Green Swedes - a National Initiative to Promote the Greening of the Curriculum in Swedish HE

Abstract

This article describes the work of the MINT project, set up in order to promote the greening of the Swedish HE curriculum and discussion of environmental issues in universities. The paper describes some of the project’s activities and also presents evaluation evidence of its success. The paper clearly demonstrates the need for governmental financial support and a core team to direct and deliver such an ambitious programme of ‘greening’ activities.

Introduction

Moving society towards sustainable development is one of the major challenges for the future. The Swedish government became aware of this at an early stage and took a strong initiative towards greening the curriculum. In February 1991 it presented an Environmental Protection Bill which emphasised the importance of education and gave directives about the integration of environmental issues in undergraduate programmes (Regeringens prop, 1990). The funds, equivalent to about £560K, for a period of two years, were to be used primarily to promote this integration, but also to resource staff development initiatives in this area, and also to support other development efforts primarily in technology, in administrative and economic professions and also in teacher training.

In March 1992, the formal instruction to form what is now called the MINT-programme was given by the Government to the Council for the Renewal of Higher Education (called the Council). A special Committee to carry out this assignment, the MINT group, was created. It consists of teachers and students with knowledge and experience from many different areas who share an interest in developing education for sustainable development in higher education. The group has a part time (0.25) executive member and receives administrative support from the Council secretariat. The original focus of the MINT programme in promoting environmental issues recently changed to focus on the concept of sustainable development.

Greening projects and support

The activities initiated and supported by the MINT group have varied through the years.

The most important task has been to encourage Swedish universities and their faculties in the greening effort. Since 1992 some 35 projects, at 20 institutions of higher education, have received project grants. A special Library Project supported all of these greening projects with literature. It also initiated the building of the MINT-group’s website, which presents various resources for teachers in higher education and makes available the results of the different projects and activities funded by the group (http://www.hgur.se/envir/index.html).

Several good examples of greening have been developed since inception of the project, and in the year 2000 a Handbook with them was published (Högskoleverket, 2000). The focus now is on publishing examples of the scientific base of sustainable development in specific disciplines at a higher academic level. The texts will all include one section on how the publications may be used in the teaching/learning interface with the students. The first book on economics is expected to be ready early in 2003 and to be available on the above website.

Other MINT Activities

Since 1999 the MINT group has organised a yearly ‘Greenspiration’ conference for higher education faculty students and staff. The themes have varied through the years but, in addition to lectures given by teachers, industrial representatives have presented their views on the expectations placed on the students as they enter working life. An important aim has also been to provide those present with opportunities for informal exchange of experiences and ideas.

In the year 2000, a group of 25 Swedish teachers, administrators, and students made a trip to the Netherlands to study the initiatives and experiences of teaching sustainability there. Apart from further contacts, this trip resulted in new common initiatives between the countries. In addition to the close contacts with the Netherlands and earlier with some in the UK, the MINT group has participated in the European auDes programme (The association of University Environmental Sciences Departments in Europe). The regular meetings which the MINT-group has with its Dutch counterparts (twice since 2000) for updates and in order to develop co-operation further, have been rewarding and mutually encouraging. The study trip by the Swedish university representatives in the year 2000 resulted in a number of remaining contacts between the participants, but unfortunately the contacts in the UK have more or less ceased.

The Council’s activities are concerned with students’ learning, so they are well represented in all its groups. The MINT-group has close contacts with the students’ environmental network (Svenska Ekodemiker) and has financed the round table discussions organised by them at 12 universities in 2001. Their aim was to support each university’s work with sustainability issues in education. The national round table discussion in Stockholm finalised this effort (Friberg, 2001).

On May 4, 2001, the Council for the Renewal of Higher Education and Swedish Ecodemics granted two individuals the MUtA award for the first time. The award is a scholarship of equivalent to approximately £2,000 for competence development and is given to lecturers at Swedish Universities who have been successful in teaching sustainable development and have been nominated by students, colleagues or university management. The final choice of the winners was made by a consulting group consisting of a representative for students, teachers, NGOs and industry officials.

Evaluation

The effects of the MINT project have been evaluated in different ways (formally and informally) and at different levels from individual feedback to collective governmental responses.

The effects of the MINT greening projects were evaluated in a survey mainly among engineering and economics students at 18 universities in 1999 (Sammalisto, 1999). The results suggest that in many places the students were aware of the greening input in their study programmes indicating that the projects may have left some results, although the greening effect may be the result of many different factors at a particular university and more broadly in society. As a result of the evaluation findings the aforementioned Handbook was produced, with an ambition to continually add more examples of good practice on the MINT website for practitioners to use.

The Handbook has been well received and reprinted twice. The comments from the universities about its practicality and hands-on approach have been positive. However, it is evident from the comments that more support for teachers and institutions in their greening efforts is needed.

The four Greenspiration conferences that have been arranged up to now have attracted around 40 participants each year. They have, in their evaluation comments, expressed the value of such a gathering just for what it is intended for, that is, ideas and inspiration in the form of relevant presentations, discussions, and new contacts with colleagues at other universities. However, the conference has not developed into a larger gathering, which indicates that it is still a rather small group of people, who are dedicated to promoting the issue.

Student co-operation has been essential for the MINT-groups activities. The students have added a student perspective to the group’s work, as well as many creative ideas. They are invaluable in establishing contacts with various interest groups and have useful information about greening efforts at the institutions. They can also use their voice in the different organisational units of higher educational institutions to promote the greening agenda.

The MUtA award system has so far run only once, but the evaluation made among some of the 27 nominees, representing 14 institutions of higher education, and the two who received the award indicates that it has reached its aim of focusing on sustainability issues in education and the teachers’ efforts. The news of the award created a great deal of local attention. Even though the selection procedure needs to be adjusted, a nomination by students or colleagues is felt to be a great encouragement and incentive by a teacher.

The activity within the ‘greening’ network has been good and the Baltic 21 (Baltic 21E, 2002) agreement between neighbouring countries in the region will be a good base for developing the co-operation and for sharing the experience from the greening efforts in the region. Various research projects dealing with students’ learning of sustainable development in higher education will also provide valuable knowledge for the future.

The Baltic governments also provide continued support for the Swedish effort in being “a pioneer country in regional and global endeavours for ecologically sustainable development” (Baltic 21E), and for the role of sustainable development education in this: “One of the fundamentals in promoting change and increasing participation is education. I would like to see more teachers discussing the impact of our lifestyles on the environment. Universities should offer courses on global survival issues and sustainable development in major programs…” (Statement by Mr Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden, Johannesburg Global Summit, 3 Sept 2002).

Conclusions

Most of us dealing with the greening of the curriculum and with environmental issues in higher education sometimes get disillusioned when we see the many obstacles in our way and the difficulty in getting engagement and results.

That is why, at times, it can be rewarding to take a break and look back to identify all that has actually been done through the years. It is easy to see that the MINT group has taken a lot of initiatives and worked on many fronts in promoting greening and sustainability issues among the institutions of higher education. We do not high staff levels, but even with a conservative estimate we can confidently say that the activities of the group, in different ways, have engaged most universities and colleges in Sweden, several hundreds of faculty and staff and thousands of students. We must realise that most of the work done could be likened to the sowing of seeds, which can take several years, perhaps even decades, to bear fruit. It remains for the Council or a future MINT group to evaluate the total impact of our efforts.

For more information on the MINT project, please contact: [email protected].

Notes

(An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2^nd Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities, EMSU Conference at the Rhodes University in South Africa in September 2002.)