Teaching for a Better World. Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals in the Construction of a Change-Maker University

Francisco Zamora-Polo and Jesús Sánchez-Martín
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Francisco Zamora-Polo: Departamento de Ingeniería del Diseño, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Sevilla, C/Virgen de África, 7, 41011 Sevilla, Spain
Jesús Sánchez-Martín: Departamento de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales y Matemáticas, Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. de Elvas s/n, 06006 Badajoz, Spain

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: Sustainability, as a key concept in the education field, has submitted a relevant change during the last years. Thus, there is a growing debate about its meaning. It has undergone a crucial merging of significances from many fields: Ecology, environmental awareness, but also from politics, ethics or even spiritual approaches. All these fields have been co-involved in the building of such subject concept. In this sense, this article addresses the different ways of understanding sustainability as a polyhedral concept and how sustainability can be understood under the umbrella of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, it is proposed a conceptual framework to teach this UN Program at Higher Education, contributing to the training of undergraduate and postgraduate students from both a professional and a personal point of view. This framework is applied in a case study—in particular, in a course of Primary Teacher Degree called Didactics of Matter and Energy. This article finishes with practical consideration to build a change-maker University.

Keywords: SDG; higher education; competences; sustainability education; technology education; science education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (44)

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