IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i10p8340-d1151863.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Education for Sustainable Development: Mapping the SDGs to University Curricula

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Adams

    (School of Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, University of Galway, University Road, H91W2TY Galway, Ireland
    MaREI, The Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, Ryan Institute, University of Galway, University Road, H91W2TY Galway, Ireland)

  • Syed Muslim Jameel

    (School of Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, University of Galway, University Road, H91W2TY Galway, Ireland)

  • Jamie Goggins

    (School of Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, University of Galway, University Road, H91W2TY Galway, Ireland
    MaREI, The Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine, Ryan Institute, University of Galway, University Road, H91W2TY Galway, Ireland
    Construct Innovate, Ireland’s National Construction Technology Centre, University of Galway, University Road, H91W2TY Galway, Ireland)

Abstract

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a growing research field, particularly over the last decade. Measuring the level of ESD that is currently embedded in curricula is useful for planning the further implementation of sustainability-related teaching. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a useful benchmark for sustainability topics and so this paper follows a methodology in which a keyword scanning tool was created to quantify the level of SDG coverage within a list of learning outcomes for a module. The aim of the research is to further develop this methodology and compare the results from the keyword tool with results from a survey of the academic staff who deliver the modules. SDG-related keyword lists were collected from multiple sources for a meta-analysis, examining the performance of various lists. These lists were then compiled into one list of over 12,000 SDG keywords and a team of reviewers conducted a critical analysis on the relevancy of the context in which the keywords were found when scanned. This process reduced the list to 222 “crucial keywords” and gave the keywords a relevancy label based on the STARS definitions, the sustainability tracking assessment and rating system. Finally, ChatGPT was also investigated as a method of enriching the critically analysed list with contextually relevant synonyms. A survey was carried out within the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Galway. It asked staff to rate the level of SDG coverage within their own modules, in their own opinion. This gave results which could be compared with the keyword scanning tool. The findings show success in improving the accuracy of the SDG keywords. ChatGPT added synonyms to the crucial keywords identified and this list was the most accurate out of all keyword lists used in the study. Using these keywords and the modules that staff rated in the survey, a correlation was found in the SDG trend.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Adams & Syed Muslim Jameel & Jamie Goggins, 2023. "Education for Sustainable Development: Mapping the SDGs to University Curricula," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-32, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8340-:d:1151863
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/8340/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/8340/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Idiano D’Adamo & Massimo Gastaldi, 2023. "Perspectives and Challenges on Sustainability: Drivers, Opportunities and Policy Implications in Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-6, February.
    2. Masaru Yarime & Yuko Tanaka, 2012. "The Issues and Methodologies in Sustainability Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 6(1), pages 63-77, March.
    3. Christine Meschede, 2020. "The Sustainable Development Goals in Scientific Literature: A Bibliometric Overview at the Meta-Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.
    4. Philip Hallinger & Chatchai Chatpinyakoop, 2019. "A Bibliometric Review of Research on Higher Education for Sustainable Development, 1998–2018," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-20, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rezaei Pegah & Bellini Francesco & Gorelova Irina & D’ascenzo Fabrizio, 2025. "The Role of AI in Accelerating UN Efforts to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 19(1), pages 37-49.
    2. Viktoriia Prokhorova & Oleksandra Mrykhina & Orest Koleshchuk & Tetiana Demianenko, 2024. "Assessing the effectiveness of implementing immersive technologies within university sustainable development systems," Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, PC TECHNOLOGY CENTER, vol. 5(13 (131)), pages 35-47, October.
    3. Bianca Ifeoma Chigbu & Sicelo Leonard Makapela, 2025. "Data-Driven Leadership in Higher Education: Advancing Sustainable Development Goals and Inclusive Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-29, April.
    4. Hilal Uğraş & Mustafa Uğraş & Stamatios Papadakis & Michail Kalogiannakis, 2024. "ChatGPT-Supported Education in Primary Schools: The Potential of ChatGPT for Sustainable Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Wilanfranco C. Tayone & Janeth C. Tayone & Roselyn V. Regino & Geralph Sam P. Villarubia & Jonel P. Saludes & Roy G. Ponce & Hayma T. Usman, 2025. "Establishment of Natural Products Development Laboratory: A Future-Proofing Intervention and DOrSU’s Commitment to UN-SDGs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-11, October.
    6. Denis Alcides Rezende & Giovana Goretti Feijó Almeida & Luis André Wernecke Fumagalli, 2024. "Strategic Digital City: Multiple Projects for Sustainable Urban Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-16, June.
    7. Yoonsung Choi, 2025. "Exploring the Scientific Validity of ChatGPT’s Responses in Elementary Science for Sustainable Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-19, March.
    8. Jesús González & Liliana Martínez & Roberto Aguas & Jhon De La Hoz & Henry Sánchez, 2023. "Redesign and Implementation of the Electromagnetism Course for Engineering Students Using the Backward Design Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-14, August.
    9. José Cantó & M. Àngels Ull & María Calero & Tatiana Pina & Olga Mayoral & Amparo Vilches, 2025. "The 2030 Agenda and the SDGs in Initial Teacher Training: An Analysis of Teaching Guides," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-14, May.
    10. Zied Bahroun & Chiraz Anane & Vian Ahmed & Andrew Zacca, 2023. "Transforming Education: A Comprehensive Review of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Educational Settings through Bibliometric and Content Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-40, August.
    11. Prema Nedungadi & Kai-Yu Tang & Raghu Raman, 2024. "The Transformative Power of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Quality Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-27, November.

    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. Barbara S. Lancho Barrantes, 2025. "Exploratory factor analysis of bibliometric indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 130(3), pages 1701-1729, March.
    2. Arman Canatay & Leonel Prieto & Muhammad Ruhul Amin, 2025. "Navigating the Convergence of Global Competitiveness and Sustainable Development: A Multi-Level Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-39, June.
    3. David Steingard & Kathleen Rodenburg, 2023. "Societal Impacts of Higher Education Research: From ‘Publish or Perish’ to ‘Publish and Prosper’ in Business School Scholarship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-15, July.
    4. Walter Leal Filho & João Henrique Paulino Pires Eustachio & Lucas Veiga Ávila & Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis & Paula M. Hernandez‐Diaz & Karina Batista & Bruno Borsari & Ismaila Rimi Abubakar, 2025. "Enhancing the contribution of higher education institutions to sustainable development research: A focus on post‐2015 SDGs," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 1745-1757, April.
    5. Xianbo Li, 2022. "Sequence Model and Prediction for Sustainable Enrollments in Chinese Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-25, December.
    6. Aurélien Décamps & Oihab Allal-Chérif & Anne Gombault, 2021. "Fostering Knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals in Universities: The Case of Sulitest," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-17, November.
    7. Syed Mithun Ali & Andrea Appolloni & Fausto Cavallaro & Idiano D’Adamo & Assunta Di Vaio & Francesco Ferella & Massimo Gastaldi & Muhammad Ikram & Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar & Michael Alan Martin & Abdul, 2023. "Development Goals towards Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-11, June.
    8. Jiyu Zhao & Ning Zhang, 2023. "Environmental regulation and labor market: a bibliometric analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6095-6116, July.
    9. Elena Andriollo & Alberto Caimo & Laura Secco & Elena Pisani, 2021. "Collaborations in Environmental Initiatives for an Effective “Adaptive Governance” of Social–Ecological Systems: What Existing Literature Suggests," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-29, July.
    10. Diego Bonilla-Jurado & Ember Zumba & Araceli Lucio-Quintana & Carlos Yerbabuena-Torres & Andrea Ramírez-Casco & Cesar Guevara, 2024. "Advancing University Education: Exploring the Benefits of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-27, September.
    11. Esteban Pardo-Fernández & Miguel A. Alonso-Neira & César Martínez-Meseguer, 2024. "Ecosystems and Agile Organizations: The Transition to Spontaneous Order," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 25(1), pages 27-42, March.
    12. Davidescu, Adriana AnaMaria & Petcu, Monica Aureliana & Curea, Stefania Cristina & Manta, Eduard Mihai, 2022. "Two faces of the same coin: Exploring the multilateral perspective of informality in relation to Sustainable Development Goals based on bibliometric analysis," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 683-705.
    13. Shang, Yuanyuan & Sivertsen, Gunnar & Cao, Zhe & Zhang, Lin, 2021. "Gender differences in research focused on the Sustainable Development Goal of Gender Equality," SocArXiv 3fapz, Center for Open Science.
    14. Lauri Lidstone & Tarah Wright & Kate Sherren, 2015. "An analysis of Canadian STARS-rated higher education sustainability policies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 259-278, April.
    15. Hazem S Kassem & Salim Bagadeem & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Mohammed Aljuaid, 2021. "Are partnerships in nonprofit organizations being governed for sustainability? A partnering life cycle assessment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-25, March.
    16. Emilia Miszewska & Maciej Niedostatkiewicz & Radosław Wiśniewski, 2023. "Sustainable Development of Water Housing Using the Example of Poland: An Analysis of Scenarios," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.
    17. Emilio Abad-Segura & Francisco Joaquín Cortés-García & Luis J. Belmonte-Ureña, 2019. "The Sustainable Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility: A Global Analysis and Future Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-24, September.
    18. Joohye Yoon & Sujin Han & Yongseok Lee & Hyesun Hwang, 2023. "Text Mining Analysis of ESG Management Reports in South Korea: Comparison With Sustainable Development Goals," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    19. Daniel A. Salas & Paulina Criollo & Angel D. Ramirez, 2021. "The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Implementation of Circular Economy in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, August.
    20. Edyta Baran & Sebastian Czernik & Mariusz Hynowski & Bartosz Michałowski & Michał Piasecki & Justyna Tomaszewska & Jacek Michalak, 2021. "Quantifying Environmental Burdens of Plasters Based on Natural vs. Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) Gypsum," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-14, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8340-:d:1151863. 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.