Sustainability as an Emerging Paradigm in Universities

Mercedes Gaitán-Angulo,Rodrigo Ramírez-Pisco,Luis Manuel Navas-Gracia,Adriana Correa-Guimaraes,Melva Inés Gómez-Caicedo,Marisabel Luna-Cardozo,Carmen Luisa Vásquez-Stanescu,Maritza Torres-Samuel

doi:10.3390/su14052582

Abstract

This article aims to review the perspective of sustainability adoption in universities through two dimensions: firstly, from the educational and research process, and second, from their global positioning in terms of the performance of their university campus. For this purpose, a bibliometric analysis was carried out, referring to publications dating from 2006 to 2020, using the terms “Sustainability, green universities and curricular sustainability” as search keywords. In addition, an analysis of eight global university rankings was made, gathering information from their official websites on their evaluation fields, indicators, and volume of Ibero–American universities cataloged. The result is that, since 2007, the number of publications on this topic has increased, showing that the participation of Latin American in publications is very low (3.69%). Furthermore, only 12% of Latin American universities are included in world rankings. Sustainability has hardly been integrated into university academic programs; likewise, it is observed that the traditional world ranking of universities mainly take into account factors related to teaching and research, without considering criteria related to sustainability. Moreover, it is essential to develop policies that encourage universities to develop sustainability strategies in their academic and institutional processes in general, as well as in the global university evaluation systems, in order to value sustainability adequately in both in academics, research and institutional performance.

Highlights

Sustainability has become a process that allows the use of resources, contributing to economic growth and environmental protection
This concept is related to the satisfaction of all needs that seek a balance between economic growth, social welfare, and environmental protection, generating the need to establish a relationship between society, economy, and nature, which has led to the implementation of measures that are reinforced by education to contribute to systemic change from very early stages such as early childhood education to higher education at the university level [1]
Global ranking systems have been developed to evaluate their performance and determine a comparative positioning with other academic institutions at the global, regional, and national levels [62,63]. These include the SIR, QS, ARWU, Webometrics, and. These rankings are heterogeneous in their indicators and do not evaluate teaching and research activities with similar weights; the international recognition granted and the application in studies that analyze the performance of universities has prompted these higher education institutions to design and implement actions to advance in these rankings [65]

Summary

Introduction

Sustainability has become a process that allows the use of resources, contributing to economic growth and environmental protection. It is becoming a fundamental element for universities, as it is a development strategy that benefits all generations. This concept is related to the satisfaction of all needs that seek a balance between economic growth, social welfare, and environmental protection, generating the need to establish a relationship between society, economy, and nature, which has led to the implementation of measures that are reinforced by education to contribute to systemic change from very early stages such as early childhood education to higher education at the university level [1]. Taking into account that factors such as consumerism, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and the environmental crisis that is manifested in the world, it is necessary to undertake a series of actions to care, reverse or mitigate the problems that have been generated over the years; institutions are needed to strengthen productive activities through the teaching of ecologically efficient processes, where a fair balance of the social, ecological, economic and sociocultural spheres is achieved. 4.0/).

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