The emerging academic field focused on sustainability has been engaged in a rich and converging debate to define what key competencies are considered critical for graduating students to possess. For more than a decade, sustainability courses have been developed and taught in higher education, yet comprehensive academic programs in sustainability, on the undergraduate and graduate level, have emerged only over the last few years. Considering this recent institutional momentum, the time is seemingly right to synthesize the discussion about key competencies in sustainability in order to support these relatively young academic programs in shaping their profiles and achieving their ambitious missions. This article presents the results of a broad literature review. The review identifies the relevant literature on key competencies in sustainability; synthesizes the substantive contributions in a coherent framework of sustainability research and problem-solving competence; and addresses critical gaps in the conceptualization of key competencies in sustainability. Insights from this study lay the groundwork for institutional advancements in designing and revising academic programs; teaching and learning evaluations; as well as hiring and training faculty and staff.

http://reforma.fen.uchile.cl/Papers/Key%20Competences%20in%20Sustainability%20Framework%20-%20Wiek,%20Withycombe,%20Redman.pdf

Key competencies in sustainability: a reference framework for academic program development

Barriers to the Circular Economy : Evidence From the European Union (EU)

Future-oriented higher education: Which key competencies should be fostered through university teaching and learning?

Universities play an important role in shaping the future of the world society in terms of sustainable development by generating new knowledge as well as contributing to the development of appropriate competencies and raising sustainability awareness. During the last years, many universities have undertaken activities for implementing Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD). Many have asked which key competencies are most relevant for sustainable development and hence should be developed in future-oriented higher education. Different approaches for the selection of sustainability key competencies have been developed, but there is little international agreement in the debate around the most important key competencies. Consequently, this paper asks which individual key competencies are crucial for understanding central challenges facing the world society and for facilitating its development towards a more sustainable future, and thus identifies those competencies which should be fostered through university teaching and learning. The empirical design of the study is related to a Delphi study in which ‘sustainability key competencies’ are defined by selected experts from Europe (Germany, Great Britain) and Latin America (Chile, Ecuador, Mexico). The results show that twelve key competencies crucial for sustainable development can be identified; the most relevant ones are those for systemic thinking, anticipatory thinking and critical thinking.

Future-Oriented Higher Education: Which Key Competencies Should Be Fostered Through University Teaching and Learning?

Purpose – Academic sustainability programs aim to develop key competencies in sustainability, including problem‐solving skills and the ability to collaborate successfully with experts and stakeholders. These key competencies may be most fully developed in new teaching and learning situations. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the kind of, and extent to which, these key competencies can be acquired in real‐world learning opportunities.Design/methodology/approach – The paper summarizes key competencies in sustainability, identifies criteria for real‐world learning opportunities in sustainability programs, and draws on dominant real‐world learning models including project‐ and problem‐based learning, service learning, and internships in communities, businesses, and governments. These components are integrated into a framework to design real‐world learning opportunities.Findings – A “functional and progressive” model of real‐world learning opportunities seems most conducive to introduce students (as wel...

Real‐world learning opportunities in sustainability: from classroom into the real world

– To date, little attention has been given to the circumstances in which the process of developing key competencies for sustainable development may take place. The purpose of this paper is to consider, the possibilities both of formal and informal learning and their relationship to competence development within higher education., – An explorative, qualitative study based on focus groups was designed using different groups from formal and informal learning settings., – The development of key competencies is based both on cognitive and non‐cognitive dispositions and asks for multiple contexts. Through combining formal and informal learning settings within higher education – as part of a new learning culture – a variety of contexts can be given and competence development can be enhanced., – While aspects of both formal and informal learning settings could be identified, the interdependencies between them remain elusive., – Based on the findings, some main aspects for acquiring competencies can be pointed out that may be crucial in higher education settings., – The paper analyses the implications for both formal and informal learning settings of new ways of developing key competencies within higher education. Particular attention is given to interdisciplinarity and students' self‐responsibility.

Developing key competencies for sustainable development in higher education

Bildung ist eine unerlassliche Voraussetzung fur die Forderung einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung und die Verbesserung der Fahigkeit der Menschen, sich mit Umwelt- und Entwicklungsfragen auseinanderzusetzen.

Bildung für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung

Bildung ist eine zentrale Strategie, um eine nachhaltige Entwicklung zu erreichen. Denn die grundlegenden Umorientierungen und neuen Wege im Umgang mit den naturlichen Lebensgrundlagen und hinsichtlich des Zusammenlebens in der Weltgesellschaft, die mit einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung verbunden sind, erfordern eine tiefgreifende Veranderung des Denkens und Handelns der Menschen und damit die Entwicklung von Kompetenzen, die es den Individuen ermoglichen, zu einer nachhaltigeren Zukunft beizutragen. Nachhaltige Entwicklung selbst ist dabei nicht als Ziel, sondern als Aufgabe und individueller und gesellschaftlicher Lern- und Gestaltungsprozess zu verstehen.

Partizipation als zentrales Element von Bildung für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung

Purpose – To date, little attention has been given to the circumstances in which developing key competencies for sustainable development may take place. Within higher education, the possibilities both of formal and informal learning and their relationship to competence development should be considered.Design/methodology/approach – Based on focus groups an explorative, qualitative study was designed, using different groups from formal and informal learning settings.Findings – The development of key competencies is based both on cognitive and non-cognitive dispositions and asks for multiple contexts. Through combining formal and informal learning settings within higher education – as part of a new learning culture – a variety of contexts can be given and competence development can be enhanced.Research limitations – While aspects of both formal and informal learning settings could be identified, the interdependencies between them remain elusive.Practical implications (if applicable) – Based on the findings, some main aspects can be pointed out that may be crucial for competence development in higher education settings.Originality/value – The paper analyses the implications of new ways for both formal and informal learning settings for developing key competencies within higher education. Particular attention is given to interdisciplinarity and students’ self-responsibility.

Developing Key Competencies for Sustainable Development in Higher Education

Die Bemuhungen der Universitat Luneburg um die Entwicklung einer am Leitbild der Nachhaltigkeit orientierten Lehr-, Lern- und Lebenskultur an der Hochschule sind bereits im Themenheft "Globales Lernen in Forschung und Lehre" vorgestellt worden. In diesem Beitrag wird das dort angesiedelte Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojekt "Sustainable University - Nachhaltige Entwicklung im Kontext universitarer Aufgabenstellungen" unter der Perspektive informellen Lernens in den Blick genommen. (DIPF/Orig.)
The efforts of the University of Luneburg concerning the development of a culture of learning, teaching and living at the university geared to the approach of Sustainability have already been described in the ZEP-issue "Globales Lernen in Forschung und Lehre". This article now focusses on the perspective of informal learning within the research- and development-project "Sustainable Development in the context of university tasks" at the University of Luneburg. (DIPF/Orig.)

Ute Stoltenberg

Papers

Developing key competencies for sustainable development in higher education

Bildung für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung

Partizipation als zentrales Element von Bildung für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung

Developing Key Competencies for Sustainable Development in Higher Education

Die "Sustainable University" als informeller Lernkontext