Sustainable Development Competences Research Articles

Leaders' sustainability competences and small and medium‐sized enterprises outcomes: The role of social entrepreneurial orientation

AbstractThe market for socially conscious products and services has grown exponentially in the last years. Consequently, adding social value is among the great challenges that companies have to face nowadays. In view of this, companies need leaders with a set of specific skills that prepares them to act and compete in this new environment. This is especially true for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), which are even more dependent on their leaders' competences. The aim of this article is to analyse the influence of leaders' sustainability competences on the social entrepreneurial orientation of SMEs of the tourism sector, as well as the influence of this strategy on the firm's performance. The methodology used to validate the measurement scales is exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation modelling technique is applied to analyse the causal relationships proposed in the model. The results show that sustainability competences positively affect social entrepreneurial orientation; specifically, the social risk‐taking and proactivity competence has a positive influence on the economic and social performance of SMEs, and in particular, on their green innovation performance. These results highlight the key role that leaders' competences have in SMEs' social orientation and thus, the importance of training in competences for sustainable development.

Economic Crisis and Corporate Governance: How Can Board Independence and Expertise Maximize the Firm Value?

In the context of recurrent crises and the necessity to move to more sustainable firm level changes, this paper analyzes the trade-off between board’s dual role of monitoring and advising the CEO, especially relevant for the integration of sustainable development into corporate strategy, depending on board independence and expertise. We propose a theoretical model in which boards may choose to be either monitoring or advisory type towards the CEO. In this framework, the board’s incentives to adopt a high monitoring level are non-monotonically (U-shaped) related to the expertise level. On the other hand, the incentives for an advisory board to discipline the CEO are increasing with expertise, if the business has high opportunity for growth. Finally, under specific parameter values, the model generates a disciplining effect of expertise in the sense that the more expert the board is, the less opportunistic the CEO is. We then test these theoretical results using a dataset on the French 120 largest listed companies over the 2006-2011 period. Empirical evidence reveals that expertise plays a mediating role in the relationship between independence and performance in French firms. Directors’ competences for sustainable development hence are likely to play a crucial role for firms to integrate such issues into their core strategy.

Discourses and Educational Initiatives for Developing Sustainability Competences of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Abstract The adoption of the logic of developing sustainable development (SD) competences in the business environment has grown both in the literature in the area and in business initiative programs. One player that emerges with the aim of assuming leadership in this process is the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). This article aims to answer the following research question: Are the WBCSD’s discourses and initiatives for developing sustainability competences spaces of various translations of corporate sustainability or a place for reaffirming logocentric and definitive discourses on the theme? For this, we analyzed the institutional documents (Vision 2050 and Action 2020) and carried out a series of on-site visits at the Brazilian and Portuguese BCSDs. In addition, we conducted a set of in-depth interviews with the managers and participants in the initiatives for developing sustainability competences (DSC). The data were analyzed according to the categories of Derrida’s deconstruction process. The analysis of the educational initiatives of the Brazilian and Portuguese BCSDs showed that they include the various discourses on corporate sustainability in their formative approach; however, logocentric and definitive thinking about the theme is reaffirmed in that the way the Vision 2050 guidelines are carried out is limited to the application of management tools.

Discourses and Educational Initiatives for Developing Sustainability Competences of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Abstract The adoption of the logic of developing sustainable development (SD) competences in the business environment has grown both in the literature in the area and in business initiative programs. One player that emerges with the aim of assuming leadership in this process is the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). This article aims to answer the following research question: Are the WBCSD’s discourses and initiatives for developing sustainability competences spaces of various translations of corporate sustainability or a place for reaffirming logocentric and definitive discourses on the theme? For this, we analyzed the institutional documents (Vision 2050 and Action 2020) and carried out a series of on-site visits at the Brazilian and Portuguese BCSDs. In addition, we conducted a set of in-depth interviews with the managers and participants in the initiatives for developing sustainability competences (DSC). The data were analyzed according to the categories of Derrida’s deconstruction process. The analysis of the educational initiatives of the Brazilian and Portuguese BCSDs showed that they include the various discourses on corporate sustainability in their formative approach; however, logocentric and definitive thinking about the theme is reaffirmed in that the way the Vision 2050 guidelines are carried out is limited to the application of management tools.

Integrating Education for Sustainable Development Competencies in Teacher Education

The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the publications focused on integrating education for sustainable development (ESD) competencies into teacher education during the last decade, in an endeavour to identify which competencies have been considered in the literature as key competencies for reorienting teacher education towards sustainability as well as explore the suggested assessment tools and approaches to integrate these competencies into teacher education programmes. The results show increased attention during the last decade to develop a set of ESD competencies for teachers, which reveals the absence of a unified framework for teacher competencies for ESD. However, the extent to which these competencies are effectively integrated into teacher education remains an undiscovered area. This paper highlights the progress and gaps in the research related to mainstreaming ESD competencies in teacher education, providing evidence from the literature that can inform policy and strategy improvement in higher education institutions.

Analysis of the Potential of Lubuk Larangan Local Wisdom in Science Learning in Junior High Schools

Lubuk Larangan is an area in a river restricted by the community, which must not be disturbed and is forbidden for fishing. It is in Rantau Keloyang District, Muara Bungo Regency, Jambi Province. The local wisdom of Lubuk Larangan has the potential to bring contextual science learning to conserve the environment based on customary regulations for sustainable development. This study aims to determine the potential of Lubuk Larangan area as a source of science learning. Using descriptive exploratory method, the data were obtained from the interviews with Datuk Rio, a traditional leader and science teacher at SMP Negeri 1 Pelepat Ilir. Data collection techniques included observation, interview, and documentation. The findings indicate that several basic competencies are suitable for science education with the material about Lubuk Larangan, namely analyzing the occurrence of environmental pollution and its impact on the ecosystem (KD 3.8); Lubuk Larangan can be developed in learning media such as modules, assessments, and practical activities; Lubuk Larangan can be integrated into science learning to instill education for sustainable development competencies, especially for action on climate. Based on this study, in general, science learning can be linked to local wisdom of Lubuk Larangan according to learning indicators that refer to education for sustainable development.

The value evolution of the curriculum in the current context of changes

Its superior value-teleological, normative and axiological evolution reflects and constructively processes the interactive psychological and sociocultural reality, perfectible with concrete effects, realistically anticipated on the learners, as well as on the process itself. Restructuring the school curriculum (framework plans and curricula) is necessary to promote values-based on education, creativity, cognitive skills, volitional skills and action skills, basic knowledge and knowledge skills and abilities of direct use, in the profession, in society and focus the curriculum on the formation and development / diversification of key competences. The curricular review will place greater emphasis on the development of transversal competences, including digital ones, those on sustainable development and socio-emotional competences. The argument for the need to reconfigure the current learning process is to opt for a holistic, transdisciplinary and functional-pragmatic approach to learning outcomes.

Learning about Sustainability and SDG with Future Primary Education Teachers in Initial Training

The current situation of global change, caused by our way of life and our consumption habits, has negative effects on the social, economic and environmental spheres. To alleviate these changes, from the field of education, various actions focused on sustainability are being carried out. Knowledge of sustainable environmental development is essential in the formation of citizenship, and therefore in education. That is why the purpose of this work is to introduce future primary school teachers to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development established by the UN, as an educational tool for teaching and learning sustainability in classrooms. The 4th Degree of Primary Education students worked at designing a didactic intervention, based on the development of Education for Sustainable Development Competencies (ESDC), complemented with the dissemination on Instagram of visual creations on the SDGs designed for primary education students. As a result, 5 didactic proposals and 84 posts were generated on Instagram with 1131 comments. In conclusion, in teacher training, it is necessary to become familiar with the scientific contents and the various ways of working on them in the classroom, to enable the necessary didactic transfer.

Practice-Based Program Evaluation in Higher Education for Sustainability: A Student Participatory Approach

While learning competencies in education for sustainable development are increasingly recognized as important, few empirical studies consider competencies delivered at a program level. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how a program evaluation can be approached through a participatory approach, and what this means for learning competencies for sustainability. The innovative method chosen was to implement a student-led evaluation of the program or a form of practice-based learning whereby students engaged in a participatory evaluation of their own program. This evaluation involved a mixed-methods research design and engaging with different actors—from other students and teachers in the program to alumni, administrators and employers. Students agreed on what competencies to evaluate against, then designed their assessment to gauge how and in what way five key competencies were being delivered. The program delivers competencies for sustainable development, yet there was some discrepancy between what students experienced in the program and what teachers believed to be delivering in the classroom. The learning-by-doing approach suggests that a sixth competency—implementation skills—is relevant to teaching for sustainable development. A participatory, student-led approach to evaluating a Master program is a novel contribution to the literature, which in itself led to the development of competencies for sustainability, particularly strategic, interpersonal and implementation skills.

Formation of sustainable development competencies in primary school children

Aim. The article provides a new solution to the problem of the formation of sustainable development competencies in primary school students. The objective of the article is to substantiate the method of forming sustainable development competencies in primary school students and to reflect it in the model. Methods. The main research methods are observation, test, interview, questionnaire, analysis of media works, expert evaluation, and pedagogical experiment. A set of diagnostic tools has been specified. Results and Conclusions. The efficiency of the developed technique has been proved with the results obtained from the experiment: the partnership of teachers, students and parents contributes to sustainability competencies formation; implementation of common areas of media education and education for sustainable development evidenced to feasibility of the research, namely: education in legal, economic aspects, creation of media products with a projection to sustainable development, learning critical perception of mass media information, sustainability goals orientation. Due to the introduction of the experimental methodology, the number of students with high (12.07%) and satisfactory (14.65%) levels of the key competencies in the field of sustainable development increased against the background of a decrease in the number of respondents with sufficient (12.93%) and low (13.79%) levels. Originality. Emphasis is placed on the features of the designed methodology: application of partnership pedagogy and pedagogy of empowerment, integration of education for sustainable development with media education, compliance with a number of pedagogical conditions, forms and methods.

Higher education: the best practices for fostering competences for sustainable development through the use of active learning methodologies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse which are the active learning methodologies, which had better contribute to acquiring competences for sustainable development (SD) in higher education.Design/methodology/approachCluster analysis is used to define 252 students’ skills patterns and their perception of the different active learning methodologies conducted in class to promote SD.FindingsThe results show how different learning methodologies enhance SD, the quality assessment perception of students regarding the methodologies used in class and present real-world experiences, problem-based learning and case studies as the active learning methodologies that had better promote SD.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of the study are that the results obtained are particular for one university and are not generalizable to other institutions and could vary depending on the degree and year of study of the group of student participants.Practical implicationsThe research proposes to introduce active learning methodologies in general and real-world experiences, problem-based learning and case studies in particular, in education for sustainable development.Social implicationsThese research findings could be used for those interested in applying active learning methodologies to foster the acquisition of SD competences to promote the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development goals.Originality/valueThis research study aims to shed light on the nascent stage of the relationship between pedagogical approaches used in higher education to develop sustainability competences.

A hybrid approach to sustainable development competencies: the role of formal, informal and non-formal learning experiences

PurposeThis paper aims to explore whether formal, non-formal, and informal learning experiences contribute to developing sustainable development competencies (SDCs) among students in a Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) signatory business school.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey based on the students’ learning experiences and a questionnaire on sustainability competencies already validated in the literature were given to a sample of 274 bachelor students at a PRME signatory business school. Nominal variables representing students’ categories were created to test a set of hypotheses developed according to the literature. Because the data was not normally distributed, non-parametric independent-samples Mann–Whitney U test was conducted, and descriptive statistics was used to help the analysis.FindingsThe results suggest that a hybrid format with a combination of formal, non-formal and informal learning experiences is essential to maximising the development of SDCs and raising students’ sustainability literacy.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is one of the first attempts to understand the importance of a hybrid approach in developing sustainable competencies (SDCs). Future studies could adopt longitudinal analysis to check the development of these competencies over time, assess students from different PRME signatory schools or comparing students to those in non-signatory business schools.Practical implicationsThis study provides insight into how business schools could address challenges in developing sustainable competencies through redirecting their educational systems by balancing formal, informal and non-formal learning approaches to educate future responsible leaders.Originality/valueThis research provides evidence on how a hybrid learning approach could maximise the development of sustainable development competencies and, therefore, generating insights for educational policies.

Desain kurikulum mikro sustainable development goals di sekolah menengah pertama

The implementation of values of sustainable development is an important requirement to prepare future generations.Seeing these needs, it is necessary to design a micro curriculum on sustainable development values. Researchers analyzed the perceptions of 241 science teachers in West Java about the urgency of SD (Sustainable Development) indicators into content that students must learn. The topic of waste pollution and renewable energy are the chosen materials to be studied. Teacher's perception of the urgency of the material indicators can be said to be homogeneous. After that, the researcher made a content design for implementing this curriculum. Three validators who are experienced science teachers provide a constructive evaluation of the content and learning evaluation components.Learning evaluation is expected to be varied by including non-test components to achieve SD competence which emphasizes psychomotor and affective aspects.This curriculum content design already has goals that are in accordance with the expected sustainable development competencies, but the material content and evaluation components need further development.

Creating Stories by Student Teachers as a Space for Multifaceted Adult Learning. Sustainable and Intercultural Perspective

The paper discusses the participation of the “Quality Education” goal of SDGs, “Personal, social, and learning to learn competence” of the EU Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, and four categories (the educator is someone who…) of the Competences for Educators in ESD in student teacher university training. It presents the theoretical explorations of relevant content to show possible options to be introduced to pre-service teacher training. Reflections about desired changes in personal and professional development are followed by the presentation of workshop outcomes realised with students of 3rd stage studies of pedagogy at the University of Lodz. Students have been developing their intercultural and sustainable development competences by creating stories with multicultural aspect and sustainable perspective. The paper refers to the application of the author's original learning method “Me and you towards sustainability” inspired by books of Robbins, What if? … (2008, 2018). The paper concludes that learning by creation gives more chances to understand oneself and Others.

Investigating the Competencies Required for Sustainable Entrepreneurship Development in Agricultural Higher Education

The need for entrepreneurial sustainability is as important as the entrepreneurship category itself. By transferring competencies in a sustainable entrepreneurship framework, entrepreneurship education can make a significant contribution to the effectiveness of businesses, especially for start-up entrepreneurs. This study analyzes the essential competencies of students in the development of sustainable entrepreneurship. The main purpose of this research project is to study and explain the dimensions of sustainability entrepreneurship competencies among agricultural students. The results showed that seven key dimensions play a role in shaping sustainable entrepreneurial development competencies: systems thinking competence (STC), embracing diversity and interdisciplinary (EDI), foresighted thinking (FTC), normative competence (NC), action competence (AC), interpersonal competence (IC), and strategic management competence (SMC). While increasing, it was also found that STC plays an important role in explaining the relationship between sustainability and entrepreneurship.

Learning Design for Sustainable Development

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to theorise an approach to learning design for formal education and training contexts, which can empower the student-led acquisition of competences for sustainable development with particular reference to engineering education. Design: the paper presents a conceptual framework which synthesises two extant bodies of empirical research (i) into the development of systems engineering proficiencies and (ii) the development of learning power and authentic enquiry. Findings: Bringing these two research-based bodies of knowledge together enables the conceptualisation of a practical learning design which integrates the development of self-leadership, learning relationships and complex problem solving for sustainable futures. These two approaches, and their synthesis, have been implemented in practice but not reported on or theorised before.Originality: This transdisciplinary theoretical study was undertaken by the original researchers to integrate and transcend the limitations of disciplinary and siloed approaches to learning design for 21C meta-competencies and to explore a common architecture capable of deployment over time and adaptable to different contexts. Research limitations/implications: Whilst the two strands of research underpinning this synthesis are well researched, the integrated model has yet to be empirically verified through appropriate scientific methodologies.Practical implications: this study provides a foundation for the development of a core curricular spine to be developed as an accreditation framework in formal education and work-based settings. The development of a rigorous measurement model has significant implications for policy and practice.

Higher Education and the Sustainable Knowledge Society: Investigating Students' Perceptions of the Acquisition of Sustainable Development Competences

The application of a constructivist approach to competence-based frameworks for sustainable development (SD) in higher education can empower students to become change agents. Acknowledging this development, this paper examines the extent to which an SD-directed master's programme at an Italian university effectively developed students' SD competences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is based on a mixed method approach that includes a survey and interviews in order to (a) discuss students' experiences with pedagogies that emphasize SD competences as learning outcomes and (b) analyze students' perceptions of acquiring SD competences with reference to their experience of internships, project work, and job positions (in the case of graduates). The results show that, among the analyzed SD pedagogies, case studies were perceived to enrich students' understanding of the complexity of SD issues through collective learning. However, to develop critical thinking, students recognized the need to customize the case studies' plots. Regarding practical SD activities, internships, and project work were perceived as opportunities to network with stakeholders and to develop problem-solving abilities. The pandemic significantly decreased the use of such SD pedagogies, thereby prioritizing self-directed learning and research-based internships. Despite the increase in e-learning events involving stakeholders, the prospect of interacting with them on SD topics was hampered by the limitations of information technology support. Nevertheless, the students' perceptions of the effectiveness of teaching and learning processes provide recommendations to improve the SD pedagogies and e-learning adopted by higher education institutions (HEIs).

Kompetencja kreatywna młodzieży w perspektywie zrównoważonego rozwoju

This article deals with creative competence as an integral component of competences for sustainable development. Previous research in this area became the subject of interest of Polish researchers who carried out a research project in southern Poland. The aim of the research was to explore and describe the level of creative competence among Polish adolescents. The survey method was used to achieve the assumed goals and answer the emerging research questions. The tool was a questionnaire developed for the purposes of the survey with 60 sentences determining the level of six key competences for sustainable development, including creative competence. The study involved 877 grade 7 and 8 primary school pupils and grade 1 to 4 secondary school pupils, i.e. those meeting the criterion of adolescence, in accordance with the adopted convenient selection of the research sample. The lowest creativity rates were achieved by females studying in schools in small towns, while the highest by males studying in schools in small towns. Pupils from rural areas showed a higher level of creativity than those from urban areas, just as males scored higher than females. It was recognised that the teaching process should abandon gender-based perception of pupils in traditional socio-cultural roles. In addition, the use of teaching strategies conducive to the development of creativity in pupils should be reinforced. For this purpose, the teacher training system should be modified so that it includes the development of creative potential.

Identifying Assessment Opportunities in Postgraduate Learning for Sustainability

Abstract This paper offers a rationale for how ESD related learning at postgraduate level can be assessed. It proposes a framework for evaluating whether assessments in Master’s level programmes align with the pedagogical approach of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). If assessment is to contribute to the overall learning process, then the nature of the assessment should reflect the pedagogy, values and principles associated with ESD. Utilising an Appreciative Inquiry model, existing models of competences for sustainable development have been used to develop the framework. The framework is not aimed at the performance of the students; rather, it is applied to the course itself to identify if assessment opportunities are in keeping with an ESD approach. The framework is applied to three examples from Master’s programmes, with which the authors are affiliated in England and Jamaica. The findings identify key characteristics that should feature in assessing learning for sustainability. The framework enabled the authors to gauge the extent to which their assessment regimes are in line with the aims, purpose and content of their programmes. While the examples cited are from the field of education, the framework can be applied to any Master’s programmes containing elements of sustainable development.

Synergy between Games and Technology in Preschool Environmental Education

The paper presents the results of a research focused on the synergetic effects of game-technology collaboration in preschool environmental education. The parameters of an author’s multimedia game model are presented, with the model being promoted as an opportunity to innovate ecological-educational interaction in kindergartens. Trends and perspectives for educational innovations related to the formation of natural science competencies and competencies for sustainable development in an e-environment are presented.