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Article summary:
1. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have been incorporating sustainability into their curricula to prepare students for challenges in making societies more sustainable.
2. Recent efforts have focused on developing a sustainability competences paradigm through the use of pedagogical approaches to develop competences.
3. The benefits and challenges of teaching sustainability, using pedagogical approaches, and developing competences need to be fostered and addressed respectively to avoid creating a White Elephant.
Article analysis:
The article "Developing a sustainability competences paradigm in Higher Education or a White Elephant?" by Lozano explores the benefits and challenges of teaching sustainability in higher education institutions (HEIs) and the development of sustainability competences. The author argues that HEIs have been at the forefront of creating and breaking paradigms, and educating future decision-makers, entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals. However, modern education has been based on Newtonian and Cartesian paradigms that have resulted in negative impacts on the environment and societies.
The article highlights the efforts made by HEIs to incorporate sustainability into their systems, operations, and curricula. The author notes that European HEIs have generally been leaders in this process. Two important recent developments in this area are the research on sustainability competences and the use of pedagogical approaches to develop these competences.
While the article provides valuable insights into the benefits and challenges of teaching sustainability in HEIs, it is not without its biases. For example, the author focuses primarily on European HEIs, which may limit the generalizability of their findings to other regions. Additionally, while there is mention of negative impacts resulting from Newtonian and Cartesian paradigms, there is no discussion of potential benefits or counterarguments for these paradigms.
Furthermore, while the article discusses different lists of competences relating to education for sustainable development proposed by several authors in recent years, it does not provide evidence for why one list may be more effective than another. Similarly, while there is mention of different pedagogical approaches needed to develop sustainability competences, there is no exploration of potential drawbacks or limitations associated with these approaches.
Overall, while "Developing a sustainability competences paradigm in Higher Education or a White Elephant?" provides valuable insights into teaching sustainability in HEIs and developing sustainability competences through pedagogical approaches, it could benefit from a more balanced approach that considers potential drawbacks or limitations associated with these efforts.
Topics for further research:
Criticisms of Newtonian and Cartesian paradigms in education
Sustainability education in non-European higher education institutions
Alternative lists of competences for education for sustainable development
Limitations of pedagogical approaches to developing sustainability competences
Counterarguments for the negative impacts of Newtonian and Cartesian paradigms
Challenges in implementing sustainability education in higher education institutions.