Universities must lead on sustainable development education

To one degree or another, all organisms are shaped (biologically, psychologically and socially) by the environments in which they live. Species naturally adapt to the unique characteristics of their particular environment because that increases the likelihood of survival. Since all environments are different, each species develops its own unique strategies for survival. These self-evident facts apply to both natural and social environments.

Modern humans, however, are unique among species because they have learned how to shape the environment to fit their own needs, not simply adapting to the conditions of the environment. Humans have learned how to shape both the physical and social landscapes to fit their own biological, psychological and social needs.

Paradigm shifts

Humans first began reshaping their physical and social environments in major ways with the advent of the Agricultural Revolution around 12,000 BCE. This major turning point in human history marked a transition from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a sedentary agrarian lifestyle.

Learning how to make this transition is perhaps the most significant paradigm shift in human evolution. This shift allowed humanity to eventually become the most dominant species on the planet, which, in turn, changed the course of all life on the planet.

In this new way of life, people not only had to learn how to transform and manage the physical landscape to best serve their own biological needs, but they also had to organise and manage social communities to best serve their own psychological and social needs. The act of settling down into social communities was a unique survival strategy that resulted in huge benefits for humanity and far-reaching consequences for the planet.

This paradigm-shift required people to develop new knowledge and skills in ways never before imagined. Humans had to acquire a much deeper knowledge of how the natural world worked. They had to develop whole new knowledge systems on animal husbandry and food production. It also required them to develop new social structures, laws and norms in order to manage the complexities of society and human interactions. In short, agriculture became a major catalyst for the production and consumption of many new forms of knowledge and skills.

The development of written language about 3,200 BCE provided communities with a more reliable way to store and transfer knowledge across time and space. As societies developed more complex political, economic and social systems over the centuries, they needed to develop a more effective way to manage these increasingly interconnected systems.

Improved farming techniques led to surpluses in food supplies which led to increased trading and specialisation. For instance, writing allowed communities to record laws, track economic transactions, codify cultural rituals and communicate complex ideas in order to maintain a stable social order.

Written language therefore became a catalyst for future paradigm-shifting revolutions such as the Printing Revolution, the Scientific Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Democratic Revolution and the Digital Revolution, among others.

Democratisation of knowledge

These revolutions dramatically shifted the paradigm of human progress and served as catalysts for ever-increasing knowledge production and consumption. Knowledge builds upon itself – the more knowledge that is produced, the more it is consumed, and the more it is consumed, the more knowledge is produced. This is the virtuous cycle of knowledge development and one of the factors driving the ongoing democratisation of knowledge.

For instance, humans have used their knowledge to dramatically alter the landscape of the planet through large scale engineering projects, large scale urbanisation, mass food production systems, global transportation systems and global communication systems, among others.

As a result, the capacity of humans to change their environment has been brought about largely by the ongoing development of social communities and the resulting exponential increase of knowledge and skills.

The pace of human change was relatively slow from the Agricultural Revolution to the Industrial Revolution. However, since the Industrial Revolution, the rate of change has accelerated dramatically due to widespread industrialisation, rapid technological innovations, increased globalisation and the development of universal education around the world.

Although humanity has reaped tremendous benefits from mass industrialisation, it has also brought with it major risks and challenges. Unfortunately, the benefits of change have often come at the expense of the natural environment.

Industrialisation has not only raised the standard of living for most people on the planet, but it has also resulted in global climate change brought about by unprecedented levels of greenhouse gas emissions, mass deforestation, widespread biodiversity loss, large scale habitat and ecosystem destruction, extensive water and air pollution and global climate change, among other effects.

Climate change

Climate change has also resulted in increased climate migration across the planet and this phenomenon will likely worsen if the current trends are not reversed.

Furthermore, certain socio-economic groups tend to be affected more than other groups by climate change, to include the poor, the elderly and indigenous groups as well as people living in coastal regions, people living in highly congested urban areas and people living in increasingly hot or dry climates.

Research suggests that some people do not perceive climate change as an immediate threat to their lives but rather as a potential threat for some future time, place and people. In the absence of an immediate personal threat, people may be reluctant to change. The scientific data on climate change may be obscured through myopic thinking and extreme egocentrism.

Research also suggests that when people believe that climate change is an immediate threat to their own lives, they are more likely to change their perception and attitudes. One is more likely to change one’s attitude about the environment when one better understands the threat. Thus, how climate change is communicated and how people are educated about climate change are important considerations in addressing climate change.

Climate change information must be communicated in the right way if it is to have the desired effect of making people more environmentally conscious as well as motivating people to change their behaviour towards the environment.

Before significant change can occur, people must understand not only how climate change impacts the planet but also how climate change impacts them personally. People are much more likely to change if they perceive their interests to be at risk.

Before behaviour can be changed, attitudes must change. Before attitudes can change, perceptions about environmental impacts must change. In addition, at the national level, research suggests that postmaterialist societies tend to have a greater concern for the environment than do non-postmaterialist societies. This has important implications for how present and future societies are organised.

Responsible stewardship

Integrating the sustainable development goals into the curricula does not mean having a single course on sustainability or simply adding a topic on sustainability to existing courses.

Rather, universities should integrate sustainable development principles into their curricula across all disciplines in a comprehensive and integrated way. Also, supporting student-led sustainability clubs and other sustainability-related student activities is very important in creating a culture of sustainability.

Universities should encourage the establishment of research centres or institutes dedicated to sustainable development. Universities should do rigorous research on all sustainability issues and develop new ways to implement the sustainable development goals locally and beyond.

Sustainability should also be reflected in all institutional operations and in all collaboration agreements. The governance of the institution should embed sustainability practices into the institutional vision, mission and values and then define clear and measurable goals and objectives that track, measure and reward best practices. In short, universities should serve as institutional role models for sustainability.

In summary, we need comprehensive rules and regulations to protect and preserve the environment for present and future generations. We need to provide people and organisations with significant incentives to go green. We must provide people with the knowledge and skills they need to address climate change effectively. We must teach people how to become better stewards of the planet and then provide them with the means to practise what they have learned.

Thus, both macro and micro factors interact in complex ways to influence perceptions and attitudes about climate change. To help people and societies become more ethically responsible stewards of the environment, we must continue to educate society at all levels (primary, secondary and tertiary) on the importance of sustainable development.

Patrick Blessinger is an adjunct professor of education at St John’s University in New York City, United States, and chief research scientist for the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association or HETL.Abhilasha Singh is professor and vice-president for academic affairs at the American University in the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.Madasu Bhaskara Rao is an associate professor in human resource management and organisational behaviour at the ICFAI Business School, a constituent of the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education, Hyderabad, India.

Singh A and Blessinger P (2023). Examining the Role and Challenges of Sustainable Development Goals for the Universities in the United Arab Emirates. Sustainability 2023, 15(20) 15123.