Sustainable Education Program Research Articles

Undergraduate sustainability education programs and national security

Sustainable development directly aligns with local, regional, national, and global security. In the last decade, much progress has taken place in graduate sustainability education and research. However, undergraduate sustainability education programs have not shown the same levels of achievement. Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) is one of the pioneer universities to have established its Sustainable Systems Engineering Program at the undergraduate level. Since 2016, the Program has been revised and improved upon. This article details the relationship between undergraduate sustainability education and national security, and explores the undergraduate sustainability education practices at MSU Denver as a model. The authors emphasize the development of program educational objectives (PEO), curriculum design, and assessment. The recently developed course, “Leadership in Sustainable Design,” is discussed, illustrating the university’s introduction of general sustainability concepts to interdisciplinary undergraduate students.

239 Grazing Distribution of Beef Cattle: Acronyms of Technology and Spatial Measures

Abstract Grazing distribution is an important aspect of pasture management, yet measuring traits for sustainable forage consumption is challenging. Uplands are often un-grazed by beef cattle due to rugged terrain while riparian zones are often heavily grazed; thus, sustainable consumption may be achieved if improved landscape utilization by cattle is encouraged. Modifying grazing behaviour with fencing and (or) water-source and feeding location(s) is effective in improving grazing patterns; however, these infrastructure improvements are typically expensive, supporting the concept of genetic selection for improved grazing distribution. Efforts funded by the Western Sustainable Research and Education Program (WSARE; SW15-015) using global positioning systems (GPS) indicated a genetic influence on quantitative traits describing grazing distribution of 330 Angus-influenced cows (i.e. distance from water, slope, elevation, vertical climb, etc.). Collars fitted with GPS devices for data collection accrued measures at intervals of 5 to 15 min and 10 m resolution for 3-19 weeks in 16 pastures on 14 ranches and experiment stations. Genome-wide association studies involving trait-measures and high-density genotypes (n = 777,962 single nucleotide polymorphisms; SNP) indicated these traits were polygenic. Combining SNP genotypes with trait measures and pedigree has become the norm in genetic evaluation and improvement processes (i.e. genome-enhanced expected progeny difference (GE-EPD). These processes require data from large numbers of animals (n > 10,000). Collecting grazing distribution phenotypes with GPS collars is accurate, but time-consuming; therefore, collaborative research is being conducted in the 2019-2020 academic year exploring the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and cameras to ascertain spatial measures of beef cow grazing distribution. This collaboration involves scientists in the Colorado State University Drone Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Department of Animal Sciences. The project objective is to determine if UAV can expedite data collection to support development of genetic evaluation and improvement programs for grazing distribution.

An Evaluation of Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care: A Qualitative Study in an Indonesian Hospital

Patients experience first-hand quality services from nurses who are directly responsible for their welbeing. However, patient dissatisfaction with nursing services remains a problem in most developing countries. Therefore, this study aims to explore patient satisfaction with nursing care services in an Indonesian hospital. A qualitative study with a descriptive phenomenology method was employed. Also, in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 informants, and thematic analysis was adopted to analyze the data. The results of this study are described in the following themes and sub-themes: (1) hospital existence in public eyes: a) service commitment b) accessibility; (2) patients' background: a) religious aspect, b) cultural influence on perceiving health and sickness. Hospital management needs to enhance the quality of nursing services through sustainable education programs and continuous training. These are important to improve nurses' cognition and skills, and further to ensure patient satisfaction and hospital quality.

A Delphi Research Study for Developing Jeju-style Sustainable Development Education Program for Young Children

A Delphi Research Study for Developing Jeju-style Sustainable Development Education Program for Young Children

Development and evaluation of a sustainable video health education program for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in Malaysia.

Wider breast cancer (BC) treatment options, short consultation time with physicians, lack of knowledge, and poor coping skills at the time of diagnosis may affect patients' decisions causing treatment delays and non-adherence. To address this gap, a breast care nurse video orientation program was started. Our aim was to evaluate the video on patients' knowledge, satisfaction, and treatment adherence. The video was developed using the BC delay explanatory model. A self-administered pre- and post-survey on 241 newly diagnosed BC patients in University Malaya Medical Center was performed. The Wilcoxon matched paired signed rank test was used to evaluate patients' pre and post perceived knowledge using a Likert scale 0 to 4 (0 = "no knowledge," 4 = "a great degree of knowledge"). Treatment adherence among participants were measured after 1-year follow-up. Eighty percent of the patients reported that the video met or exceeded their expectations. In total 80.5% reported that the video was very effective and effective in improving their perspective on BC treatments. There was improvement in perceived knowledge for treatment options (mean scores; M = 0.93 versus M = 2.97) (p < 0.001) and also for perceived knowledge on types of operation, information on chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, healthy diet, physical activity after treatments, and care of the arm after operation(p < 0.001). In total 89.4%, 79.3%, and 85.9% adhered to surgical, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy recommended treatment, respectively. The video improved patients' perceived knowledge and satisfaction. The program improved access not only to new BC patients but also the public and found sustainable using the YouTube platform.

To See a World in a Grain of Sand—The Transformative Potential of Small Community Actions

The recognition of the urgent need for more sustainable lifestyles dates from the late 20th century, originating in concerns about resource depletion and climate change. Research and policy measures have evolved since then, paying increasing attention to systemic change over individual behaviour. However, as individual behavioural change is constrained by the systems within which choices are made, more study is needed to understand better how systemic changes occur. Drawing on the experiences of the Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme of the UN-led One-Planet Network in collaborating with small collective actions for sustainable lifestyles, the paper analyses the needs and approaches for sustainable lifestyles and opportunities for the local actors to grow their capacities in developing ways of living sustainably. These experiences show that the pursuit of sustainable lifestyles is not a one-shot change in behaviour. It is a continuous process where actors identify and tackle locally specific opportunities for responsible and sustainable ways of living, and through a process of mutual learning and experimentation gradually shape shared visions of sustainable living. Systemic changes for sustainable living are ultimately neither about simply improving people’s awareness or attitudes or replacing some components of the external systems. They are the creation of capacities and aspirations of people actively and continuously engaging to shape alternative systems of living.

Potentials of a school-based health education program – a theory based analysis of a good practice

Abstract Background The gap between our knowledge about healthy lifestyle and health behaviours is significant especially in regions with lower socioeconomic conditions. Promoting lifestyle change requires multilevel approach as described by the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation - Behaviour (COM-B) model and school-based interventions can combat inequalities. Our innovative school-based health program in Northern Hungary might serve as an example for future initiatives. Objectives Our objective was to develop a sustainable one-year health education program in all five secondary schools of the town of Balassagyarmat including broad spectrum of health related topics. We attempted to find new methods so our classroom setting intervention can target the most factors of COM-B with the integration of best practices and novel tools from the field of education and prior health promotion programs. Results It seems possible to integrate elements influencing all levels of COM-B, but in different extent. C: besides knowledge transfer we also focus on improving health-literacy by small-group based, interactive and experiential education enhanced with gamification and an e-learning module. We believe that adolescents have the physical ability for a healthy lifestyle. O: by targeting all students from each class we shape social norms, nevertheless realizable changes in the physical environment is limited. M: both reflective and automatic mechanisms are reinforced by 30-day challenges and rewarding managed by a shared online educational platform ensuring continuality and peer-educators who serve as role-models. The involvement of earlier participants as educators assures the sustainability of the program as well as the internalization of its main messages. Conclusions Well-designed school-based health education programs may aspire for multilevel effect in promoting healthy behaviours even between the restricted opportunities of classroom settings with weakest potential in environmental change. Key messages Health education in classroom setting might shape social norms, and motivation. Targeting change in physical environment is challenging in school-based health programs.

Beyond cybersafety: The need to develop social media literacies in pre-teens

Cybersafety has been a mainstay of digital education since computers arrived in classrooms in the mid 1990s. Whether schools encourage students to be ‘cybersmart’ (Australia), ‘netsafe’ (New Zealand) or to be aware of ‘cybersecurity strategies’ (Mexico and Chile) most now devote a relatively large amount of time and money to teaching young people how to ‘stay safe’ online. In this article, we argue that it is time for schools to move beyond the cybersafety discourse to encourage students to think more critically about the digital media they use. Reporting on the digital practices of 276 pre-teens aged 7-12 years in Australia and Uruguay, we contend that the everyday digital challenges young people face are now beyond the scope of most cybersafety programs. Our findings highlight that many of the issues pre-teens are negotiating call for more nuanced and sustained educational programs that support the development of critical social media literacies. In particular, with the proliferation of mass user platforms and artificial intelligence, there is a need for schools to educate students around managing and protecting their personal data. The article concludes with a discussion of the digital learning required for young people in an increasingly datafied society.

The development of sustainable development-oriented creative character education program for young children in China

The development of sustainable development-oriented creative character education program for young children in China

Prevalence and Determinants of Diarrhea among Under-Five Children in Benna Tsemay District, South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study in Pastoralist and Agropastoralist Context

Background. Diarrhea is the second leading cause of death among children under-five years globally and accounts for about 1.5 million deaths each year. In low-income countries, children under three years of age experience three episodes of diarrhea on average every year. In Ethiopia, diarrheal disease is one of the common causes of mortality in under-five children. In Benna Tsemay district, pastoralist community lives with lack of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene problems, which increase the risk of childhood diarrhea. Objective. To assess the prevalence and determinant of diarrheal disease among under five children in Benna Tsemay District, South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 722 under five children selected randomly from eight pastoralists and two agropastoralist kebels. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Logic regression was performed to identify the association between diarrheal disease and independent variables. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was used to judge the presence of association. Results. The two-week period prevalence of childhood diarrheal disease in the study was 23.5% (95% CI: 20.4%–26.6%). Diarrheal illness was associated with nonavailability of latrine (AOR: 2.77, 95% CI: 1.66–4.63), faeces seen around the pit hole or floor of latrine (AOR: 2.92, 95% CI: 1.38–6.19), improper kitchen waste disposal (AOR: 2.31, 95% CI: 1.26–4. 24), unprotected drinking water source (AOR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.14–2.88), mother’s or caretaker’s diarrhea history in the last two weeks (AOR: 6.74, 95% CI: 2.51–18.07), materials used for feeding the child (cup and spoon) (AOR: 0.60, 95% CI: 0.36–0.97), and being unvaccinated for “rotavirus” (AOR: 2.87, 95% CI: 1.86–4.44). Conclusion. Nearly one-fourth of children had diarrheal illness in the preceding two weeks. Water, sanitation and hygiene-related factors, child feeding practice, and children’s vaccination status for rotavirus were the determinants of the occurrence of diarrhea among under-five children. The health office should conduct sustainable health education programs that emphasize on risk of open defecation, waste disposal mechanisms, and child feeding practices and also should strengthen rotavirus vaccination activities. The district administration and partners’ needed to improve water sources.

Ten minutes with Dr Gregory R Ciottone, MD, FACEP, FFSEM, President of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine

### Biography Dr Gregory R Ciottone is the President of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine. He is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, and an Instructor...

Exploring Undergraduate Attainment of Sustainability Competencies

Are students graduating from sustainability education programs with the competencies that will enable them to act for sustainability? This case study 1.) explores the degree to which a project-base...

Towards an equity competency model for sustainable food systems education programs

Addressing social inequities has been recognized as foundational to transforming food systems. Activists and scholars have critiqued food movements as lacking an orientation towards addressing issues of social justice. To address issues of inequity, sustainable food systems education (SFSE) programs will have to increase students’ equity-related capabilities. Our first objective in this paper is to determine the extent to which SFSE programs in the USA and Canada address equity. We identified 108 programs and reviewed their public facing documents for an explicit focus on equity. We found that roughly 80% of universities with SFSE programs do not provide evidence that they explicitly include equity in their curricula. Our second objective is to propose an equity competency model based on literature from multiple fields and perspectives. This entails dimensions related to knowledge of self; knowledge of others and one’s interactions with them; knowledge of systems of oppression and inequities; and the drive to embrace and create strategies and tactics for dismantling racism and other forms of inequity. Integrating our equity competency model into SFSE curricula can support the development of future professionals capable of dismantling inequity in the food system. We understand that to integrate an equity competency in our curricula will require commitment to build will and skill not only of our students, but our faculty, and entire university communities.

Soil health: model programs in the USA

Population growth, increasing drought, and natural resources degradation are significant global issues. Fortunately, management practices to improve soil health can address many of these issues in ways that are both good for the farmer and the environment. In 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service initiated its “Unlock the Secrets in the Soil” campaign to assist farmers and ranchers with adopting soil health systems. Other notable efforts at the federal level include research and education projects by USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. The importance of improving soil health is also recognized far beyond federal government programs. The Soil Health Institute, a nonprofit charity, was established to safeguard and enhance the vitality and productivity of soil through scientific research and adoption. Crop commodity organizations are promoting soil health, such as the Soil Health Partnership. The Nature Conservancy is helping companies and private landowners incorporate soil health into their sustainability efforts. Such efforts are supported by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, as well as by some of the leading global food companies such as General Mills. These are just a few of the many efforts to improve soil health in the USA. The significance of the expanding global population, natural resource challenges, and responsibilities to current and future generations truly make enhancing soil health a global imperative.

Tertiary education in ergonomics and human factors: quo vadis?

In 2019, the Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) discipline turned 70; to celebrate, an international group of academics and educators have reflected on the status of HFE tertiary education across the globe. This paper draws on presentations and discussions from the 20th Triennial International Ergonomics Association (IEA) conference and considers the implications for HFE education programmes. Past, current, and future challenges are outlined and discussed with examples from different countries and programmes. This paper builds on 2012 strategy proposed by Dul and colleagues, to strengthen the demand, and application, of the HFE discipline and profession. It provides a considered set of reflections, noting the range of structural issues and financial pressures within the tertiary education system that create challenges for the viability of specialist programmes such as HFE. A need exists for the broader profession to collaborate and share innovations in HFE programme development, to ensure sustainable HFE education programmes. Practitioner summary: A range of structural issues and financial pressures exist within the tertiary education system that creates challenges for the viability of specialist programmes such as HFE. A need exists for the broader profession to collaborate and share innovations in HFE programme development, to ensure sustainable HFE education programmes. Abbreviation: HFE: Human Factors and Ergonomics; IEA: International Ergonomics Association; CIEHF: Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors; UX: User Experience; CREE: Centre for Registration of European Ergonomist; BRICSplus: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa; MOOCS: Massive Open Online Courses; STST: socio technical systems theory; LMIC: low and middle-income countries

Bringing an entrepreneurial focus to sustainability education: A teaching framework based on content analysis

Research on sustainability education has neglected to integrate entrepreneurial skills into other relevant competences such as foresight, complex problem-solving, and interdisciplinarity. Previous research highlights possible convergences between sustainability education and entrepreneurship education; however, it does not address how to achieve this integration in practice. To address the gap between the literature and practice, this paper tackles the question: How can entrepreneurial competences be taught in sustainability education programs in higher education? We introduce a teaching framework based on a bibliometric method that combines topic-modeling with a content-analysis of selected articles. The focus of the analysis is the commonalities of both educational fields. Our results introduce a program for entrepreneurial-oriented sustainability education, providing a description of the educational focus, teaching-learning approaches, main themes, and external collaboration. The framework proposes educational for sustainable development across educational programs while implicitly addressing complex community problems through the development of solutions that can change the ways business and consumers relate with sustainability issues. These results contribute to the sustainability education literature by integrating the development of entrepreneurship competences into interdisciplinary programs. The framework could also be used as a practical guide for designing courses, at both the undergraduate and graduate level, that integrate both sustainability and entrepreneurship. • Bibliometric and content analysis of entrepreneurship and sustainability education. • Entrepreneurship as a competence within sustainability education. • Teaching framework for entrepreneurial-oriented sustainability education. • Holistic discussion of sustainability education within entrepreneurship. • Heuristic device for planning in sustainability and entrepreneurship education.

Education for Sustainable Development on the Subject of Arts based on Global Citizen Education

21세기 들어 국가 간 경계를 넘는 여러 문제들로 인해 지구촌의 갈등과 긴장이 커지고 있다. 이 문제들은 인류의 생존을 위협할 만큼 심각한 것으로 인식되고 있으며 국제사회에서 벌어지는 이러한 일들이 결코 나와 무관하지 않다는 깨달음이 필요해졌다. 이러한 위기의식에서 지속가능한 발전의 중요성이 부각 되었으며 장기적인 관점에서 인간의 사고와 행동을 근본적으로 변화시킬 수 있는 교육의 역할에 주목하게 되었다. 이 연구는 이러한 추세와 요구에 발맞춰 미술교육 안에서 세계시민교육과 연계한 지속가능발전교육 프로그램을 개발하고자 하였다. 중점 연구내용은 세계시민교육의 개념과 내용 요소, 세계시민교육 기반 미술과 지속가능발전교육의 방향, 액션러닝 교수·학습방법을 살펴보고 이를 바탕으로 세계시민교육에 기반한 미술교과 지속가능발전교육 프로그램을 개발하는 것이다. 이 연구를 통해 UN의 세계시민교육과 지속가능발전교육(ESD) 의제가 미술교과 안에서 어떻게 구체성을 띠며 교육으로 실현되는지를 보여주고자 하였다.Conflicts and tensions in the world have been expanded due to multiple problems beyond the borderlines between countries in the 21st century. These problems are perceived to be serious enough to threat the survival of the mankind and it is required to realize that these matters in the international society are related to me. Amid this crisis, the importance of sustainable development has been raised and the roles of education that can change men’s thinking and behaviors fundamentally as the long-term perspective have been highlighted. This study aimed to develop sustainable development education programs to be aligned with global citizenship education in the arts education to meet these trends and needs. Main research points are to review the concept and contents of global citizenship education, arts based on global citizenship education, direction of sustainable development education, teaching and learning method of action learning; and to develop sustainable development education programs based on global citizenship education. This study will show how global citizenship education in the UN and sustainable development education are materialized and realized in the subject of the arts.

Criteria for Sustainable Curriculum of TVET Teacher Education Programme in Malaysia

The purpose of a Teacher Education programme is to produce quality teachers, especially teachers that can perform the task of teaching effectively and deliver the purpose of the National Education Philosophy, consequently leading to a sustainable TVET Teacher Education programme. One aspect that contributes to the sustainability of a programme is the curriculum. The curriculum has to be able to react with the changes took place in the workplace especially for a developing country like Malaysia. Hence, this study was carried out to explore the criteria for the sustainable curriculum of TVET Teacher Education programmes in Malaysia. A qualitative research approach was used for this study, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 experts. Utilising this approach allowed the researcher to focus on experts’ knowledge and experiences based on the issues explored. Data were analysed using thematic analysis with pencil and paper, while Microsoft Excel was used as a tool for data keeping. The study identified five main criteria for sustainability which includes i) specialization; ii) work-based design; iii) dynamic; iv) interactive teaching and learning, and v) international syllabus. It is expected that the outcome of this study will contribute towards the sustainability of TVET Teacher Education programmes in Malaysia thus improving the quality of TVET graduates to achieve the national goal of becoming a high-income nation.

Effectiveness of Incorporating the Concept of City Sustainability into Sustainability Education Programs

This study developed a sustainability education program that incorporated the concept of city sustainability, delivered it to local university students in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area (Jabodetabek), Indonesia, and then evaluated its effectiveness using questionnaire surveys. The educational materials consisted of a case story and scenario analysis report relating to city sustainability. The case story was a fictional narrative describing sustainability issues in Jabodetabek, in which the protagonist is the head of the local urban planning bureau. The scenario analysis provided three hypothetical scenarios regarding land-use patterns with predicted values of sustainability indicators in 2050. In January 2016, 46 students from Bogor Agricultural University participated in three workshops. Participants completed questionnaire surveys before and after the workshops. The results from the ordered probit models that were based on participants’ responses to 68 items of sustainability-related attitudes and perspectives showed that their participation in the workshops enhanced participants’ environmental concerns and their intention to take pro-sustainability actions. In addition, the participants tended to have a more balanced view on sustainability issues across economic, social, and environmental dimensions. This suggested that the sustainability education program focusing on city sustainability successfully enhanced the motivation of learners to contribute toward a more sustainable future.

My C.H.O.I.C.E: Choosing Healthy Options in the Childhood Experience, A Resident-Led School Based Health Education Program

Background: Childhood obesity is a major epidemic incurring high healthcare costs and health ramifications. During the 2012-2014 school years, 23.6% of the students attending the local school district studied were obese. In pre-adolescents, the targeted population, the national obesity rate in 2011-2015 was 25% for the Hispanic population. With the majority of the target student population comprising of students of Hispanic ethnicity, this is a community of need. Objective: My C.H.O.I.C.E. is a creative and sustainable 6-week health education program developed and led by pediatric residents from an academic …