IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i14p8044-d596915.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Integration of Sustainability in Engineering and Architectural Studies in Spanish Universities

Author

Listed:
  • Leire Guerenabarrena-Cortazar

    (Department of Economics and Management, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48008 Bilbao, Spain)

  • Jon Olaskoaga-Larrauri

    (Industrial Organization and Management Engineering Department, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48013 Bilbao, Spain)

  • Ernesto Cilleruelo-Carrasco

    (Industrial Organization and Management Engineering Department, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), 48013 Bilbao, Spain)

Abstract

The recommendations of the UN and other international bodies on the need to transform university curricula to incorporate sustainability values, content and competencies have met with a warm reception from universities all over the world. However, the actual state of the integration of sustainability in higher education is, in general, somewhat more modest than one would expect. This article proposes a method of measuring the extent of sustainability-oriented curricular change in the Spanish University as a whole and applies it to the degrees in engineering and architecture. The method entails a documentary analysis of the teaching guides related to 1050 subjects. The results obtained do not invite optimism: curricular transformation is slow and insufficient and its results are still incomplete.

Suggested Citation

  • Leire Guerenabarrena-Cortazar & Jon Olaskoaga-Larrauri & Ernesto Cilleruelo-Carrasco, 2021. "Integration of Sustainability in Engineering and Architectural Studies in Spanish Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:8044-:d:596915
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/8044/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/14/8044/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ruei-Jen Diana Fan & Paul Juinn Bing Tan, 2019. "Application of Information Technology in Preschool Aesthetic Teaching from the Perspective of Sustainable Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-24, April.
    2. Susana Romero & Marian Aláez & Daniel Amo & David Fonseca, 2020. "Systematic Review of How Engineering Schools around the World Are Deploying the 2030 Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-22, June.
    3. Gisela Cebrián & Mercè Junyent, 2015. "Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring the Student Teachers’ Views," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Francisco A. Pujol & David Tomás, 2020. "Introducing Sustainability in a Robotic Engineering Degree: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-24, July.
    5. Giulia Sonetti & Caterina Barioglio & Daniele Campobenedetto, 2020. "Education for Sustainability in Practice: A Review of Current Strategies within Italian Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-24, June.
    6. Stephen Sterling & Ian Thomas, 2006. "Education for sustainability: the role of capabilities in guiding university curricula," International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(4), pages 349-370.
    7. Aerts, Walter & Cormier, Denis & Magnan, Michel, 2008. "Corporate environmental disclosure, financial markets and the media: An international perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 643-659, January.
    8. Lidia Alexa & Veronica Maier & Anca Șerban & Razvan Craciunescu, 2020. "Engineers Changing the World: Education for Sustainability in Romanian Technical Universities—An Empirical Web-Based Content Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    9. Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & Francisco Manuel Moreno-Pino & Bárbara Sureda & Miguel Antúnez & Ibon Gutiérrez, 2019. "A Methodology to Analyze the Presence of Sustainability in Engineering Curricula. Case of Study: Ten Spanish Engineering Degree Curricula," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-27, August.
    10. Rafael Miñano Rubio & Diego Uribe & Ana Moreno-Romero & Susana Yáñez, 2019. "Embedding Sustainability Competences into Engineering Education. The Case of Informatics Engineering and Industrial Engineering Degree Programs at Spanish Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-29, October.
    11. Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & Francisco Manuel Moreno-Pino & Daniel Romero-Portillo & Bárbara Sureda, 2021. "Education for Sustainable Development in Spanish University Education Degrees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-24, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & Jordi Segalas & Gorka Bueno & Pere Busquets & Joan Climent & Victor G. Galofré & Boris Lazzarini & David Lopez & Carme Martín & Rafael Miñano & Estíbaliz Sáez de Cámara & Bá, 2021. "Tools for Embedding and Assessing Sustainable Development Goals in Engineering Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-30, November.
    2. Rocío Valderrama-Hernández & Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & Lucía Alcántara Rubio & Dolores Limón-Domínguez, 2019. "Methodology to Analyze the Effectiveness of ESD in a Higher Degree in Education. A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Lam-Huu-Phuoc Nguyen & Nguyen-Bich-Thy Bui & Thi-Ngoc-Cam Nguyen & Chin-Fei Huang, 2022. "An Investigation into the Perspectives of Elementary Pre-Service Teachers on Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Deepti Mishra & Alok Mishra, 2020. "Sustainability Inclusion in Informatics Curriculum Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Alba Manresa & Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent & Úrsula Faura-Martínez & Juan-Vicente Llinares-Ciscar, 2021. "What Do Freshmen Know about Sustainability? Analysing the Skill Gap among University Business Administration Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    6. M. Isabel Sánchez-Hernández & Juan José Maldonado-Briegas, 2019. "Sustainable Entrepreneurial Culture Programs Promoting Social Responsibility: A European Regional Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Jordi Martínez-Ventura & Eduardo de-Miguel-Arbonés & Carla Sentieri-Omarrementería & Juanjo Galan & María Calero-Llinares, 2021. "A Tool to Assess Architectural Education from the Sustainable Development Perspective and the Students’ Viewpoint," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-40, August.
    8. Klaudia Zwolińska & Sylwia Lorenc & Radosław Pomykała, 2022. "Sustainable Development in Education from Students’ Perspective—Implementation of Sustainable Development in Curricula," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-27, March.
    9. Alfonso Rodriguez-Dono & Antoni Hernández-Fernández, 2021. "Fostering Sustainability and Critical Thinking through Debate—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-24, June.
    10. Sandra Wilhelm & Ruth Förster & Anne B. Zimmermann, 2019. "Implementing Competence Orientation: Towards Constructively Aligned Education for Sustainable Development in University-Level Teaching-And-Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, March.
    11. Carmen Solís-Espallargas & Jorge Ruiz-Morales & Dolores Limón-Domínguez & Rocío Valderrama-Hernández, 2019. "Sustainability in the University: A Study of Its Presence in Curricula, Teachers and Students of Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-14, November.
    12. Lidia Alexa & Veronica Maier & Anca Șerban & Razvan Craciunescu, 2020. "Engineers Changing the World: Education for Sustainability in Romanian Technical Universities—An Empirical Web-Based Content Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-20, March.
    13. Isabel Ortiz-Marcos & Valeria Breuker & Rocío Rodríguez-Rivero & Björn Kjellgren & Frédéric Dorel & Marco Toffolon & Diego Uribe & Virna Eccli, 2020. "A Framework of Global Competence for Engineers: The Need for a Sustainable World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-25, November.
    14. Rafael Miñano Rubio & Diego Uribe & Ana Moreno-Romero & Susana Yáñez, 2019. "Embedding Sustainability Competences into Engineering Education. The Case of Informatics Engineering and Industrial Engineering Degree Programs at Spanish Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-29, October.
    15. Carlos Cacciuttolo & Yaneth Vásquez & Deyvis Cano & Fernando Valenzuela, 2023. "Research Thesis for Undergraduate Engineering Programs in the Digitalization Era: Learning Strategies and Responsible Research Conduct Road to a University Education 4.0 Paradigm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-27, July.
    16. Maha Faisal Alsayegh & Rashidah Abdul Rahman & Saeid Homayoun, 2020. "Corporate Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability Performance Transformation through ESG Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-20, May.
    17. Trang Cam Hoang & Indra Abeysekera & Shiguang Ma, 2018. "Board Diversity and Corporate Social Disclosure: Evidence from Vietnam," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(3), pages 833-852, September.
    18. Norka Blanco-Portela & Luis R-Pertierra & Javier Benayas & Rodrigo Lozano, 2018. "Sustainability Leaders’ Perceptions on the Drivers for and the Barriers to the Integration of Sustainability in Latin American Higher Education Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-16, August.
    19. Nijolė Burkšaitienė & Robert Lesčinskij & Jelena Suchanova & Jolita Šliogerienė, 2021. "Self-Directedness for Sustainable Learning in University Studies: Lithuanian Students’ Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-15, August.
    20. H. L. Zou & R. C. Zeng & S. X. Zeng & Jonathan J. Shi, 2015. "How Do Environmental Violation Events Harm Corporate Reputation?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 836-854, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:8044-:d:596915. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.