Proposal Paper

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Proposal Paper

The Question to be Addressed

This paper will focus on the issue is sustainability in institutes of higher learning. The questions to be addressed include determining what a comprehensive concept of a sustainable institution of higher education looks like and what sustainability means for institutions with higher education. This is because the issue has received minimal attention from the scholars, and its relevance to the institutions have not been well examined. Among the existing studies. Figueiró et al. (2015) examine how management higher education guides the introduction of sustainability into their curriculum, problems of incorporating sustainability into management higher education, and pedagogical and sustainability’s place in the curriculum. Similarly, Schopp et al. (2020) evaluated values and conceptions of sustainable development using a case study of the University of Tübingen.

How the Question to be Examined Relates to Field of Curriculum and Practice

The question of determining what a comprehensive concept of a sustainable institution of higher education looks like is connected to the field of curriculum and practice because it deals with the issue of how institutes of higher education can make their programs sustainable. For example, Wiek et al. (2015) present a set of operationalized competencies in sustainability that sustainability programmers in institutes of higher learning should convey. This is important because it provides a basis for how institutes of higher learning can make their programs sustainable. Similarly, Viegas et al. (2016) identified and categorized the vital elements of sustainability in institutes of higher learning.

Where the Issue is Located

Institutions of higher learning are where the sustainability problem in higher education is. These are organizations that deliver tertiary education. Numerous academics worldwide have tackled the issue of sustainability in institutes of higher education. Diverse scholarly viewpoints exist on the subject of sustainability in higher education. According to some academics, higher education institutes should focus on sustainability because it is crucial to the future of the globe. Others contend that higher education institutes should focus on sustainability since it is critical to the end of the world.

Theoretical Framework

Social constructivism is the theoretical or analytical framework with which the issue of sustainability will be analyzed. Social constructivism is a theory that holds that people’s thoughts and actions are shaped by their social environment. This theory will be used to analyze the issue of sustainability in higher education because it will help to understand how the different perspectives of scholars on the subject are shaped by their social environment. For example, the attitude that higher education institutions should take up sustainability because it is essential for the planet’s future might be shaped by the scholar’s social environment in which they are aware of the importance of sustainability. The perspective that higher education institutions should take up sustainability because it is essential for the future of the planet might be shaped by the scholar’s social environment in which they are aware of the importance of sustainability. Overall, this research will address the problem of determining what a comprehensive concept of a sustainable institution of higher education looks like.

References

Figueiró, P. S., & Raufflet, E. (2015). Sustainability in higher education: a systematic review is focusing on management education. Journal of cleaner production, 106, 22-33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.04.118Schopp, K., Bornemann, M., & Potthast, T. (2020). The whole-institution approach at the University of Tübingen: Sustainable development set in practice. Sustainability, 12(3), 861-885. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030861Viegas, C. V., Bond, A. J., Vaz, C. R., Borchardt, M., Pereira, G. M., Selig, P. M., & Varvakis, G. (2016). Critical attributes of Sustainability in Higher Education: A categorization from the literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 126, 260-276. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.02.106Wiek, A., Bernstein, M., Foley, R., Cohen, M., Forrest, N., Kuzdas, C., … & Withycombe Keeler, L. (2015). Operationalizing competencies in higher education for sustainable development. Handbook of Higher Education for Sustainable Development; Barth, M., Michelsen, G., Rieckmann, M., Thomas, I., Eds, 241-260.