Investigating Students’ Sustainability Awareness and the Curriculum of Technology Education in Pakistan

Muhammad Noman Malik, Huma Hayat Khan, Abdoulmohammad Gholamzadeh Chofreh, Feybi Ariani Goni, Jiří Jaromír Klemeš and Youseef Alotaibi
Additional contact information
Muhammad Noman Malik: Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Huma Hayat Khan: Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Abdoulmohammad Gholamzadeh Chofreh: Department of Industrial Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz 61349-37333, Iran
Feybi Ariani Goni: Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia
Jiří Jaromír Klemeš: Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory—SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology—VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 616 69 Brno, Czech Republic
Youseef Alotaibi: Department of Computer Sciences, Jamoum University College, Umm Al-Qura University, P.O.Box 715, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Various fields of manufacturing, management, and business, including technology education, software development, and information communication technology (ICT), have espoused sustainability concepts. Including sustainability concepts in technology, education can help students learn how to implement the dimensions of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental). Lack of awareness and education regarding sustainability among students can impact their competence to incorporate sustainability into technology development. Thus, the development of student competence across the curriculum of technology education for sustainability is crucial. This research aims to explore student competence development in technology education (IT, computer science, and software development) through investigating their awareness of sustainability, and to investigate how much sustainability is infused across the technology education curriculum. The case study for this research is taken from a very populous and developing country—Pakistan. First, an in-depth survey of higher education students is conducted to investigate their awareness level of sustainability. Second, qualitative document analysis is conducted, where the standard curriculum for technology education is taken and analyzed for its provision towards sustainability. A total of 159 students from various public-sector universities of Pakistan reported their awareness towards sustainability. The results show that 71% of them are unaware of the term sustainability in their respective fields, only 17% students know the basic definition of sustainability, and 12% of students have just an idea of how sustainability is related to technology education. It is also observed that the current curriculum of technology education does not sufficiently cover specific subjects or topics that can help students understand the concepts of sustainability. This study highlights the gaps in the offered curriculum for building the desired competence of students in technology education.

Keywords: sustainability; curriculum; technology education; competence development (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 (6)

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