Abstract
In this work, we analyzed the progress made in learning sustainability competencies by students belonging to the four Bachelor Education degrees at the University of Salamanca: Early Childhood Education Teacher, Primary Education Teacher, Pedagogy, and Social Education. To assess this progress, the instrument we used was the student questionnaire designed by the EDINSOST project. The questionnaire consisted of 18 questions related to the four sustainability competencies defined in 2011 by the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities: (1) critical contextualization of knowledge, (2) sustainable use of resources, (3) participation in community processes, and (4) application of ethical principles. The students answered the questions using a four-point Likert scale. The analysis of the answers determined the students’ perception of their own learning related to sustainability competencies. A total of 230 first-year and 96 fourth-year students responded to the questionnaire. The comparison between the first- and fourth-year students’ answers to each question enabled an evaluation of the improvement perceived by the students in their sustainability competencies. We analyzed the results by using the Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis U tests. The results show that the students of the Bachelor Degree in Pedagogy are the only ones who achieve a significant improvement in their sustainability competencies. Bachelor Degree in Social Education and Bachelor Degree in Early Childhood Education Teacher students achieve an improvement, but it is not significant. Finally, Bachelor Degree in Primary Education Teacher students do not seem to achieve any improvement. From these data, it appears that the model used to introduce sustainability competencies in the Bachelor Degree in Pedagogy is the only one that achieves good results.
Highlights
In June 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development took place in Rio de Janeiro, in which 178 countries participated
We present the results of Objective 1: “To measure the domain level in the sustainability competencies presented by the students of the University of Salamanca (USAL) Degrees of Education when they begin and when they finish their studies, so that both measurements can be compared”
We presented the results of a partial investigation within a specific higher education context, the University of Salamanca, and in specific degrees: the degrees of education (Bachelor Degrees in Primary Education Teacher, Early Childhood Education Teacher, Social Education, and Pedagogy)
Summary
In June 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development took place in Rio de Janeiro, in which 178 countries participated. Agenda 21 was approved at the conference, named in this way for containing an ambitious program of actions for the advancement of humanity towards sustainable development in the 21st century. ). To be effective, environmental and development education must On September 25, 2015, the UN relaunched a Global Agenda for the transition to sustainable development, with its sights set on 2030. This agenda set 17 goals (called Sustainable Development goals, SDG) and 169 objectives. According to the Director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), Jeffre D. Sachs: “Universities around the world should be at the forefront in helping society find technical solutions to achieve these goals” [2] (p.61)
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