Sustainability

14 pages, 272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Higher Education Promote Firm Innovation in China?

by Xia Pan, Yuning Gao, Dong Guo and Wenyin Cheng

Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7326; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187326 - 7 Sep 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2950

Endogenous growth theories have underpinned the pivotal role of education in innovation. However, our empirical study uncovers a mixed effect of higher education on firm innovation in China. Using Chinese Patent Census Data, a unique dataset, this paper is able to quantify innovation [...] Read more.

Endogenous growth theories have underpinned the pivotal role of education in innovation. However, our empirical study uncovers a mixed effect of higher education on firm innovation in China. Using Chinese Patent Census Data, a unique dataset, this paper is able to quantify innovation in China by incorporating a quality dimension for the first time. By merging the patent data with the Chinese Industrial Enterprise Database and province-level data on education, we find that the number of higher education institutions has a negative impact on firm-level innovation. However, the quantity of elite higher education institutions at the provincial level exerts a positive impact on firm innovation. In addition, heterogeneity analyses show that the effect of elite higher education on firm innovation is significantly positive for privately owned enterprises, but insignificant for state- and foreign-owned enterprises. Furthermore, the positive effect of elite higher education on innovation in high-tech industries is larger than in other industries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education as Sustainable Development)

13 pages, 819 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tracking the Interlinkages across SDGs: The Case of Hill Centered Education Network in Bogota, Colombia

by Valeria Andreoni and Valeria Ruiz Vargas

Sustainability 2020, 12(19), 7924; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12197924 - 24 Sep 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2566

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to use the successful example of the Hill Centered Education Network in Bogota, Colombia, to discuss the role that education and bottom-up initiatives can have in the integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Founded in 2015 [...] Read more.

The main objective of this paper is to use the successful example of the Hill Centered Education Network in Bogota, Colombia, to discuss the role that education and bottom-up initiatives can have in the integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Founded in 2015 by a team of three organisations, the Bogota Hill Network includes today more than 100 schools, 21 non-governmental organisations and three governmental agencies. Oriented to promote ecological conservation through education, the network uses the natural ecosystems of the city as a learning environment where collaborative projects are created and implemented. By involving a large number of pupils with different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, the initiative has been able to promote equality and inclusion while developing environmental stewardship of students and communities. The achievements of the projects, together with the main opportunities and challenges, are used in this paper to map the interlinkages across targets and goals and to discuss the role of education in the development of integrated partnerships across a wide range of sustainability dimensions. From a policy perspective, the discussion of the bottom-up initiatives and the identification of successful examples can support the design of policies and the replication of sustainability initiatives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education as Sustainable Development)

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15 pages, 4608 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Teachable Moments in News Media—An Analysis of Audience Awareness, Enjoyment, Interest, Opinion Formation, and Understanding (AEIOU) toward Science

by Leon Yufeng Wu, Shannah Pinhsuan Wu and Chun-Yen Chang

Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 10212; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310212 - 7 Dec 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3247

Abstract

In light of the increased time spent by people on watching the news via social media, what might be the communication impacts if science education could help in producing science news media for the public? The present study compared the audience levels of [...] Read more.

In light of the increased time spent by people on watching the news via social media, what might be the communication impacts if science education could help in producing science news media for the public? The present study compared the audience levels of awareness, enjoyment, interest, opinion formation, and understanding (AEIOU) toward science experimentally between two groups: the general science communication (GSC) group (i.e., participants with general daily science news digestion) and the science edu-communication (SEC) group (i.e., participants who watched science news videos produced jointly by science educators, scientists, and news media production teams). As a result, those in the SEC group showed significantly higher levels of “interest”, formed more scientific “opinions”, and had better “understanding” than the GSC participants. In terms of creating an “additional opportunity” to develop science news media sustainably for the public, the present study confirms more salient outcomes when science educators are involved in the production of science news media. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education as Sustainable Development)

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26 pages, 791 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Conceptual Model for Developing Climate Education in Sustainability Management Education System

by Elżbieta Izabela Szczepankiewicz, Jan Fazlagić and Windham Loopesko

Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1241; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031241 - 25 Jan 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4276

Abstract

Climate change issues are multi-faceted and transcend different parts of society and the economy; they expose future generations to life-long health risks. We have a responsibility to future generations. One way to shape the future is the appropriate design of education systems. In [...] Read more.

Climate change issues are multi-faceted and transcend different parts of society and the economy; they expose future generations to life-long health risks. We have a responsibility to future generations. One way to shape the future is the appropriate design of education systems. In this article we argue that climate education requires a holistic approach which goes beyond classroom pedagogies. We argue that climate education should not be limited to interventions within the field of school curricula alone. We review the main elements of the system of education qualitatively, both at macro- and micro-levels, and attempt to form a point of view. Our main argument is that climate education efforts should be coordinated and institutionalised. Based on our qualitative research in Poland, we developed a conceptual model and linked it to an assessment tool. Our model includes the elements necessary for a climate-oriented education program. We propose certain indicators which can be applied at school and higher levels of education system management. Our suggestions should not be limited to children’s education but should be incorporated into continuing education for professionals such as lawyers and accountants as well as other adult education programs. The science and research results are now rich and reliable enough that they can be applied to systemic social change (not only at the individual level). For this reason our model presents a conceptual framework for implementing systemic change in education systems that supports the efforts of local and national authorities to address climate change. The model is general and independent of national cultures. Our research offers both policymakers and scientists the opportunity to modify our concept and adapt it to local contexts and the national legal system. Our model should provoke decision-makers to introduce necessary changes in the legal system. The development of climate awareness should take a formalised role within a national education system. In this paper we demonstrate a logical process of reasoning ensuing from the literature review through empirical research down to the implementation stage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education as Sustainable Development)

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18 pages, 904 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Variability of Higher Education Students’ Learning Styles Depending on Gender, Course, Degree and Institutional Context

by Pilar Alonso-Martín, Rocío Cruz-Díaz, Carmen Granado-Alcón, Rocío Lago-Urbano and Concha Martínez-García

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1659; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041659 - 4 Feb 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4592

Abstract

In higher education it is important to consider learning styles of students to facilitate the teaching–learning process. The aims guiding the research were to describe the learning styles predominating among students in the field of the social sciences, to analyse the results with [...] Read more.

In higher education it is important to consider learning styles of students to facilitate the teaching–learning process. The aims guiding the research were to describe the learning styles predominating among students in the field of the social sciences, to analyse the results with respect to gender, year of study, degree course and institution, and to perform correlation analysis between these variables. The data analyses were carried out with non-parametric statistics with a confidence level of 95%. The sample was composed of 636 students at the Universities of Huelva (UHU), Cádiz (UCA), and Pablo de Olavide of Seville (UPO), who completed the Honey–Alonso Learning Styles Questionnaire and reported sociodemographic and educational data. The results showed a significant preference for the Reflector style. Significant correlations were found in most variables highlighting that the courses showed an inverse correlation with the learning styles, the Activist, Theorist, and Pragmatist styles being less preferred as they progressed in the career. It is worth noting the significant direct correlation between Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist styles, but the Activist style inversely correlates with all three. As a complementary contribution, a proposal for intervention in classrooms with a sustainable perspective is offered. It is important to attend to the evolution in the preference of the learning styles that students acquire as they advance in higher education courses in order to facilitate a more optimal and sustainable teaching–learning process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education as Sustainable Development)

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13 pages, 493 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Can Security and Safety Education Support Sustainability? Lessons Learned from Poland

by Małgorzata Gawlik-Kobylińska

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1747; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041747 - 6 Feb 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3312

Abstract

The aim of the article is to prove that sustainable development goals can be supported by security and safety education, where security refers to the state of being free from danger or threats and safety applies to creating protection from risks or dangers. [...] Read more.

The aim of the article is to prove that sustainable development goals can be supported by security and safety education, where security refers to the state of being free from danger or threats and safety applies to creating protection from risks or dangers. This kind of education, which is obligatory in Polish schools, encompasses interdisciplinary knowledge and universal values focusing on improvement of human existence through minimisation of threats. Through the Word Frequency Query, the most intense descriptors of security and safety education were distinguished and fitted within the framework of sustainable development goals. The obtained data were supported with literature analysis identified with relevant keywords in the Web of Science database. It was proved that security and safety education reflects the idea of sustainable development in a variety of aspects. Since common foundations were identified, it could be inferred that teaching security and safety is a great platform for promotion of sustainable development goals. Moreover, in countries where security and safety education is taught as a separate school subject, more cross-disciplinary sustainability issues should be implemented in the curricula and taught with the use of novel strategies and tools. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education as Sustainable Development)

14 pages, 293 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The European Competency and the Teaching for Understanding Frameworks: Creating Synergies in the Context of Initial Teacher Training in Higher Education

by Naiara Bilbao, Urtza Garay, Ainara Romero and Arantzazu López de la Serna

Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1810; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041810 - 8 Feb 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2426

Abstract

The aim of this research was to analyze the rich, complex, interrelated relationship that could possibly be established between the Teaching for Understanding framework, pedagogical proposal belonging to Project Zero (Education research team of Harvard University, Boston, MA, US), and the European Competency [...] Read more.

The aim of this research was to analyze the rich, complex, interrelated relationship that could possibly be established between the Teaching for Understanding framework, pedagogical proposal belonging to Project Zero (Education research team of Harvard University, Boston, MA, US), and the European Competency Framework. Through an in-depth analysis of the constituent features that define and explain both proposals, and questions answered both by teachers with ample classroom experience and experts on the field, it shows that these are two complementary educational perspectives that share a similar vocation and that contribute to improving the teaching-learning process in Higher Education, specifically in the context of initial Teacher Training. Likewise, it analyzes the different factors to take into account when implementing them, particularly in the context of Higher Education; factors that make them complex proposals but also of very high educational value and with the potential to enrich the teaching-learning process, no matter the context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education as Sustainable Development)

21 pages, 616 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Impacts of Student-Led Sustainability Projects with Secondary School Students and Teachers

by Paul Vare

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2790; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052790 - 4 Mar 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5659

Abstract

Secondary school students are granted few opportunities to change their world, yet they are expected to engage fully as citizens the moment they leave school. This issue is growing starker with multiple global crises contributing to mental health concerns. This situation stimulated a [...] Read more.

Secondary school students are granted few opportunities to change their world, yet they are expected to engage fully as citizens the moment they leave school. This issue is growing starker with multiple global crises contributing to mental health concerns. This situation stimulated a practical education for sustainability project designed to promote student agency by supporting small, student-led, community-based projects, planned and supported within the secondary school context. This research ran alongside the project in order to investigate (a) the impact of implementing these projects on the students involved and (b) the implications of this for their teachers. The research approach was based on Cultural-historical Activity Theory, which explores the learning generated through multi-layered interactions within a given activity system. In stimulating student agency, it was clear that the project had challenged existing practice. Students sensed a shift in power relations, remarking on how teachers respected and listened to their opinions. Those teachers who appeared more authoritarian appeared to experience the greatest transformation although ceding power did not come naturally, particularly where this challenged notions around teacher responsibility. In this way, teachers’ professionalism threatened to become the means by which they withheld power from their students. Implications of this for schools and policy are considered. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Education as Sustainable Development)

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