content, thus enabling students to develop an understanding of an issue along with pre-existing knowledge, thus hopefully enabling the capacity to do it better in the future. Leininger-Frézal et al. (2023) note that futures thinking is not completely absent from the ESD content courses in their study, however they found it mostly exists in teacher education. While Ferguson et al. (2022, 77) suggest curricula should ‘be responsive to national and global imperatives, and the emerging job sectors in the country’, certainly a desired future for the cohort. The futures component related to shocking-content is reinforced by questions that follow, such as how could this have been avoided? and how can we stop it from happening in the future? Or What type of future do you want? This questioning proved to be an empowering factor for this study’s cohort who expressed the desire for hopeful ESD curriculum. Accessing students’ imaginal realm through questions regarding futures opens their minds to the awareness that they have influence. This optimal goal is validated by UNESCO (2023). Scholars, such as Kryder (1994) argues that direct connection with nature is a sacred process that produces a sacred outcome. Kryder refers to this process as awakening the imaginal or subconscious, and that the absence or loss of this connection is a de-sacralisation with the natural world which is at the root of our present environmental crisis. Burkhart (2016) expands on the disconnect stating, ‘disconnect is not merely from the natural world…the inner world is often neglected as well’ (73) and calls for more research on the connection of ESD and emotions to induce ‘soulful action in the world’ (72). Kumar (2017) maintains ‘a world where we respect the dignity of all living beings and the sacredness of the natural world…is an achievable dream.’ (132). The futures hope curricula theme encompasses this decree.

Although this study’s focus has been on the stand alone ESD course there is agreeance with Mokski et al.’s (2023) suggestion that regardless of their academic discipline, all students must be exposed to sustainability content whether that be as an addition to non-ESD course content or as a stand ESD alone course. It is noteworthy that throughout this discussion of ESD course content, language in the literature has become stronger through time seemingly reflective of a sense of urgency with regards to ERB.

LOs

The LOs identified in this study and within the literature give some response but no solid list to Brundiers and Wiek (2013) call for more concrete or universal LOs so learners may carry similar language and outcomes into the wider world. Indeed, this echoes the plea from Rowe (2007) for ESD courses to use common language. The number of LOs varies across the courses in this study, from three per course to fifteen. They span from simply phrased: Communicate technical information for various audiences, to more complex: To provide experiences to assist in moving toward achieving the university learning goals of effective communication skills and critical thinking skills as well as the university’s stated mission of ‘practicing and promoting environmental sustainability’ and ‘encouraging civic responsibility’. These LOs resonate with Leininger-Frézal et al. (2023) who outline global challenges for HE ESD curriculum, specifically regarding blended learning. They recommend ‘the main learning objective is to ‘raise students’ awareness as well as help them understand the future and encourage them to take action’ (2023, 14).

As well, the LOs vary greatly in expectation of student understanding, for example, from personal in the before mentioned LO: Identify an area of sustainability that you are passionate about, to global: Understand the impact and implications of scientific issues in the world today, affecting individuals, communities, and the environment. There are LOs that are doubtlessly communicated, meaning there can be no mistaking what exactly is expected of students and how it will be measured: Create concept maps to evaluate topics using a systems-thinking approach. While others are more vaguely suggested: Explain how climate teaching and learning can be conducted with a focus on different subject matter in relation to learning theories and ESD. Interestingly only two courses—#1 and #7—name science in their LOs. Based on these results, it can be recommended that design/delivery staff ensure content promotes development of profound personal qualities in the cohort while being grounded in practicality. This involves inclusion of ethical and moral LOs, as well the more cognisant systems thinking, anticipatory, normative, and strategic competencies. Included amongst these are communication, research, critical and pluralistic thinking skills, all with a view towards ERB. Kioupi and Voulvoulis (2022) maintain LOs should reflect stakeholder diversity and values rather than rigid competency lists, with these lists being subject to discussion and alignment with program-specific sustainability goals set by the higher education community.

Recommendations and conclusions

The Seven Categories of Consolidated Curricular Themes (Table 4) are suggested for use as a matrix to build independently unique and geographically relevant content. As well, it is recommended that ESD courses strive towards utilising a common language along with common course content across the global HE network. If the authority is to remain within the realm of the United Nations, perhaps their documents could be written more specifically. This study clearly indicates the voice of ESD—the language, content, and delivery—strive to be infectiously passionate, empowering, hopeful, inspiring, inclusive, validating, truthful, informative, emotionally engaging, interesting, relational, cocreated and transforming reflecting the urgency of the field.

A recommendation for future research is in the connection, or not, between emotion and pro-environmental behaviour in teaching and learning ESD. Based on this study, students seem to respond to a profoundly spirited approach, highlighting the assumption that emotion has the word motion in it for a reason. Reaching the cohort on an emotional level appears to induce a sense of duty and empowerment to act. One student participant illustrates this awareness with conviction as they write about ending employment at a stationary franchise as a result of completing an ESD course:

I was very glad to quit that job as it was very hard to sell waste to people.

Limitations of the study

This research encompasses a broad spectrum and presents opportunities for the implementation of ESD course content in higher education. It offers examples of different facets of ESD course content in higher education from a limited number of countries around the world. Just as there were different contexts, including cultural and international differences in the data collection for this study, the reader may also have cultural and international differences. This should be taken into consideration when applying recommendations. Because the focus of this paper was on ESD content, a review of ESD pedagogy was beyond the scope of this study.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgement is given to Jenny Austin MA, BSc, for her aid in compiling information for Tables 2 and 3. The information in this paper draws on my unpublished doctoral thesis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Appendix A

Sustainable development goals

Appendix B

Questionnaire for course development and delivery personnel

Thank you for participating in this research project. Please note: the more detail you can provide in your responses the better for this qualitative research project. Attachments in the form of word documents or pdf files (for example of course outlines, rubrics, etc.) as well as images, jpegs, etc. are encouraged.

1. Please list the full name of your ESD course, year level, prerequisites required (if any) and format (for instance: a weekly 1-h lecture with a weekly 2 h tutorial delivered person to person over a 13 week semester).

2. Is this a compulsory course for all majors? If only for specific majors, please list which ones. Is it available as an elective for all students?

3. How many times a year is the course offered? Please provide total enrolment numbers for the past 4 semesters if possible.

4. Is lecture and/or tutorial attendance compulsory for this course? If so, please explain in detail. Is this the same protocol for all courses at your university?

5. Is lecture and/or tutorial attendance connected to assessment in any way?

6. Please provide the qualities of your ESD course including as many of the following as possible: learning outcomes, course outline, assessment outlines or parameters and their rubrics, curriculum, tutorial activities and any other pedagogic content you feel comfortable sharing (lecture slides, lists of videos, etc.).

7. How long has the course been running and how long have you been involved?

8. Please indicate your role (for instance course coordinator, facilitator, lecturer, marker, tutor, guest lecturer) within the course. Did you have any involvement in its creation and/or evolvement?

9. What are your qualifications?

10. Are guest lecturers used? If so, please provide additional information, such as topics covered, whether delivered in lecture or tutorial, at what point in the semester the delivery occurs and qualifications of the lecturer.

11. Is Blackboard or other online or blended learning tool used to help facilitate the course? If so which one and how is it used? Are lectures available online?

12. Is there a required or recommended text or created book of readings? If so, please provide title, publisher, author details, etc. Sending a sample or example is also encouraged.

13. In your opinion is your course effective? What constitutes effectiveness in the course for you? Is your metric of effectiveness reflected in the course learning outcomes? How do you measure this effectiveness?

14. In your opinion what challenges (if any?) affect the development, delivery and/or effectiveness of the course?

15. Do you enjoy your involvement with this course? Please provide feedback.

16. What changes do you foresee, or would you like to see in future course design and/or delivery? Please feel free to provide any additional information.

17. Did this course challenge any beliefs you held prior to delivering the course? For instance, any pre-held beliefs regarding climate change, food choices, global equity issues, etc.

18. In your view what are the main issues facing humanity’s acceptance of and action that incorporates environmentally responsible behaviour?

19. Can you think of any deeply held perspectives that may explain issues (if any) identified in question 13 above?

20. Is there any student feedback (positive or negative) you would like to share? If so, please indicate how the feedback was provided to you (unsolicited email or formal student evaluation tool, etc.). Please ensure that anything you provide cannot be traced to original author.

21. Can you please recommend any students, past or present to also take part in this study? They must be over 18 years of age. Their involvement will involve answering an emailed questionnaire and possibly partaking in a follow up interview via email, telephone, skype, or in person. Initial contact with students will be through you, with their consenting email forwarded to me.

22. Would you like to be identified in in the culminating thesis, and/or any resulting papers and/or presentations of this research?

23. Would you like to receive the culminating thesis, and/or any resulting papers and/or presentations of this research? If so, please provide an email address, postal address, or preferred form of correspondence.

24. Would you like to be involved in in a follow up interview via email, telephone, skype, and/or in person? These interviews will be one on one and performed by the principal researcher.

Appendix C

Student participant/consent form and questionnaire

Below please find a voluntary questionnaire which is part of a research project being conducted at the author’s university. Through completing this questionnaire, you are giving your consent for your information to be used anonymously in the project. A choice not to participate will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which the participant might otherwise be entitled. The participant may discontinue participation at any time without penalty or the need to provide an explanation. Thank you. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

1. What year and semester did you take COR111?

2. What overall program are you/were you enrolled in?

3. Did the course have any impact on your behaviour? If so, please explain in as much detail as you can. Also please indicate if any impact has been imparted through you to other members of your family or social groups, specifically behavioural changes, such as using less resources, recycling, purchasing items with less packaging and energy usage, etc.

4. If indeed there was an impact, what was it about the course that impressed you towards behavioural change? For instance, was there a particular assessment item, tutorial activity, lecture, such as…etc. Please be as specific as possible.

5. Are you currently employed? If so, does anything learned in COR111 resonate in the workplace? For instance, is recycling common practice? Is your employer familiar with the ESD principles? Are they being implemented? Have you had any impact on these actions? Again, please be as specific as possible.

6. Do you have any other relevant information you would like to share?

Once again, thank you for your time and cooperation

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to optimise student learning outcomes of the course entitled Environment, Technology and Sustainability.

Confidentiality of information or personal records identifying the participant, or others about whom information might be sought from the participant, will be maintained. Any information provided during the research will be used only for the purposes of this research project. There will not be any incentive or reward for participating in this research.

If you have any complaints about the way this research project is being conducted you can either raise them with the Principal Researcher or, if you prefer an independent person, contact the Secretary, Human Research Ethics Committee, at the author’s university.

Appendix D

Initial contact email

Dear ____,

I teach an ESD course to a multidisciplinary cohort in Australia. I am interested in including you, your course and possibly a number of your students in my research on developing an exemplary Education for Sustainable Development course:

Title: Developing an Exemplary Education for Sustainable Development Course: A Multiple Case Study of Multidisciplinary ESD Courses in Tertiary Education

Summary of proposed research:

This research intends to identify commonalities of multidisciplinary, tertiary Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) courses at selected universities across the English speaking, developed world in order to ultimately develop an exemplary ESD course. Although there is much written about ESD courses throughout multiple disciplines, little information is available regarding exemplary pedagogies and course content.

The first research question addresses what qualities are common to the ESD courses. This includes pedagogic approach and curriculum content.

The second identifies leadership skills, attributes and knowledge necessary to develop an exemplary ESD course.

Lastly, what challenges, if any, affect the development, delivery and ultimately the effectiveness of ESD courses.

Qualitative multiple-case study method will be employed to examine and describe the ESD courses at optimally 5–8 universities throughout the developed world in order to answer the above research questions. The universities will be selected based on a reputational strategy and willingness to participate.

Data to be collected through questionnaires and possibly interviews of course development and delivery personnel and students, past and present. Observations, and archival documents collected will also be used. The findings will be analysed and categorised into the themes of qualities: pedagogic approach and curriculum content; leadership skills, attributes and knowledge; and challenges.

It is intended the data collection will provide enough information to draw conclusions to successfully answer the research questions. The findings of the research will provide a model for establishing an exemplary ESD course.

Ethics Approval Number: S/16/876

Your involvement will include answering an emailed questionnaire (1 h) and possibly partaking in a follow up interview via email, telephone, skype, or in person (1 h). Data collection will also include course materials, such as course outlines, curriculum guides, assessment criteria, etc.

Your students, past or present are also invited to participate. Their involvement will also involve answering an emailed questionnaire and possibly partaking in a follow up interview via email, telephone, skype, or in person. Initial contact with students will be through you, with their consenting email forwarded to me.

I hope you have time to please get back to me expressing interest in participation. At that time, you will receive more detailed information.

Appendix E.

Reading, video, website, and guest speaker listings of participating courses

Table

Books/Journal articles

Arrow, K Bolin, B, Costanza, R, Dasgupta, P, Folke, C, Holling, CS, Jansson, BO, Levin, S, Mäler, KG, Perrings, C & Pimentel, D 1995 Economic growth, carrying capacity & the environment. Ecological Economics, 15, 91–95  Clarke, N 2008 From ethical consumerism to political consumption. Geography compass, 2(6), pp. 1870–1884  Davis, ML & Cornwell, DA, 2008 Introduction to environmental engineering. McGraw-Hill.  DiAngelo, R. 2018 White fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.  Dietz, R & O’Neill, D 2012 Enough is enough – building a sustainable economy in a world of finite resources  Grunwald, M 2006 The swamp: The Everglades, Florida, & the politics of paradise Endgame.  Juniper, T 2013 What has Nature ever done for us?  Leopold, A 1949 Sand County almanac: With essays on conservation from Round River, The land ethic.  Louv, R 2005 Last Child in the Woods.  Robertson, M 2014 Sustainability Principles & Practice. Routledge.  Rubin, ES & Davidson, CI, 2001 Introduction to Engineering and the Environment (Vol. 61). New York: McGraw-Hill.  Seuss, Dr 1971 The Lorax.  Taylor, G 2008 Evolution’s Edge: The coming collapse & transformation of our world, New Society Publishers, Canada.  Thiele, LP 2013 Sustainability.  University Colloquium Reader 2011.  Vincent, JR 1997 Resource depletion & economic sustainability in Malaysia, Environment & Development Economics, 2(1), 19–37  Washington, H., 2015. Demystifying sustainability: Towards real solutions. Routledge.  Visioning Vermillion (booklet) What is sustainability

Videos

America’s Native Prisoners of War (TED Talk)  Another Dead Black Male (animation)  Dammed Indians (video)  Envisioning a Sustainable World (video)  Homeland (documentary)  The Age of Sustainable Development (video)

Websites

Latest news in conservation science see Mongabay: news.mongabay.com  TED talks about sustainability (any should be relevant): www.ted.com/talks/sustainability  UN SD Goals (website)  Volunteer opportunities in and around KL: http://www.mesym.com/en/

Guest Speakers

Dr Arnim Wiek (visioning) Growth vs. development/sustainable development  Dr Darius Semmens (ecosystem services) Earth Science, Feminism and Environmental Justice  Dr Paul Stoy (land-use change) Justice for Native Americans Women and Water  Mr Lamont Sellers (inclusive excellence and privilege)  Ms Morgan Cames (privilege)  Mr Gene Thin Elk (Northern Illawarra Chamber of Commerce Planning)  Dr Justin Moss (environmental justice)

Appendix F

Internal and external motivational domains as compiled from the literature and connections to study results

Table

Internal motivational domains and connection to course qualities
Domain name	Description of domain	Students’ comments as connected to domains and course qualities (where applicable)
Locus of control (LoC)	Perception of ability to bring about societal change through personal behaviour	Result of specific content: I make an effort to reduce my carbon footprint (content: carbon footprint calculator). Result of the course: My own research about the textile industry changed my way of thinking about clothes. I live by example. When working, I take ALL of the rubbish to the right bins (not just put them in wrong bins when the other is full). I live a very different life to when I started uni. I do not eat sugar, salt or saturated fat—for health, wasteful and environmental reasons. I eat meat but only a couple of times a year—environmental waste reasons. I bought a bike and started to ride it to university. I take more care to recycle items properly and I have also joined up with ‘savin’ Bundles’ to save electricity, cut my energy bill down by $50 a quarter! Inspired me to establish an environmental committee. I served on the student liaison committee and academic board and demanded recycling bins be brought back on campus.
Knowledge	Of environ-mental issues and causes and action strategies	Result of specific content: I feel the course communicates not just science but the greater picture of how it is interpreted. Effective introduction into sustainability and engineering for a huge number of schools of study. General understanding of sustainability principles and a broadened mind with regards to environment. It furthered my knowledge about global warming and alternative power sources. I enjoyed learning about new technologies. The effectiveness of ecological principles and the value of research prior to any human development or impact on natural systems. The course made me think about science through not an ‘all knowing’ lens but through the process of understanding and using knowledge to improve and understand. I liked hearing about ideas and concepts that were previously unknown to me for instance underwater power generation with waves. Result of assessment: The sharing of knowledge with the class in the ppt assessment helped create opportunities to rethink issues and come up with new and creative ideas. Result of pedagogy: I really enjoyed the group discussions in our tutorials and knowing how others think. Result of the course: I hope this course is presented to all up and coming schoolteachers, as it helps teach critical thinking and questioning skills as well as giving a huge chunk of background knowledge to those who will be in charge of the next few decades of young thinkers. I now have a much better understanding of the problems in the environmental world, but also have knowledge on how to begin bettering our world.
Awareness	Can bridge environmental knowledge with the next domain, emotion. Limitations include; the perceived non-immediacy of many ecological problems, slow and gradual ecological destruction, and understanding complex systems	Result of assessment: The ppt presentation we did let us focus on one subject and look into it more deeply and expand our awareness. The assessments got increasingly ‘deep’ leading to expanded awareness. For our oral presentation we should present our material to the primary schools. This would not only be good for us but also create awareness within the primary schools about these really important issues. I am more aware of what is happening on Earth. I know the sustainable criteria and how nations, companies and corporations are dealing or not through the ppt presentations. Result of pedagogy: I remember really enjoying class discussions and the weekly question/ discussion forum, new ideas and deeper understanding always seemed to emerge from the mixing pot of discussion with people from different backgrounds. Result of the course: I am more aware of my environmental impact. I became more aware of how little actions of mine had an impact. I have become more aware of the issues of the environment and awareness as avenue to actions. I am now more aware of my impacts on the environment and make informed decisions to reduce it. Environmental awareness has definitely increased since taking this course. This is a very eye-opening course which makes you more aware in general of the environment around you and how it operates. I think that this is a really good core subject to talk about things and to start bringing into people’s awareness more, that we do have the ability to be conscious so it’s really good if we can apply that to the environment in which we live.
Emotion	Underlying foundation for beliefs, values, attitudes and ultimately ERB.	Result of specific content: I feel good about recycling and helping. Result of assessment: I enjoyed presentations, we could do them on anything, mine was on water and it was fun to delve into diverse ideas connected with water conservation and utilisation as a main building block for life. Result of pedagogy: I felt emotional hearing personal stories of environmental degradation. Result of the course: I really enjoyed this course I think there was a nice balance between workload interaction and passion from lectures and teachers. I really enjoyed the course and learnt a great deal of useful information. It gave me a great taste of university and inspired me to take more sus courses. Course reinforced my feelings. I feel I got more than I expected out of it.

Table

External motivational domains and connection to course qualities
Domain name	Description	Students’ comments as connected to domains and course qualities (where applicable)
Locus of control (LoC)	Feelings that actions are insignificant and make no difference. Powerful others enable change	Result of specific content: We got taught about ESD principles, but how common are they? Am I going to be looked at like an alien if I talk about that in a town meeting? Result of the course: People get really passionate if you say that anything is wrong and if you say that anything is wrong then sometimes, they just hold on stronger to try to be right, too.
Social marketing	Aimed at sustainability. Examples include anti-smoking and AIDS awareness campaigns	Result of the course: I am conscious of my decisions as a consumer, asking what are the environmental repercussions of everything I do. I had a very different philosophy before taking this course. I am more mindful about media reporting of climate events and consider source credibility. Also, I try to be more mindful about where food comes from. I have become more analytical towards how sustainability is portrayed and demonstrated in the media and the world.
Direct experience	Direct experience has a deeper impact than indirect (course as direct experience).	Result of the course: The course challenged me to question, explore and discover solutions. It has taught me to be analytical and to be thoughtful of my choices. It has taught me that I can be an influence not just for good, but for humanity. It has taught me that there are going to be challenges ahead, and it has given me some basic skills to meet these challenges. This course has also given me the will and motivation for success.