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Centre for Academic Development

Sustainable development in education

A leaf created from green electrical wires.

The purpose of this webpage is to provide a basic understanding of one of Örebro University’s missions as a government authority: to integrate sustainable development into education. Here we describe, using text and video, the basic concepts of sustainable development. In addition, we provide other resources for developing the format and content of courses and study programmes from different sustainability perspectives.

Key concepts

Sustainable development has three dimensions:

Social sustainability considers our fundamental human rights and social justice.

Environmental sustainability is using natural resources without undermining the ecosystems of future generations.

Economic sustainability aims at counteracting poverty and promoting economic development without negatively affecting social or environmental sustainability.

Our planetary resources and how we consume and distribute them are made up of complex systems that affect, reinforce, and weaken each other through so-called synergies. For example, the depletion of the planet’s oceans and marine resources affects climate change and biodiversity. In turn, these activities fundamentally impact poverty, health, equality, and so on.

Unforeseen problems usually do not have obvious, clear-cut solutions and are called wicked problems. These include climate change, desertification, poverty, pandemics, armed conflicts, and depletion of marine resources and biodiversity.

In 2015, the UN General Assembly and the world’s heads of state and government adopted the global goals that define Agenda 2030. The UN defines sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The aim is that these goals will contribute to a socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable development and that they will be achieved by 2030. According to Chapter 1, Section 5 of the Higher Education Act, universities and colleges must report how they have developed their processes to promote sustainable development.

In order to deal with problems that are complex and unstructured and urge social change that contributes to a sustainable future requires our students to develop specific key competencies during their studies. These key competencies go beyond professional skills and include:

Systems-thinking competence – the ability to recognise and understand conditions and analyse complex systems.
Anticipatory competence – the ability to understand and evaluate different possible future scenarios.
Normative competence – the ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions and those of others.
Strategic competence – the ability to make values and decisions that matter in a larger context.
Interpersonal competence – the ability to learn from, understand and collaborate with others.
Critical-thinking competence – the ability to reflect and question norms, practices, and opinions.
Self-awareness competence – the ability to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires.
Integrated problem-solving competence – the ability to overarchingly apply different problem-solving approaches to complex problems and develop viable solutions that promote sustainable development.

Getting started with education for sustainable development

To begin the work of integrating sustainable development into the programme, we recommend that the course coordinator, together with the programme coordinator, organise a course team meeting to start the development work. During this development meeting, the course team works together to map out the different course components to identify which elements of sustainable development already exist in the programme. The course team then reviews which components could be developed in terms of sustainable development and draws up a simple development plan based on one or more of the identified course components. The development efforts may involve, for example, utilising the resources and teaching tips further down this page, reading a joint article in the course team and then discussing it at a new course meeting, booking time for a collegial exchange of experience with another course team that has more experience working with sustainable development, or ordering consultation or pedagogical support from the Centre for Academic Development. Remember that all development work is good, regardless of its scope. It is better to reflect on and develop a small part of the programme than nothing at all.

In order to begin efforts on integrating sustainable development into programme and course syllabuses, we recommend that teaching teams, together with programme coordinators, form a working group. This working group then reviews the programmes to identify:

1) where sustainable development is mentioned in the programme and

2) review where and which course components can be linked to sustainable development but are not expressed.

A proposal for such a review is found here, which your working group may use to get started. In this analysis, the idea is not only to identify links to sustainable development but also gender and gender equality perspectives in education, which is also part of the university’s mandate as a government authority. In addition to sustainable development and gender and gender equality perspectives, we recommend that a situation analysis of the programme’s specific knowledge fields be carried out simultaneously.

In the spring of 2022, a university-wide situation assessment was conducted on the sustainable development efforts in education at Örebro University. Use the report found here as a starting point for discussion and future development work.

The Platform for a Sustainable Future (PSF@ORU) is a hub for the work on sustainable development at Örebro University. In addition to collaboration and research, PSF@ORU work actively to integrate sustainable development in education at the course and programme level.

Inforum (Örebro University's intranet) contains Challenge 2030 – Resource bank for sustainable development in education. Here, teachers with a login can find suggestions and examples of teacher activities, course planning and other inspiring materials.

About sustainable development at Örebro University

Örebro University's sustainable development strategy and action plan

Education for Sustainable Development Goals Learning Objectives, UNESCO, (2017)

Advancing Education For Sustainability – Transforming Society, Economy and Environment (advancingesd.com)

SDG Impact Assessment Tool

Web resources

The following video presentations explain the challenges and opportunities when sustainable development perspectives are integrated into education.

Video 1: What is sustainable development and Agenda 2030?

In this clip, the concept of sustainable development is defined, followed by a discussion of how the three dimensions (ecological, economic and social) and the global goals relate to one another. The video also describes what we, as a university, are required to work with in terms of sustainable development.

Video 2: Why and how to integrate sustainable development?

In this clip, the role of higher education is discussed in our ambition to achieve sustainable development and to avoid unsustainable development. - Why and how do we integrate sustainable development in higher education?

Video 3: From perspective congestion to perspective comfort

In this clip, the key competencies for sustainable development in education are presented. What are they and what do they mean? The key competencies are then discussed in relation to a real -and at the time of this recording- current societal challenge, one that requires several of the key competencies and cross-disciplinary approaches.

Video 4: Key competencies for sustainable development

Much is included in our mission as a university. In addition to sustainable development, we must work for broadened participation, gender mainstreaming, equal treatment and equal conditions, accessibility and digitalization. How can we relate to all these perspectives and their place in higher education?

Introductory course

Consider incorporating a short, general introduction to the basics of sustainable development at the beginning of the programme. This will allow students to relate to the knowledge during the rest of their studies. Of course, this should not be a “tick-this-off-the-list” component, as the aim is for the sustainability perspective to permeate the entire programme.

Discussion exercises

Sustainable development is a value-laden concept characterised by conflicts of objectives, values and interests. Through different types of discussion exercises, students can reflect, form an opinion on, and argue for and against different priorities and strategies for achieving sustainable development.

Use current events for an in-depth discussion

It can be particularly motivating to have an analytical and solution-oriented discussion about current events, local or global.

Fish bowl

Fish bowl is a form of dialogue that can be used when discussing topics in large groups and allows everyone to participate in the conversation. The activity involves formulating two positions on a specific topic. Then divide students into groups of 4–5 and give half of the groups one position and the other half the other. Then ask them to come up with arguments in favour of the position. At the beginning of the exercise, announce that a randomly selected student from each group will present the arguments. Once the groups have formulated their arguments, randomise (in any way you like) one student from each group to come forward and sit on a panel to argue for and against the different positions.

Questions that can be discussed; they are relevant to several of the Sustainable Development Goals:

How does this programme contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals?
Why is a scientific approach important to ensure sustainable development?
Why is knowledge of statistics important in the work and discussion on sustainable development?
Are statistics, democracy and fact resistance related?
What is gender equality in practice?
Are there “traditions” within the profession that can work against gender equality and equal opportunities?
What influence does social equality and gender equality have on the other targets?
Climate anxiety – paralysing or empowering?
The Sustainable Development Goals – ethical and/or politically correct?
We have discussed this component's fulfilment of the economic aspect of target X. Can you discuss how the social and ecological (environmental) aspects are affected?
- Is there any conflict between the dimensions (aspects)?
- In the short or long term?

Cards for discussion exercises

Mr. Norm© is a card game that combines factual knowledge with dialogue to encourage discussions about norms, ethics and values in today's society. It can be used in any group that wants to learn more about diversity, equality and inclusion, which in the long run can lead to a more open and inclusive environment. The game is available in a student and a workplace version, and can be played according to the instructions or in other ways that suit the occasion.

Dilemma board game

The Dilemma board game is an interactive tool that introduces the concept of sustainable development. The game challenges students to go outside their comfort zone, to discuss and debate, to think critically and to explain key concepts to each other.

Borrow the game from the University Library

Cards for the 2030 Agenda

Use a set of cards with the Sustainable Development Goals to facilitate discussions on sustainable development. These cards visuals the SDGs and can be used in different ways.

You can create a prioritised list of the SDGs in the order that students feel they are particularly important for the profession. Ask students to give reasons how and why. All of the SDGs should be used, if possible.
Another exercise involves finding synergies and non-synergies. Ask students to choose one SDG and then another that they feel has clear synergies with the first goal. Then have them choose a third goal that counteracts and/or is counteracted by the first goal. Proceed to choose a fourth goal that supports the fulfilment of the first goal. The fifth goal is chosen because it impedes the first goal from being realised. Have them give reasons how and why after each choice.
A third exercise could be to ask students to describe a goal that they have been assigned, either individually or in groups. What does the goal mean? Why should it be fulfilled? How can we contribute to the fulfilment of the goal, professionally and personally?

Ecological footprint

A learning activity that ties in with the question of whether sustainable development can be quantified, and if so by what measures, is an exercise on ecological footprints. Having the student try several different calculation applications and make notes on their results quickly leads to a wider discussion on what activities and data are reflected in the size of the ecological footprint, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of these individual-based measures. There are many examples of websites where students can test their ecological footprint.

Here are a few:

Myfootprint

WWF - Footprint