Sustainable development, higher education and pedagogy: a study of lecturers' beliefs and attitudes

Abstract

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is playing an increasing role in the higher education curriculum. However, little previous research exists on lecturers' understanding of and attitudes towards sustainable development. This study used an online questionnaire to investigate lecturers' views of sustainable development and its contribution to the higher education curriculum. The questionnaire asks lecturers from a variety of different disciplines about their views on appropriate pedagogy for ESD, and gives insights into the potential opportunities for and barriers to the incorporation of ESD into higher education. The findings of this survey reveal a wide range of understandings of sustainable development within this institution—and a high level of critical debate about the concept itself. In common with some previous research, there are indications that many lecturers find the language of ESD inaccessible. Despite this, a fairly high level of support for sustainable development is expressed across all discipline areas and a range of suggestions about appropriate pedagogies for ESD are raised. However, the extent to which this enthusiasm can be translated into practical changes to the higher education curriculum remains less certain.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank our respondents and the staff of the Centre for Sustainable Futures, University of Plymouth, for their support for this research. We also thank the three anonymous reviewers for their challenging comments on earlier versions of this paper. All remaining errors and (mis)interpretations are our own.