Antecedents of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Curriculum Implementation
A Review of Selected University Academic Programmes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53449/dd8zrm69Keywords:
academic programmes, curriculum, development, goals, sustainableAbstract
This study explored the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into curriculum implementation processes using a dual methodology that combined questionnaire administration and analysis of academic program curriculum objectives. The underlying rationale was that incorporating select SDGs into relevant programs can enrich and diversify curriculum implementation processes, thereby enhancing their relevance and effectiveness. The study undertook a qualitative questionnaire survey design, and by administering a questionnaire to students and reviewing academic programme curriculum objectives, this study investigated the inclusion of aspects of SDGs in curriculum implementation processes. The sample comprised 600 students in three faculties of management studies, education, and social sciences, and 340 students filled and returned the questionnaire. The rationale was that the processes of curriculum implementation could be enriched and diversified by including contemporary aspects like some of the 17 SDGs goals in related programs. There is limited attention paid to the promotion of SDGs in curriculum development processes in Uganda’s higher education institutions (HEIs). Engaging HEIs in the pursuit of SDGs can significantly facilitate the attainment of these objectives. As centres of diverse stakeholders, including students, faculty, researchers, and community partners, HEIs possess a unique capacity to leverage their collective expertise, resources, and influence to drive SDG implementation. This espouses existing literature that the numerous gaps in higher education training, coupled with the high degree of indigenization of knowledge through geographically inclined curriculum designs and implementation, and gaps in graduate competencies and skills, call for a very diversified intervention.
Downloads
References
Ali, S., Hussain, T., Zhang, G., Nurunnabi, M., & Li, B. (2018). The implementation of sustainable development goals in “BRICS” countries. Sustainability, 10(7), 2513. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072513
Allen, C., Metternicht, G., & Wiedmann, T. (2018). Initial progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): A review of evidence from countries. Sustainability science, 13, 1453-1467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0572-3
Alm, K., Beery, T. H., Eiblmeier, D., & Fahmy, T. (2022). Students’ learning sustainability–implicit, explicit or non-existent: a case study approach on students’ key competencies addressing the SDGs in HEI program. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23(8), 60-84.
Anderson, T. R., & Rogan, J. M. (2011). Bridging the educational research‐teaching practice gap: Curriculum development, Part 1: Components of the curriculum and influences on the process of curriculum design. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 39(1), 68-76.
Arinaitwe, G., & Williamson, J. (2023). The challenge of meeting sustainable development goal 4 in a developing country: The case of Ugandan secondary education. In Education and the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Praxis within and Beyond the Classroom (pp. 147-167). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
Avelar, A. B. A., Silva-Oliveira, K.D., and & Pereira, R.D.S. (2019). Education for advancing the implementation of the sustainable development goals: a systematic approach. The International Journal of Management Education, 17(3), 100322.
Bayuo, B. B., Chaminade, C., & Göransson, B. (2020), Unpacking the role of universities in the emergence, development and impact of social innovations – a systematic review of the literature. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 155, 120030.
Caputo, F., Ligorio, L., & Pizzi, S. (2021)., The contribution of higher education institutions to the SDGs– an evaluation of sustainability reporting practices. Administrative Sciences, 11(3), 97.
Cetindamar, D. (2016). A new role for universities: technology transfer for social innovations. Portland International Conference on Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), IEEE, pp. 290-295.
Claudy, M. C., Peterson, M., & O’driscoll, A. (2013), Understanding the attitude-behavior gap for renewable energy systems using behavioral reasoning theory. Journal of Macromarketing, 33(4), 273-287.
Dent, J. A., & Harden, R. M. (2013). New horizons in medical education. A Practical Guide for Medical Teacher (fourth ed.). Elsevier: London.
Elder, M., Bengtsson, M., & Akenji, L. (2016). An optimistic analysis of the means of implementation for sustainable development goals: Thinking about goals as means. Sustainability, 8(9), 962. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8090962
Fantauzzi, C., Colasanti, N., Fiorani, G., and & Frondizi, R. (2021), “Sustainable strategic planning in Italian higher education institutions: a content analysis”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 22(5), 1145-1165
Filho, W.L. (2011), “About the role of universities and their contribution to sustainable development”, Higher Education Policy, 24(4), 427-438.
Fisher, P. B., & McAdams, E. (2015), Gaps in sustainability education: the impact of higher education coursework on perceptions of sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 16(4), 407-423.
Fleaca, E., Fleaca, B., & Maiduc, S. (2018), Aligning strategy with sustainable development goals (SDGs): process scoping diagram for entrepreneurial higher education institutions (HEIs). Sustainability, 10(4), 1032.
Friman, M., Schreiber, D., Mutanen, A., Perälä, S., & Salminen, J. (2021). Wicked problems: University research topic convergence despite divergence in local educational and innovation policies. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 22(8), 108-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-04-2020-0121
Green, W., & Whitsed, C. (Eds.). (2015). Critical perspectives on internationalising the curriculum in disciplines: Reflective narrative accounts from business, education and health (Vol. 28). Springer.
Habaasa, G. (2019). Measuring SDG economic indicators in Uganda: Exploration of data deficiencies. Statistical Journal of the IAOS, 35(3), 457-463.
Hák, T., Janoušková, S., & Moldan, B. (2016). Sustainable Development Goals: A need for relevant indicators. Ecological Indicators, 60, 565-573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.08.003
Hedberg, J. G., & Stevenson, M. (2014). Breaking away from text, time and place. In M. Gosper and D. Ifenthaler (eds.), Curriculum models for the 21st century: Using learning technologies in higher education (17-33). Springer.
Heijmans, A., & Eweg, R. (2023). Transformative research and education in Living Labs using the SDGs as a compass. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 24(9), 335-354. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-11-2022-0350
Iqbal, Q., & Piwowar-Sulej, K. (2021). Sustainable leadership in higher education institutions: Social innovation as a mechanism. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23(8), 1-20.
Leal Filho, W., Frankenberger, F., Salvia, A. L., Azeiteiro, U., Alves, F., Castro, P., ... & Avila, L. V. (2021). A framework for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in university programmes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 299, 126915. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126915
Lozano, R., Barreiro-Gen, M., Lozano, F.J., & Sammalisto, K. (2019), Teaching sustainability in European higher education institutions: assessing the connections between competences and pedagogical approaches. Sustainability, 11(6), 1602-1619.
Lozano, R., Barreiro-Gen, M., Pietikäinen, J., Gago-Cortes, C., Favi, C., Jimenez Munguia, M.T., & Monus, F. (2021). Adopting sustainability competence-based education in academic disciplines: Insights from 13 higher education institutions. Sustainable Development, 30(4), 620-635.
Martins, A. G. (2019) Teaching and researching on sustainability. In U.M.D.M. Azeiteiro, & J. P. Davim (Eds.), Higher Education and Sustainability (pp. 1-17). CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.
Mason, M. (2010). Sample size and saturation in PhD studies using qualitative interviews. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3), Art. 8.
Mugisha, W. R., & Mugimu, C. B. (2015). Application of learning theories in curriculum development and implementation of the MLT diploma programme in Uganda. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 5(3), 256-275.
Mwangu, A. R. (2022). Appraising the sustainability aspect in climate change adaptation and mitigation discourse: The case of Uganda. In E. V. Shably, M. J. Crawford, & D. Kurochkin (Eds.), Energy Justice: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (pp. 111-140). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Paletta, A., & Bonoli, A. (2019). Governing the university in the perspective of the united nations 2030 agenda. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 20(3), 500-514. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-93068-4_6
Parr, A., Binagwaho, A., Stirling, A., Davies, A., Mbow, C., Hessen, D.O., & Bonciani, H. (2022). Knowledge-driven actions: Transforming higher education for global sustainability independent expert group on the universities and the 2030 Agenda. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris. https://unesdoc.unesco. org/ark:/48223/pf0000380519/PDF/380519eng.pdf.multi
SDSN (2020). Accelerating education for the SDGs in universities: a guide for universities, colleges, and tertiary and higher education institutions. Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/be6d1d56/files/uploaded/acceleratingeducation-for-the-sdgs-in-unis-web_zZuYLaoZRHK1L77zAd4n.pd
Stafford-Smith, M., Griggs, D., Gaffney, O., Ullah, F., Reyers, B., Kanie, N., ... & O’Connell, D. (2017). Integration: The key to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainability Science, 12, 911-919. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-016-0383-3
Tisani, N. (2004). African indigenous knowledge systems (AIKSs): Another challenge for curriculum development in higher education?: Perspectives on higher education. South African Journal of Higher Education, 18(3), 174-184.
Vallez, M., Lopezosa, C., & Pedraza-Jiménez, R. (2022). A study of the Web visibility of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda on university websites. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23(8), 41-59. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-09-2021-0361
Wang, Y., Sommier, M., & Vasques, A. (2022). Sustainability education at higher education institutions: Pedagogies and students’ competences. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23(8), 174-193. htpps://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-11-2021-0465
Wright, T., & Horst, N. (2013). Exploring the ambiguity: What faculty leaders really think of sustainability in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 14(2), 209-227.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Alicon Auf Tumwebaze
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
