Abstract
The growing importance of sustainable development constitutes a challenging trend for education. Universities create study programs and organize extracurricular activities in order to prepare future generations of professionals as well as political and social leaders for responsible actions toward sustainable development. The main objective of this article is to investigate how universities in Poland develop educational programs and extracurricular activities to enable students to shape sustainability competencies. The study employed a triangulation of research methods including a literature analysis, desk research analysis of the universities’ educational programs, and quantitative research among students. The findings suggest that Polish universities attempt to shape sustainable development-oriented competencies not only through formal sustainable development education, but also via non-formal activities toward social and environmental challenges. The research results have practical implications for universities and can support the advancement of educational programs related to sustainable development.
Highlights
Sustainable development is a concept centered around achieving human development goals and simultaneously sustaining the ability of ecosystems by providing natural resources and protecting wildlife and nature without diminishing the chances for future generations
The research analysis allowed us to explore (1) whether Polish public universities offered students the opportunity to develop competencies that enabled them to actively meet the sustainability challenges; (2) to what extent students engaged in activities related to sustainable development offered by the universities; and (3) how the students perceived the development of competencies through non-formal education in the form of extracurricular activities
The majority of examined universities (70%) created a wide range of formal education possibilities by offering courses related to the CSR area, e.g., corporate social responsibility or business ethics, or they included sustainability issues in other courses
Summary
Sustainable development is a concept centered around achieving human development goals and simultaneously sustaining the ability of ecosystems by providing natural resources and protecting wildlife and nature without diminishing the chances for future generations. It is perceived as a significant concept of social and economic development since it was first defined by the World. Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) of the United Nations in 1987. The sustainability goals integrate the three aspects of economic, societal, and environmental to ensure development for future generations.
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