The Effects of Training on Sustainable Development Practices in Higher Education: The case of Ibn Tofail University in Kénitra (Morocco)

Abstract

The objective of this article is to study the existing relationship between training and the integration of Sustainable Development (SD) practices in the Moroccan University. The issue at stake is to verify whether the training provided at the level of higher education institutions responds to the various worldwide challenges. In order to respond to the difficulties that impact the higher education model, Moroccan universities are invited to rethink their various approaches so that they can respond to the economic, social, societal and environmental constraints which are constantly evolving. Therefore, these universities must align themselves with the major challenges facing education today[1]. The empirical research method used in this quantitative study is a Likert’s scale based questionnaire. The investigation was carried out on a sample of 134 teachers-researchers of Ibn Tofail University of Kénitra (ITUK) (Morocco). The investigated sample population was surveyed during the time period lasting from February the 1st to May the 31th, 2021. The analysis conducted regarding the results of the ANOVA of the variables reveals that the pedagogical approaches, curriculum and teaching methods are significant except for the teaching activities which display a value of 0.280 higher than the recommended threshold. Consequently, training in higher education can contribute to forging attitudes in the future in line with SD’s requirements by relying on pedagogical approaches. Hence, the University through training should contribute to a sustainable society in order to meet the 17 SD Goals which require that by 2030 all students should have the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to promote sustainable development. The results of this research will contribute to the development of new training curricula that meet the requirements of the various SD objectives. We have focused our research on the ITU Kénitra, we believe that our approach will serve as a basis to develop other cases of Moroccan universities to have an overall vision of training curricula converging towards the practices of SD at the Moroccan national level and for a better contribution in the new 2035 nationwide development model[2].