Abstract
This article presents the results of the analysis of the presence of the sustainability competencies proposed by the Sectoral Commission of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities in three degrees in the area of Didactics of Mathematics of the Faculty of Education Sciences at the Universidad de Cádiz (Spain): the degree in Early Childhood Education, the degree in Primary Education, and the Master’s degree in Teacher Training for Compulsory Secondary and Upper Secondary School Education (specialisation in mathematics). The research method used is content analysis, reflected in the syllabi of the subjects of the degrees analysed. To carry out the analysis, two instruments were used: an adaptation of the model of the Green Curriculum in Higher Education and the map of generic competencies in sustainability of the EDINSOST project. The global results show a very low relative presence of sustainability competences in the area of Didactics of Mathematics (25%), the competency related to ethical aspects having the lowest relative presence (10%). For the most part, the competencies related to sustainability are established for the lowest level of mastery, “know”. When comparing the degree programmes, the Master’s degree in Teacher Training for Compulsory Secondary and Upper Secondary School Education (specialisation in mathematics) is the degree that contributes the most to the development of the sustainability competency (32%), followed by the degree in Early Childhood Education (25%), and the degree in Primary Education (18%). Including sustainability in the curriculum of mathematics education in higher education can improve the training of professionals who engage in reflective and critical thinking. However, these results show there is still a long way to go.
Highlights
This paper presents the partial results of a more general research [25] situated in the EDINSOST research project: Education and Social Innovation for Sustainability, training of professionals as agents of change in Spanish universities to address the challenges of society (Reference: EDU2015-65574-R)
The documents that make up the syllabi of the subjects taught in the area of Didactics of Mathematics at the Universidad de Cádiz were the main source of information
The present paper aims to analyse the presence of the sustainability competencies defined by the CRUE-Sustainability [19] in the study programmes of the subjects of the area of Didactics in Mathematics at the Universidad de Cádiz
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. At the dawn of the 20th century, Laisant and Fehr [1] stated how the future of civilisation would, to a large extent, depend on the direction of thought the new generations received with respect to science and, in particular, mathematics. The firm belief in the need for the teaching of mathematics as a discipline that brings with it scientific and technological progress, enhancing the development and modernisation of societies, is undeniable. From the second half of the 20th century and after the Second World War, the world entered a new dynamic: globalisation. Humanity faces a multitude of new and old problems: climate change, desertification, water scarcity, poverty, health, hunger, wars, problems of logistics, migration, social inequalities, excessive digital traffic, etc
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