Towards Sustainable Development in Higher Education – Reflections

The starting point of Towards Sustainable Developmentin Higher Education – Reflections is a book published (in Finnish) for the higher education sector in Finland (Kaivola & Rohweder 2006). Moreover, it is a followup to several processes initiated by the Finnish Government and the Ministries of Education and the Environment in translating the ideas of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development into teaching practices. The purpose of the publication in hand is to highlight some approaches to enhancing sustainable development in higher education and arousing interest in curriculum development and pedagogical reflection.

The fifteen chapters of this book are arranged under four themes. The first theme addresses the framework of education policy in the implementation processes and probes the value base and educational basis of education for sustainable development. In the chapters under the second theme Science and Education for Sustainable Development, academics from different scientific fields discuss the dimensions and underpinnings of environmental, economical and socio-cultural aspects of education for sustainable development. The third part of the book illustrates how sustainable development is implemented in theoretical and practical studies in some degree programmes in universities and polytechnics. International networking in the Baltic Sea region is also highlighted. The last theme Looking Ahead brings the reader back to the frame of educational policy and our responsibility as academics and citizens for the future of generations to come.

http://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/79511