Educating for sustainability in language degrees:a tale of 2 case-studies

Abstract

Purpose According to the 2014 joint report drafted by the Quality Assurance Agency and Higher Education Academy (QAA/HEA), universities have a key role to play in the development of sustainability literate graduates who can contribute to an environmentally responsible society. In this paper, the authors aim to assess language students’ understanding of sustainable development (SD) issues. Design/methodology/approach Study 1 surveys two cohorts of final year language students about to enter the graduate job market, and Study 2 surveys first year language students before and after the inclusion of SD content in one of their modules. The questions to the students are provided along with qualitative and quantitative results. Findings Results suggest that only 48% of language graduates are currently aware that they will need to take account of the environmental impact of their work as professional practitioners, and 52% do not consider it appropriate to learn about SD during their degree. However, results also suggest that incorporating SD early on in the language curriculum could contribute positively to the development of sustainability literate graduates. Originality/value While many language departments are aware of the importance of integrating sustainability into their curricula, and while employers are increasingly demanding sustainability literate graduates, there is little evidence that language students leave university with a real understanding of sustainability issues. This paper presents evidence of the current situation as well as a novel way to integrate sustainability into the language curriculum in order to remedy the situation.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-10-2014-0146
Divisions: ?? 75153200Jl ??
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Centre for Language Research at Aston (CLaRA)
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities > Centre for Critical Inquiry into Society and Culture (CCISC)
College of Business and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences & Humanities
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Uncontrolled Keywords: sustainable development,languages,ESD,employability,Higher Education,Education,Human Factors and Ergonomics
Publication ISSN: 1758-6739
Last Modified: 05 Jan 2024 08:15
Date Deposited: 19 Aug 2015 14:25
Full Text Link: http://www.emer ... HE-10-2014-0146
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2016
Published Online Date: 2016-03
Accepted Date: 2015
Authors: Hubscher-Davidson, Séverine (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-9099-8390)
Panichelli-Batalla, Stéphanie (ORCID Profile 0000-0001-9237-0946)

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