What Kinds of ESD and GE Competencies Will Our Graduates Need?

Abstract

The concept of education for sustainable development (ESD) competencies is seen as an essential landmark for orienting teaching and learning for SD (sustainable development). ESD competence encompasses key competencies that are expected to enable active, reflective and co-operative learning toward SD. In the text, it is also described why the concept of ESD competencies is an innovation in the field of higher education (HE). A competence-based didactical approach can be a valid alternative to the notion of a curriculum as a plan of studies, providing an innovative way of conceiving and organizing the curricular structure and objectives or discipline contents to prepare students to be competent, autonomous, critical and assertive citizenships. Competence-oriented teaching and learning approach is focusing on students gaining the “concepts and abilities for social action”. Our set of 12 ESD competencies embodies the concepts that will enable students to understand and resolve complex sustainability problems by equipping them with the ability to become change agents. The educational approach reinforces the competencies emphasizes pedagogy in terms of the teaching and learning methodologies and strategies that support the attainment of ESD competencies.