Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to consider the position of education for sustainable development in the UK Higher Education (HE) sector with respect to the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and Higher Education Academy (HEA) Guidance for education for sustainable development (ESD).Design/methodology/approachBy means of a mixed-method approach underpinned by a concurrent triangulation design strategy, this research presents evidence from an online questionnaire survey and in-depth semi-structured interviews.FindingsInsights are presented from case studies of a group of UK Higher Education Institute (HEIs) which have made significant progress in embedding ESD in the curricula.Research limitations/implicationsCentral to this study is an exploration of the ESD integration process of this group including a description of the approaches to integration, the challenges faced and overcome and the critical success factors. It examines the role of a guidance instrument in simplifying and accelerating the ESD curricular integration process. The results of the study show that there is a multitude of integration approaches applied varying in their emphasis.Practical implicationsThe main challenge HEIs face is engaging staff that may question the relevance of the ESD concept, and that lack an understanding regarding its implications for their discipline. Critical success factors identified are institution-wide people support, high-level institutional support and funding. The QAA and HEA guidance has successfully supported HEIs in developing their ESD commitments.Originality/valueThe results of this research can support HEIs in developing their own approach to ESD, as they learn from similar UK HE providers, particularly with respect to overcoming barriers and enhancing critical success factors to ESD curricular integration.
Highlights
The higher education sector is an increasingly competitive global marketplace that focusses on recruiting prospective staff and students to maximise revenue by pro-actively marketing the institution (Pucciarelli and Kaplan, 2016; Hannover Research, 2014)
The results section has been divided in two sections; the first section will provide evidence on the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and HEA guidance being used by HEIs and the second section gives a broader view of sustainability and the curriculum, which goes back to the purpose of this paper to consider ‘the position of education for sustainable development in the UK higher Education sector in particular relevance to the Quality Assurance Agency and Higher Education Academy Guidance for QAA and HEA guidance for ESD
A low questionnaire response rate has limited this study in its effort to generalise results to the larger population, the insights from the results add value to the current positioning of ESD in the UK higher education sector, in particular regarding the ways in which a guidance instrument could support the integration of ESD in curricula
Summary
The higher education sector is an increasingly competitive global marketplace that focusses on recruiting prospective staff and students to maximise revenue by pro-actively marketing the institution (Pucciarelli and Kaplan, 2016; Hannover Research, 2014). Universities and colleges attract prospective students and staff by highlighting those characteristic features that give them a competitive advantage i.e. their strengths, ambitions, values and quality of the student experience (Chapleo, Carrillo Durán, and Castillo Díaz, 2011), and by adjusting the marketing strategy to tailor to the prospective students’ and employees demands (Brown, 2011). Sustainability has become one of the expectations of current and prospective students. According to the sixth annual NUS Sustainability Skills survey, increasingly UK students expect their institution to demonstrate the sustainability of their operations and to provide education for sustainable development (NUS, 2016). This paper explores the extent to which this expectation is valid for the integration of sustainability in curricula
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