Percorrer por autor "Martins, Rute"
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- A 5Ps approach to teaching and e-learning sustainability: the case of Universidade AbertaPublication . Mapar, Mahsa; Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Dias, Marco; Ferreira, Célia; Manuelito, Helena; Martins, Rute; Martinho, Ana Paula; Pereira, Pedro; Simão, João; Trindade, Jorge; Fernandes, Paula Vaz; Caeiro, Sandra
- Ecological footprint assessment as a pathway to sustainabin the OpenEU AlliancePublication . Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Martins, Rute; Caeiro, Sandra; Mapar, Mahsa; Casanova, DiogoThe integration of sustainable practices into the daily operations and infrastructure of HigherEducation Institutions (HEIs) plays a vital role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) (Purcell et al., 2019; Žalėnienė & Pereira, 2021). Developing action-oriented competenceswithin HEIs, such as collaborative sustainability governance strategies and actions, is a key inthis process (Mapar & Caeiro, 2024; Saleem & Dare, 2023). As part of this effort, assessing andreducing the Ecological Footprint (EF) has become a priority in many HEIs, with EF monitoringserving as an essential decision-making tool to encourage more responsible resource use withinthe institution (Valls-Val & Bovea, 2021). The OpenEU Alliance, coordinated by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, brings together tenEuropean HEIs — including both Distance Teaching and face-to-face HEIs — in a joint effort todrive digital transformation in higher education and establish a pan-European, student-centred,inclusive, digital, and green Distance Teaching university. As a part of this broader initiative, aspecific task has been set to reduce the Alliance EF by 5% over four years (2024–2028). To thatend, the adopted tool was the University Footprint Calculator (Mancini et al., 2022), an open-access digital tool, developed under the EEUSTEPs Erasmus project (EUSTEPs, n.d.), that allowsHEIs to evaluate and keep records of consumption of natural resources and ecosystem serviceswithin their activities and operations. The methodology involved: (i) establishing the baseline EFfor each university in Year 1, and propose a set of recommendations to reduce the EF based onthe most impactful categories; and (ii) monitoring the changes over the following three years, totrack the progress towards the overall OpenEU EF reduction by Year 4. This study presents the outcomes of the first year of OpenEU Alliance EF assessment, in whichkey initial milestones were achieved, including the establishment of a Community of Practice inEcological Footprint, with representatives from all partner universities. Activities comprised twointroductory meetings and a training session to explain the EUSTEPs calculator and the datacollection process, followed by regular meetings to share the efforts and challenges within theprocess. Based on that, each partner university collected its data on infrastructure and utilitycategories (e.g., energy use, buildings) and community-related activities (such as mobility foracademic purposes or food services). The achieved results provide a solid foundation fordeveloping the recommendations and implementing future actions. The collaborative framework, fostered within the OpenEU Alliance and supported by its baselineassessment, not only enhances data transparency but also builds institutional capacity toimplement targeted, impactful measures for reducing the EF. Through continued monitoringand shared learning, the Alliance will achieve its ultimate EF reduction target by 2028,contributing tangibly to the broader goals of the OpenEU Alliance on digital transformation,inclusivity, and green higher education.
- Exploring environmental literacy in online education at Universidade AbertaPublication . Martins, Rute; Caeiro, Sandra; Guimarães, David; Mapar, Mahsa; Nicolau, Paula BacelarThe implementation of Environmental Literacy in university curricula, together with the development of an environmental culture, emerges as a necessity given the current challenges faced by society, namely climate change, biodiversity loss, among others. Universities that are committed to implementing and developing sustainability practices include teaching as one of their key areas of action, through the creation of sustainability courses and/or curricular units as part of their academic offerings, among others (Caeiro et al., 2020; Farinha et al., 2019). Environmental Literacy incorporates the cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioural perspectives, encompassing knowledge, attitudes, and environmentally responsible behaviour, which can be interrelated (Kaya & Elster, 2019; Maurer & Bogner, 2020; Teksoz et al., 2012). Additionally, faculty support also plays a role in Environmental Literacy implementation (Vallée, 2024). Limited research has examined the development of environmental literacy among adult learners or how comprehensively higher education integrate sustainability across academic programs. Thus, this study aims to: (i) characterize the environmental literacy profiles of undergraduate students and faculty members at Universidade Aberta; and (ii) provide a preliminary assessment of the extent to which environmental sustainability is integrated into undergraduate curricula. This study is part of the APECHE (Assessing and Promoting Environmental Culture in Portuguese Higher Education) project, which involves eight Portuguese universities. This study is contextualized within Universidade Aberta, a public distance-learning university whose primary target audience is adults actively engaged in the workforce. The study adopts a mixed-method approach, incorporating a: (i) quantitative analysis to characterize environmental literacy, applying an online survey to 480 students (1st year) and 95 faculty members from the same undergraduate programs in the first data collection phase and 177 students (2nd year) in the second phase. The survey covered the three core domains of environmental literacy (knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours); and (ii) qualitative analysis to evaluate the extent to which environmental sustainability is integrated into the curricula. Therefore, a content analysis to the undergraduate programmes was conducted using the Curriculum Assessment System for Sustainability (CASS) model (De Oliveira et al., 2025). The categories of analysis included the course synopsis, keywords, competencies, content, bibliography, teaching methods, and assessment strategies. The findings reveal that the Environmental Literacy profile of 1st- and 2nd-year students and faculty members show that most already engage in individual environmental practices and have a solid environmental knowledge and attitude although revealing an attitude-behaviour gap regarding meat consumption and transportation habits. Furthermore, preliminary results from content analysis suggest the scant implementation of environmental topics into the content of the undergraduate programs and related pedagogical strategies. This study offers a characterization of the environmental literacy levels of adult students at the point of entry into higher education in Portugal and throughout their academic journey, as well as faculty members, supporting reflection on strategies to develop Environmental Literacy. This study fosters the Sustainable Development Goal 4 as it highlights the vital role of higher education institutions in cultivating environmentally responsible citizens.
- Integrating sustainable approaches in distance learning universities: the experience of Universidade AbertaPublication . Mapar, Mahsa; Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Ferreira, Célia; Martins, Rute; Martinho, Ana Paula; Pereira, Pedro; Simão, João; Teixeira, Teresa; Trindade, Jorge; Fernandes, Paula Vaz; Caeiro, SandraOne of the key components in practicing sustainability and developing a sustainable Higher Education Institution (HEI) is the role played by the institution community including students and its staff, both administrative and academics according to a whole-campus approach. However, there is still a lack of how to integrate sustainability-related approaches into the HEIs, by involving the whole community of the HEI, in particular in distance-learning institutions. Recognizing this lack, Universidade Aberta (UAb), the Portuguese Distance Learning University, has recently integrated sustainability approaches into the University actions by establishing the “UAb Sustainable Campus Group” in 2021. In line with Agenda 2030, the Group promotes the sustainability approaches at UAb in 5 core elements of sustainability actions at HEIs: i) planning and administration, ii) operation and innovation, iii) academia and research, iv) assessment and reporting, and v) involvement with the community. This paper aims to reveal the recent sustainability initiatives (2021-2023) carried out by the Group and enlighten how a distance-learning University's actions, programs, and approaches have been integrated into the core elements of sustainability actions at HEIs. Several steps were implemented to address sustainability initiatives at UAb based on the proposed framework, considering: 1) “planning and administration”, by the formal commitment to sustainability that arose in the UAb Strategic Plan (2019-2023) to enforce sustainability initiatives centered on people and social commitment; 2) “operation”, by UAb contribution to the resource efficiency programs; 3) “academia and research”, by designing a micro-credential module entitled “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”, that were piloted in the academic year 2022-2023 and were evaluated the students’ knowledge improvement on SDGs and sustainability and their perceptions on the effectiveness of the training through pre- and postquestionnaires; 4) “assessment and reporting”, through self-assessment and reporting tools, among them, Time Higher Education Impact Ranking, which ranked the UAb sustainability initiatives towards SDGs 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 17. Also, with the collaboration of the administrative staff, the UAb Ecological Footprint (EF) was self-assessed through the University Ecological Footprint Calculator, which allows HEIs to calculate their consumption of natural resources and ecosystem services within the direct and indirect responsibilities of the administration, by bearing in mind the specific feature of distance learning. The results for “planning and administration” showed the UAb commitment to sustainable campus by the signatory of several associations, e.g., RCS-Portugal, AASHE - Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, and Lisbon Green Commitment to implement a set of measures to reduce the environmental impacts by 2030. In the “operation” element, the results revealed the UAb contribution to the Resource Efficiency Program in Public Administration - ECO.AP 2030 to reduce the consumption of resources and respective Greenhouse Gas emissions facilities, as well as the Energy Saving Plan (2022-2023). The results of the “academia and research” element based on the SDGs course showed the students’ knowledge improvement of both Sustainability and SDGs and a high level of satisfaction with the training, mainly appreciating the “diversified learning resources”. The results of the “assessment and reporting” based on THE displayed the UAb improvement on SDGs 4 and 5. The results of the EF calculator disclosed that “staff labour” was the main driver of the UAb Footprint in direct responsibility, whereas “energy consumption at home” was the main indirect contributor to the UAb Footprint, which showed the effect of distance learning on the results. Future work of the Group includes offering the SDGs micro-credential, targeting also public and private organizations, and later as a formal curricular unit in various degrees, thus enhancing the “involving the community” element. Also, based on the results of the assessment tools, the major drivers of unsustainability at UAb will be identified to assist the necessary improvement to reduce the environmental impact of UAb, thus reinforcing its commitment to building a more sustainable community. The framework for the implementation of sustainability in UAb can be adapted and tested in other HEI to produce robust knowledge and action in this context.
- Objetivos do Desenvolvimento Sustentável da Agenda 2030 - A Paz. Parte IPublication . Martins, Rute; Caeiro, SandraEste recurso educativo é uma apresentação em slides narrados sobre o Objetivo de Desenvolvimento Sustentável nº 16 sobre a paz – parte I que explica os objetivos e contextualização deste ODS.
- Objetivos do Desenvolvimento Sustentável da Agenda 2030 – A Paz. Parte IIPublication . Caeiro, Sandra; Martins, RuteEste recurso educativo é uma apresentação em slides narrados sobre o Objetivo de Desenvolvimento Sustentável nº 16 sobre a paz – parte II os desafios para o cumprimento da paz As soluções através da mediação - O papel dos governos.
- Sustainability assessment and benchmarking in higher education institutions: a critical reflectionPublication . Caeiro, Sandra; Sandoval Hamón, Leyla Angélica; Martins, Rute; Bayas Aldaz, Cecilia ElizabethHigher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in implementing practices for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This implementation should be done in different dimensions according to a holistic and whole-school approach. Different tools have been adapted and developed to assess this integrated approach. The aim of this research is to critically reflect the existing tools to assess and benchmark ESD implementation and to discuss their applicability in two case studies. Two public Universities in Southern Europe, with headquarters in the capitals of Portugal and Spain were selected to assess and compare the integration of ESD according to a whole-school approach—Universidade Aberta in Portugal and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain. After a critical analysis of the existing tools based on literature review and a list of criteria classified by experts, two tools were selected to be applied in the case studies. The online Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System Reporting Tool was used in Universidade Aberta and Green Metrics tool was used in Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The tools were complemented with focus group with key-actors in both universities. The results obtained allowed to identify the need to define a common objective of the assessment tools and limitations they still have. The tools need improvements on their development namely to integrate the external impact of Higher Education Institutions on sustainability, to integrate participatory processes and to assess non-traditional aspects of sustainability. This research hopes to contribute to the continuous research about the usefulness of these assessment and benchmarking tools as drivers to HEIs improve their sustainability performance and their role as agents of changes.
- Sustainability campus group. Report: 2023Publication . Mapar, Mahsa; Fernandes, Ana Paula; Martinho, Ana Paula; Santos, Fábio; Simão, João; Trindade, Jorge; Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Pereira, Pedro; Martins, Rute; Teixeira, Teresa; Caeiro, Sandra; Ferreira, Célia
- Sustainability campus working group. Annual report: 2021-2022Publication . Caeiro, Sandra; Fernandes, Ana Paula; Martinho, Ana Paula; Ferreira, Célia; Simão, João; Trindade, Jorge; Mapar, Mahsa; Pereira, Pedro; Martins, Rute; Teixeira, Teresa; Nicolau, Paula Bacelar