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The Editors Review of Evidence and Perspectives on Sustainable Global Value Chains Read chapter Read first chapter

2019 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

38. A Paradigm Shift in University Education Towards Sustainable Development

Authors : Dmitry Palekhov, Ludmila Palekhova, Michael Schmidt, Berthold Hansmann

Published in: Sustainable Global Value Chains

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

‘Higher Education for Sustainable Development’ (HESD) is a new social phenomenon, which has grown naturally out of global efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is the result of a continuous evolution of the basic concept ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ (ESD). The aim of this chapter is to explore the main expectations and necessary changes in university education in the context of a continuously evolving understanding of EDS. To achieve this aim, the chapter analyses the underlying premises and key priorities for HESD today—the time when universities all over the world are increasingly consolidating in support of SDGs. Particular attention is paid to the problem of involving technical universities from countries with economies in transition into such transformation processes. The chapter offers a historical analysis of how the role and functions of higher education, and universities in particular, in supporting the global transition to sustainable development have been changing over time. It also discusses the obstacles and challenges that prevent technical universities in countries with economies in transition from systematic and effective implementation of the HESD principles.

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previous chapter Planned Obsolescence: A Case Under Torts Law as Intentional Damage Contrary to Public Policy (Art. 826 German Civil Code)
Footnotes
1
For the purpose of this chapter, the term ‘university’ refers to all types of higher education institutions that may award Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees or their equivalents corresponding to the 2011 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) levels 6 and 7. The structure of such institutions can vary significantly among countries. For example, in Ukraine, according to Art. 28 of the Law on higher education of 01.07.2014, there are the following types of higher education institutions: universities, academies, institutes, and colleges. Universities, academies and institutes have right to award Doctor of Philosophy, Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees, while colleges may award junior bachelor and/or bachelor degrees.
 
2
World Declaration on Education for All and Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs, adopted by the World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs, Jomtien, Thailand, 5–9 March 1990 (UNESCO 1994; see also UNESCO 1990).
 
3
For example, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action adopted by the UN Fourth World Conference on Women includes a number of provisions on equality of access to education for achieving the goals of equality, development and peace (para 69–88; see UN 1996). Education is regarded as a human right and an essential tool for achieving sustainable development (para 69).
 
4
Target 2.A: “Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling”. The final report on completion of MDGs highlighted that the primary school net enrolment rate in the developing regions has reached an estimated 91% in 2015, up from 83% in 2000 (UN 2015b).
 
5
The Dakar Framework for Action entitled Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments referred to the results of progress assessment towards the goals of Jomtien that were reported by countries at six regional conferences in 1999 and 2000. All of these conferences were dedicated to the core challenge of basic education—education for all—but they also directly or indirectly touch upon tertiary education. For example, at the Asia and Pacific Conference (Bangkok, Thailand, 17–20 January 2000) the special rapporteurs tackled the dilemma between expanding access to higher education and improving its quality (UNESCO 2000a).
 
6
Regional frameworks for sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean, the Arab States and North Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and nine high-population (E-9) countries.
 
7
During the World Conference in Bonn, UNESCO in cooperation with various stakeholders from the United Nations system, civil society, academia, the private sector, and media institutions carried out a series of 22 specialised workshops, which were grouped along four thematic clusters: (1) Relevance of ESD for Key Sustainable Development Challenges; (2) Building Partnerships for ESD; (3) Capacity Development for ESD; and (4) ESD and the Teaching-Learning Process. Besides the main conference objectives, all workshops addressed the following cross-cutting issues: gender, inclusion, culture, traditional knowledge, human rights, MDGs, and technology. The Workshop 20 “The Role of Higher Education and Research in ESD” was one of five workshops in the fourth thematic cluster. For additional details about the Bonn World Conference and summary of workshop results, see UNESCO (2009b).
 
8
The German Rectors’ Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz, HRK) is a voluntary association of public and state-recognised universities in Germany. The member institutions are represented in the HRK by their executive boards and rectorates. The HRK deals with all issues relating to the role and tasks of higher education institutions in academia and society, especially teaching and studying, research, innovation and transfer, internationalisation, etc.
 
9
The 37th session of the General Conference of UNESCO in 2013 endorsed the Global Action Programme on ESD as a follow-up to the UN Decade of ESD (37 C/Resolution 12).
 
10
Adopted at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 13–16 July 2015) and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolution 69/313 of 27 July 2015. The Action Agenda establishes a strong foundation to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It provides a new global framework for financing sustainable development by aligning all financing flows and policies with economic, social and environmental priorities (UN 2015a).
 
11
Adopted at the G7 Kurashiki Education Ministers’ Meeting in Okayama, Japan, 14–15 May 2016; available at: http://​www.​g7.​utoronto.​ca/​education/​education2016.​html, last accessed 31 January 2019.
 
12
For example, target 4.3 relating to higher education: “By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university”; and its indicator 4.3.1: “Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex”.
 
13
Number of students enrolled in a given level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the official school-age population corresponding to the same level of education. For the tertiary level, the population used is the 5-year age group starting from the official secondary school graduation age (UIS 2019b). Based on the proportion of the relevant age group enrolled in higher education institutions, Trow (2007) defined the following three phases in the higher education system growth—elite, mass and universal access phases. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, which follows the approach of Trow (2007), the elite phase is when a country’s GER is below 15% of the relevant age group. The mass phase is when the GER is between 15% and 50%. And the universalisation phase is when the GER is above 50% (UIS 2014).
 
14
Both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees or their equivalents corresponding to the 2011 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) levels 6 and 7.
 
15
Along several countries, including Bulgaria, Lithuania and Latvia, population of Ukraine is expected to decline by around 20% by 2050. According to projection of the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Ukraine’s population will decline from 43.9 million in 2019 to 35.2 million in 2050. Over the period between 2010 and 2019, Ukraine recorded close to 2.3 million more deaths than births (UN DESA 2019a, b).
 
16
Passing score is the lowest score obtained in the External Independent Evaluation (i.e. examinations for admission to universities in Ukraine), with which the applicants were admitted after a competitive selection process to a particular degree programme in a given year. Passing scores reflect the level of competition among the applicants to various degree programmes, and thus the demand for these degrees.
 
17
The state order (i.e. the number of state-funded study places) is distributed among Ukrainian universities in accordance with the rating on the total cumulative score obtained by all of their applicants in the External Independent Evaluation. A higher cumulative score of all applications submitted to a particular university indicates generally a higher number of highly-qualified applicants willing to study at this university.
 
18
Dnipropetrovsk was officially renamed to Dnipro in May 2016. In 2017, the National Mining University was renamed to National Technical University “Dnipro Polytechnic”.
 
19
Following Art. 1 of the World Declaration on Higher Education for the Twenty-first Century: Vision and Action (UNESCO 1999).
 
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Metadata
Title
A Paradigm Shift in University Education Towards Sustainable Development
Authors
Dmitry Palekhov
Ludmila Palekhova
Michael Schmidt
Berthold Hansmann
Copyright Year
2019
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Book
Sustainable Global Value Chains

Print ISBN: 978-3-319-14876-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-14877-9

Copyright Year: 2019

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14877-9_38