Assessing the infusion of sustainability principles into university curricula

open3siThe current paper presents the assessment of the infusion of sustainability principles into university curricula at two Jordanian universities. The peer review process of revising the curricula infusing sustainability principles is also discussed. The research methodology involved quantitative methods to assess the revised courses. The results revealed the following: the most relevant ESD themes in the revised curricula were ìhuman connections to the physical and natural worldî, and ìethics/valuesî. The most relevant ESD topics were: ìsustainable production/consumptionî and ìhealth promotionî. The most infused ESD pillars (competencies) were: ìlearning to knowî and ìlearning to doî. The most relevant ESD principles were: ìpracticed locallyî and ìresponds through applied learningî. The findings offered a rich scenario of the strategies applied by the university professors in revising the curricula, providing evidence of a mental attitude to adopt ESD strategies, as well as a goal-oriented approach in curriculum planning. The paper also discusses the implications of the study results for syllabus revision and development, as well as the refinement of the teaching methods that focus on infusing sustainability into university curricula. Keywords: education for sustainable development, higher education, professional development, curricula revision, Reorient University Curricula to Address Sustainability (RUCAS)openBiasutti, Michele; De Baz, Theodora; Alshawa, HalaBiasutti, Michele; De Baz, Theodora; Alshawa, Hal

Investment in Human Capital: Vocational vs. Academic Education

The dilemma of providing effective education particularly in developing countries with limited resources and ambiguous calculations of rates of return due to unstable economies and labour market fluctuations makes it an absolute necessity to consider costs and benefits associated both with academic and vocational education.Through argumentation and scholarly literature analysis the paper brings together the benefits of academic education and emphasizes its multiple positive implications as opposed to secondary-school level vocational education that has a number of problematic issues to tackle. The argument further develops towards shifting vocational education from secondary-school level to on-the-job short-term technical trainings.The paper also brings arguments from scholarly literature that while rich developed countries can afford certain amount of vocationally oriented subjects incorporated into comprehensive secondary school curricula, the most optimal way for developing countries to find the solution to the problem would be to conduct vocational training courses at job places and adhere to general academic education in secondary schools.human capital; rates of return to education; manpower forecasting; efficiency effects of curricula; equity effects of curricula; hybrid curricula.

Students and staff co-creating curricula: a new trend or an old idea we never got around to implementing?

Within higher education, there is increasing interest in conceptualising students as producers, partners and co-creators of their own learning (Little, 2010; McCulloch, 2009; Neary 2010; Werder and Otis, 2010). One particular area of interest focuses upon students and academic staff co-creating curricula (Bovill et al, 2011; Delpish et al, 2010). The nature of co-created curricula can vary greatly and might include: students being consulted about changes to the content of course design; students designing part of a virtual learning environment; students designing marking criteria; or designing some of their own learning outcomes. The concept of co-created curricula is not new. However, discussion about co-creation of curricula has been most strongly evident in schools based literature, with many important discussions framed within ‘student voice’ and critical pedagogy discourse. In contrast, there has been less engagement in co-creation discussion and practice within higher education contexts until more recently

iSchools in Central and South Europe: Developments and Challenges of Cooperation

The countries of Central and South Europe entered the 2000s with plans to restructure their higher education systems based on Bologna recommendations and some other EU supported guidelines. The Humboldt tradition at the universities in the region, necessity to introduce new academic profiles as well as the use of ICT in higher education, is leading the way towards the restructuring of existing programs or designing new curricula and to cooperation between the LIS and IS departments in the region. This panel will address the special concerns for restructuring curricula in the wider information sciences field (Library and Information Science - LIS, Information Science ??? IS, Records Management ??? RM, education for digital services etc) Panelists will address three questions with respect to i-schools developments and trends in their respective countries: ??? What are the basic concerns in developing new curricula in their respective countries? ??? How do the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary issues influence curricula design in IS? ??? What are the future steps, particularly in regard to regional cooperation? After each of the panelists will have presented his position concerning these three questions, they will discuss especially the issues on inter-/multidisciplinarity and on future regional cooperation. The audience of the panel discussion is invited to join this discussion

Bridging the Abyss

This paper seeks to explain the epistemological bases for the two cultures and to show why this disciplinary divide continues to plague American academic culture. Next, we discuss strategies for bridging the two cultures through general education curricula which promote mutual understanding of the two cultures while educating students in basic skills. Evidence is presented which shows the efficacy of these integrative, interdisciplinary curricula. In conclusion, we briefly mention some collaborative research efforts which indicate the enduring effects that such an education may have

Friends, Foes, and Nel Noddings on Liberal Education

The author analyzes the debate over liberal education, focusing on critic Nel Noddings, who advocates alternative education. The author cites Noddings\u27 article Conversation as Moral Education, where Noddings identifies traditional education as studying the canon of Great Books, and another article in which Noddings discusses the theory of curricula

New Lessons: The Power of Educating Adolescent Girls

Offers data and analysis on the impact of education on adolescent girls' lives and highlights promising approaches. Calls for evaluating girl-friendly education programs, compiling data on non-formal schools, and improving curricula, access, and supports

Teacher Education Curricula

These are course descriptions and/or syllabi from teacher education and education-related classes in various colleges and universities. Courses and schools include: Human Growth and Development at Hampton University; Growth and Development (school not listed), Social Justice and Diversity Education (school not listed), Education in a Democratic Society at Ball State University; Service Leadership at Seattle University; Principles of Education at New England College; Theory and Practice in Service Learning Pedagogy (school not listed); Methods and Materials in Reading Service Learning Strand at Providence College; Elementary Social Studies at University of Iowa; Teaching in Secondary Schools at Hampton University; Social Studies Teaching Method at Hampton University; Assessment and Curriculum Methodology for Teaching Students with Mild and Moderate Disabilities at Providence College; and Curriculum and Methods of Inclusive Education for Diverse Learners at University of San Diego