<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> In this paper, we look at the University of Crete experience to integrate the concept of sustainable development across all its operations. Through a review of current sustainability practices of universities worldwide, this paper has identified a number of principles for developing a sustainable university. These principles are then used as a framework for analysing the sustainable initiatives being implemented at the University of Crete in the context of the Reorient University Curricula to Address Sustainability (RUCAS) project - an EU-Tempus initiative. This effort has been backed-up by two research studies, which indicate the urgent need for institutionalising sustainability across all university functions.</abstract>

Education for Sustainable Development: Experiences from Action Research with Science Teachers

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> This study reports on Egyptian science teachers’ experiences in collective action research projects with a focus on education for sustainable development (ESD). Science teachers were enrolled in a study course “Teaching Strategies” that had been revised with a focus on sustainability. The course was introduced in the spring semester of the academic year 2011/2012. Throughout the course, 29 teachers worked in groups to develop projects that promote sustainable development through classroom teaching practices that encourage involvement with local communities around school premises. The framework that guided the study was based on experiential, constructivist and transformative learning theories known collectively as ‘ExConTra’. A mixed methods methodology was used where teachers’ responses to three open-ended reflective questions produced qualitative data that were analysed by identifying themes and patterns. The author developed two quantitative instruments: a Concept Mapping Rubric and a Sustainable Development Questionnaire. The former was to probe the cognitive organisation participants had in relation to the concept of sustainable development before and after developing the action research projects. The latter instrument was used to identify participants’ attitudes towards teaching for ESD and their knowledge of classroom pedagogical practices. Statistical data analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences indicates that teachers in their post-tests had developed: better cognitive organisation for the concept of sustainable development; positive attitudes towards teaching for sustainable development and ESD classroom teaching practices. Involvement in the action research projects where teachers were experiencing, reflecting, conceptualising, constructing, acting and transforming within the context of ESD may be responsible for these results where there are promises to help achieve successful implementation to include ESD in science education.</abstract>

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> The population growth together with the unsustainable consumption pattern is putting increasing stress on the planet’s natural resources. The increasing realisation that humans are harming the environment is taking the form of a global movement intended to change behaviour towards sustainability, now recognised as a framework that links humans to nature. Continuous exploitation of natural systems in the Arab region leads to environmental damages that negatively affect human well-being. This article presents a case study from the Reorient University Curricula to Address Sustainability (RUCAS) Tempus project funded by the European Commission. It highlights the results of an empirical study in the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics (FBAE) at Notre Dame University -Louaize (NDU) in Lebanon. The main objective is to assess the need for education for sustainable development (ESD) through an examination of students’ attitudes and competences with the aim of reorienting university curricula to address sustainability. A framework based on the pillars of learning set by UNESCO was developed to measure ESD attitudes and competences. The main findings reveal the need to reorient university courses to address sustainability issues. Attitudes questions suggest that relatively high numbers of students are not aware of their responsibilities for environmental problems, which imply the necessity for a revised curriculum where courses are restructured to inform students of their responsibility for their environment and the quality of life. The results show that the disciplinary competences are significantly lower than the five pillars of learning (general competences) which indicate that the FBAE needs to reorient its curricula to infuse ESD into its programmes through the development of effective pedagogical approaches, teaching methodologies as well as learning materials.</abstract>

Can Education for Sustainable Development Address Challenges in the Arab Region? Examining Business Students’ attitudes and Competences on Education for Sustainable Development: A Case Study

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> With the development of science and technology, a basically optimistic ideology of progress has emerged. This deterministic attitude has been challenged in recent decades as a result of harmful side-effects generated by the way technology and science have been approached and used. The study presented here is a part of a larger international and comparative study dealing with global/environmental issues related to political orientation, science and technology. 3 080 pre-service teachers from Finland, Greece, Sweden, Japan and Holland answered a closed-end survey instrument. The results of this study show that none of the sample country respondents identified themselves as optimists concerning the impact of science and technology on society and environment. The no-stance and the pessimistic attitudes towards technology and science seem to derive from the human and environmental costs associated with science and technology development. A strong connection was found between environmental consciousness and attitudes towards the role and impact of science and technology on society. These results indicate that society and education, in particular, should place higher critical concerns about scientific and technological issues and their relation to the development of a sustainable society.</abstract>

Scientific and Technological Progress, Political Beliefs and Environmental Sustainability

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> The paper reports research employing a quantitative approach to investigating the competences of university students about educating for sustainable development (ESD). Participants were 467 bachelor students of the following five areas: social sciences, educational sciences, applied sciences, engineering and health sciences. The Student Survey of Education for Sustainable Development Competencies was employed. Internal consistency and factor structure of this questionnaire were investigated by assessing Cronbach’s alphas and by performing exploratory factor analysis. Data were subjected to ANOVA for comparing the students of the five faculties. The relevance of factors and the differences between students of different areas were discussed considering also how to infuse ESD principles in university curricula. The aim is reorienting university study programmes in various faculties to prepare students about sustainable development issues.</abstract>

The Students’ Survey of Education for Sustainable Development Competencies: A Comparison Among Faculties

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Due to the scarcity in natural resources and the demand for green labour and economy, education for sustainable development (ESD) gained a great importance in developed countries, let alone developing ones. From this point of view, this paper is studying the possibility of infusing ESD in Egypt after one and a half years since January 2011 youth revolution. A primary data gathering method was conducted within a sample of 79 young undergraduate people (67 from the American University in Cairo and 12 fresh graduates from conventional educational systems). The results indicated that there is a positive relationship between high cultural resources along with early childhood awareness and ESD adoption and infusion. Also, Spearman’s rank association test showed a negative relationship between ESD infusion and the satisfaction level of the current conventional curriculum. On the other hand, Spearman’s rank association test showed that α is greater than 0.05; accordingly, there was no correlation between ESD infusion if introduced within the curriculum of an existing well-established university than if introduced as the final outcome of a new university specialised in ESD. The paper highlights the importance of ESD brand associations offered as a service product. After validating the hypothesis, the author discusses the findings and provides solid recommendations for ESD infusion in Egypt.</abstract>

Branding the Green Education: Challenges Facing Implementation of Education for Sustainable Development in Egypt

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> There is a growing need to incorporate educational sustainable development (ESD) principles into engineering education. This paper identifies engineering competencies within the Faculty of Engineering at Notre Dame University - Louaize and the means to shift towards sustainability. ESD tools are used to carry the analysis, keeping in mind the Faculty of Engineering accreditation system ABET, incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., requirements. A survey of the current situation was conducted based on seven key areas: curriculum, research and scholarship, operations, faculty and staff development, outreach and service, student opportunities, administration, mission and planning. The survey revealed some weaknesses that the Faculty of Engineering needs to address for a successful implementation of sustainable practices. ESD is integrated in two selected engineering courses. At the beginning of the course, a questionnaire is used to assess the knowledge, behaviour and attitudes of students. Results show that students currently understand the importance of ESD, but they have a weak knowledge of the relationship between the environment and sustainable future and a bad understanding of sufficient living economy principle. The analysis showed also the need to introduce new courses of sustainability. Nevertheless, the proposed amendment to the curriculum ought to be carried in conjunction with the Faculty of Engineering accreditation system ABET. A wide dissemination of ESD throughout the entire engineering programme will help promoting sustainability. Besides, the infusion of ESD can be implemented within a common engineering course - a mandatory course for all engineering students following ABET amendment procedures.</abstract>

Education for Sustainable Development: Assessment of the Current Situation at the Faculty of Engineering of Notre Dame University – Louaize

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Due to the rapidly changing knowledge, teachers are supposed to teach their students ways of thinking and gathering information, not certain contents that would change shortly. In this sense, sustainability, which, in part, means the preparation of an individual who has the ability to practise critical thinking and to find creative solutions to the problems they face, is considered a must. This paper focuses on the integration of sustainability in curricula, specifically ways of introducing it to students in higher education institutions that provide highly specific and specialised knowledge and skills. So, this study presents a framework for reorienting a university course in the field of physiological psychology to address sustainability. The results of the quantitative analysis showed significant differences at the level of 0.001 between the pre- and post-testing of students’ knowledge of and attitudes towards sustainability in favour of the post-test. While results of qualitative analysis showed positive transformation of students’ practices health wise.</abstract>

Reorienting an Educational Psychology Course to Address Sustainability: A Case Study

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> The Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences at Notre Dame University - Louaize, conscious to the need of experts in the emerging field of sustainability and to the role that an educational institution plays for the service of the community, introduced into the university curricula a major in environmental science. This paper will present the programme’s components, goals and implementation. The curriculum encompasses natural, social and managerial sciences, given the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science. Topical courses on water, soil and air pollution, environmental impact assessment and environmental ethics were designed, which integrate theory and practice. The graduates are prepared for managerial, communication and, most importantly, ethical competences to be able to implement best practices in environmental protection and play an active role in the community, especially the public, private, industrial and educational domains. At an inter-faculty level, the programme was successful in offering general education requirements courses on environment, sustainability and ethics, which helped in raising sustainability awareness among the students’ population and strengthened the inter-faculty community relationships. To the present, the main focus of the programme was on education and preparation of graduates for the job market. Research, community outreach and campus sustainability practices need to be further addressed. Therefore, primary efforts should be exerted to improve the outcomes at these domains, especially that the university now joined the international educational programme: RUCAS - Tempus project, which emphasises development and improvements at all the institution sectors.</abstract>

Education for Sustainable Development at Notre Dame University – Louaize: Environmental Science Curriculum – a Pre-Phase to the Rucas Project on Education for Sustainable Development

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Sustainable development is continuous process of change requiring painful choices resting on political will. This paper examines the developments needed to engage with sustainable development in the field of political science through the following: the reform in political science programmes to cope with the need for sustainable development in terms of governance, advocacy and other related issues; the need to use a holistic approach in education; the re-examination of the prevailing ideologies and market-oriented economies; the introduction of education for sustainable development at the Faculty of Political Science of Notre Dame University - Louaize in terms of a global approach of education, curricula design, teaching and implementation.</abstract>

Education in the new Era: The Dissemination of Education for Sustainable Development in the Political Science Programmes at Notre Dame University – Louaize

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Volume 14 (2023): Issue 2 (December 2023)

Volume 14 (2023): Issue 1 (June 2023)

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Volume 10 (2019): Issue 2 (December 2019)

Volume 10 (2019): Issue 1 (June 2019)

Volume 9 (2018): Issue 2 (December 2018)

Volume 9 (2018): Issue 1 (June 2018)

Volume 8 (2017): Issue 2 (December 2017)

Volume 8 (2017): Issue 1 (June 2017)

Volume 7 (2016): Issue 2 (December 2016)

Volume 7 (2016): Issue 1 (December 2016)

Volume 6 (2015): Issue 1 (December 2015)

Volume 5 (2014): Issue 1 (December 2014)

Volume 3 (2012): Issue 2012 (December 2012)

Volume 2 (2011): Issue 2011 (December 2011)

Volume 1 (2010): Issue 2 (December 2010)

Volume 1 (2010): Issue 1 (June 2010)

Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education

 Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education is an international, double blind peer-reviewed journal that provides a forum for the examination of policies, theories and practices related to discourse and communication for sustainable education. Since contemporary discourse study has extended its field to the study of multifaceted contexts of discourse, it is able to be integrated in the broader study of the phenomena of communication in relation to sustainable education. The journal Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education publishes research articles and reviews. Its diversity is apparent in the variety of its theories, methods and approaches, thus avoiding the frequent limitation to one school, approach, academic branch. The only criteria will be the quality and the originality of its articles. The journal Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education welcomes articles which explore inspirational ideas in sustainable education, are written in innovative ways or are presented in experimental ways. It does not have article processing charges (APCs) nor article submission charges.  Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal.  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 

Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education

Volume 3 (2012): Issue 2012 (December 2012)

Education for Sustainable Development: Experiences from Action Research with Science Teachers

Education for Sustainable Development: Experiences from Action Research with Science Teachers

Can Education for Sustainable Development Address Challenges in the Arab Region? Examining Business Students’ attitudes and Competences on Education for Sustainable Development: A Case Study

Scientific and Technological Progress, Political Beliefs and Environmental Sustainability

The Students’ Survey of Education for Sustainable Development Competencies: A Comparison Among Faculties

Branding the Green Education: Challenges Facing Implementation of Education for Sustainable Development in Egypt

Education for Sustainable Development: Assessment of the Current Situation at the Faculty of Engineering of Notre Dame University – Louaize

Reorienting an Educational Psychology Course to Address Sustainability: A Case Study

Education for Sustainable Development at Notre Dame University – Louaize: Environmental Science Curriculum – a Pre-Phase to the Rucas Project on Education for Sustainable Development

Education in the new Era: The Dissemination of Education for Sustainable Development in the Political Science Programmes at Notre Dame University – Louaize

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