Capability Approach and Sustainability, a Survey for the Faculty Development in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher Education must cope with a complex intertwining of challenges that places university teachers in a condition of continuous updating. With this in mind, we intend to deepen the theme of Faculty Development (FD) with specific reference to the fascinating intertwining of the Capability Approach (CA) and the objectives of the 2030 agenda. What connects the boost provided by studies on FD and the CA is the invitation for teachers to train active, responsible citizens capable of critical reasoning and problem-solving skills. An investigation is being carried out for the in-depth study of the topics exposed at the University of Palermo. The research group envisaged the involvement of the students attending the Degree course in Pedagogical Sciences (289 students) - a.y. 2021/2022. The research process activated sees both students and the research team as protagonists, as it allows to activate a reflective action on teaching practice to be able to constantly improve it and raise its quality. The survey aims at under- standing how much future pedagogues know the 17 objectives promoted by the 2030 Agenda. According to what has been said, it is therefore a preliminary reflection step that precedes an experimental intervention, expected for the next academic year, that will be based on the implementation of activities workshopsdesigned and implemented using the CA and which focus on the objectives of the 2030 Agenda. The tool used is the “Capability Approach and Sustainability” questionnaire created and built by the research group and the data analysis is quantitative.