Ambiente e Sustentabilidade | Artigos em revistas internacionais / Papers in international journals
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Browsing Ambiente e Sustentabilidade | Artigos em revistas internacionais / Papers in international journals by Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) "04:Educação de Qualidade"
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- Are distance higher education institutions sustainable enough?: a comparison between two distance learning universitiesPublication . Casado-Aranda, Luis Alberto; Caeiro, Sandra; Trindade, Jorge; Paço, Arminda; Lizcano Casas, David; Landeta, AnaPurpose – Universities are continually transforming its structure and governance in response to the new social, environmental and economic challenges. Particularly, there has recently been a growing academic interest for measuring sustainable practices of higher education institutions (HEI) aiming to monitor and reduce their carbon emissions, as well as transform them into more sustainable organizations. More recent studies began to focus also on the sustainable performance of distance education Universities. So it became crucial to evaluate their sustainability practices through sustainability assessment tools with the aim of improving their sustainability performance and boosting their role as agents of academic, social and economic change. The purpose of this study is to assess and compare holistically sustainability implementation in two similar distance learning universities and to evaluate their advantages and disadvantages. Design/methodology/approach – One of the most rigorous and internationally used sustainability assessment tools was used – the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, to evaluate and compare sustainability implementation in two distance universities, one from Spain and another from Portugal: the Madrid Open University and Universidade Aberta. Indicators of both universities were compared and ways of improvement in both universities were widely discussed. Findings – The results of this research show that there is a similar pattern in both universities. Both have low performance in campus operations and low levels of community participation but good performance in sustainability courses and programmes offer. The results of both institutions were compared and allowed a learning process for improvement. Distance learning universities Received 21 July 2020 Revised 5 October 2020 14 October 2020 Accepted 21 October 2020 International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education © Emerald Publishing Limited 1467-6370 DOI 10.1108/IJSHE-07-2020-0260 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1467-6370.htm Originality/value – This research hopes to contribute to the continuous research about the usefulness of sustainability assessment tools in particular when applied to distance universities at the time that offers new paths to carry out improved sustainable practices in crucial areas of interest such as research, administration, education and resource-saving. This research also highlights the value of distance learning universities and their ability to be more sustainable after the advent of COVID-19
- Bridges for a more sustainable future: joining Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU) and the European Roundtable for Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP) conferencesPublication . Lozano, Rodrigo; Ciliz, Nilgun; Ramos, Tomás B.; Blok, Vincent; Caeiro, Sandra; van Hoof, Bernardus; Huisingh, Donald
- Can MOOCs empower people to critically think about climate change?: a learning outcome based comparison of two MOOCsPublication . Otto, Daniel; Caeiro, Sandra; Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Disterheft, Antje; Teixeira, António; Becker, Sara; Bollmann, Alexander; Sander, KirstenClimate change can be regarded as one of the key topics of sustainable development where public awareness and education are crucial. In the field of education, Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) have raised remarkable attention throughout the last decade as their initial objective is to provide massive open online education for everyone. This article aims to explore the impact of MOOCs on learning about climate change. This is necessary in order to evaluate whether MOOCs can make a substantial contribution to lifelong learning about sustainable development for a wider audience. We therefore present findings from self-assessment questionnaires of participants from two climate change MOOCs provided by two-distance learning universities in Germany and Portugal. Both MOOCs aimed at imparting to the participants the competencies to better understand the topic of climate change. The objective of the survey was a competency-based evaluation to review which learning outcomes have been achieved. The results indicate that taking part in either of the MOOCs increased the participants’ competencies to critically engage in the climate change debate. MOOCs are able to convey certain learning outcomes to the students and thus can contribute to climate change literacy. For further research, we recommend a more differentiated view on MOOCs and the learning opportunities for participants. Options for potential improvement are to think of better ways of how to integrate MOOCs into climate change education or to consider possibilities to increase the attractiveness of MOOCs for instance by using innovative formats to overcome the barriers between formal and informal learning
- Can the integration of multiple biomarkers and sediment geochemistry aid solving the complexity of sediment risk assessment?: a case study with a benthic fishPublication . Costa, Pedro M.; Caeiro, Sandra; Vale, Carlos; Delvalls, T. Ángel; Costa, Maria HelenaSurveying toxicity of complex geochemical media as aquatic sediments often yields results that are either difficult to interpret or even contradictory to acknowledged theory. Multi-level biomarkers were investigated in a benthic fish exposed to estuarine sediments through laboratory and in situ bioassays, to evaluate their employment either in ecological risk assessment or in more mechanistic approaches to assess sediment-bound toxicity. Biomarkers reflecting lesions (such as genotoxicity or histopathology), regardless of their low or absent specificity to contaminants, are efficient in segregating exposure to contaminated from uncontaminated sediments even when classical biomarkers like CYP1A and metallothionein induction are inconclusive. Conversely, proteomics and gene transcription analyses provided information on the mechanics of toxicity and aided explaining response variation as a function of metabolic imbalance and impairment of defences against insult. In situ bioassays, although less expedite and more affected by confounding factors, produced data better correlated to overall sediment contamination.
- Co-creating a sustainability performance assessment tool for public sector organisationsPublication . Ramos, Tomás B.; Domingues, Ana Rita; Caeiro, Sandra; Cartaxo, Joana; Painho, Marco; Antunes, Paula; Santos, Rui; Videira, Nuno; Walker, Richard M.; Huisingh, DonaldOrganisations are increasingly being pushed to manage, assess and report their sustainability performance, including public sector organisations (PSO). Several approaches were developed to implement sustainability assessments at the organisation level. However, the majority are still for the private sector and are often not supported by active stakeholder involvement. Several PSO have adapted private-oriented models to assess their sustainability performance, which are often not adequate due to public administration, whose main mission is to provide public services. The present work aims at developing a conceptual framework to support PSO and to assess their sustainability performance. The proposed approach is supported by two sustainability performance assessment systems – Formal and Informal Sustainability Performance Assessment. The Formal Sustainability Performance Assessment system, which is the main focus of this paper, consists of a checklist of objectives and practices and a set of twenty-nine (29) performance indicators. An initial proposal was drawn from the literature review and then assessed through a participatory process involving practitioners and academics in semistructured interviews, questionnaire surveys and a collaborative workshop. The Portuguese central public administration was used as a case study. The developed checklist of objectives and practices and related performance indicators will allow PSO to assess and communicate complex information about organisational sustainability. Reference values support the normalization of indicators’ results, and consequently, the comparison of sustainability-related performance between PSO integrated into the context of the Portuguese central public administration. This research contributes to the debate on organisational sustainability assessment and communication, and the importance of selecting and developing sustainability indicators using co-creation processes with key stakeholders.
- COVID-19: the impact of a global crisis on sustainable development teachingPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Price, Elizabeth; Wall, Tony; Shiel, Chris; Azeiteiro, Ulisses; Mifsud, Mark; Brandli, Luciana; Farinha, Carla; Caeiro, Sandra; Salvia, Amanda Lange; Vasconcelos, Claudio Ruy Portela de; Sousa, Luiza Olim de; Pace, Paul; Doni, Federica; Avila, Lucas Veiga; Fritzen, Bárbara; LeVasseur, Todd JaredThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global crisis, one which also infuences the ways sustainability is being taught at universities. This paper undertakes an analysis of the extent to which COVID-19 as a whole and the lockdown it triggered in particular, which has led to the suspension of presence-based teaching in universities worldwide and infuenced teaching on matters related to sustainable development. By means of a worldwide survey involving higher education institutions across all continents, the study has identifed a number of patterns, trends and problems. The results from the study show that the epidemic has signifcantly afected teaching practices. The lockdowns have led to a surge in the use of on-line communication tools as a partial replacement to normal lessons. In addition, many faculty teaching sustainability in higher education have strong competencies in digital literacy. The sampled higher education educations have—as a whole—adequate infrastructure to continue to teach during the lockdowns. Finally, the majority of the sample revealed that they miss the interactions via direct face-to-face student engagement, which is deemed as necessary for the efective teaching of sustainability content. The implications of this paper are two-fold. Firstly, it describes how sustainability teaching on sustainable development has been afected by the lockdown. Secondly, it describes some of the solutions deployed to overcome the problem. Finally, the paper outlines the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic may serve the purpose of showing how university teaching on sustainability may be improved in the future, taking more advantage of modern information technologies.
- Editorial: [Interview with Paulo Dias – Rector of Universidade Aberta, Portugal]Publication . Douce, Chris; Teixeira, António; Caeiro, Sandra
- Educação ambiental e educação superior: uma revisão sistemática da literaturaPublication . Gomes, Luís Alipio; Brasileiro, Tânia Suely Azevedo; Caeiro, SandraA universidade tem um papel importante na formação de profissionais comprometidos com a sustentabilidade socioambiental. Em décadas recentes registrou-se uma significativa produção científica sobre a abordagem da temática socioambiental na Educação Superior. Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar a relação entre Educação Ambiental e a Educação Superior na formação de bacharéis e licenciados. Para isso, fez-se uso da Revisão Sistemática de Literatura, que consiste em uma metodologia rigorosa para identificar pesquisas sobre o tema, aplicando métodos explícitos e sistematizados de busca, avaliação e validação dos estudos encontrados. A base de dados foi o Catálogo de Teses e Dissertações da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes/MEC), no período de 2009 a 2019. Após aplicação dos critérios de inclusão/exclusão, foram identificadas 40 pesquisas de pós-graduação relacionadas ao tema, demonstrando a relevância da universidade na formação da consciência socioambiental dos sujeitos, com diferentes iniciativas para a abordagem ambiental no currículo. O termo Ambientalização Curricular tem sido uma tendência nas pesquisas para se referir a abordagem ambiental na Educação Superior. Em que pese o papel exercido pelas universidades, ainda se enfrentam barreiras e obstáculos com relação a presença da Educação Ambiental no processo formativo, principalmente de professores da educação básica, e a resistência por parte de alguns setores institucionais, dentre outros fatores. Avançar no processo de incorporação da temática ambiental, envolvendo o ensino, a pesquisa, a extensão e a gestão a fim de promover a cultura da sustentabilidade, é um desafio a ser superado pelas instituições de ensino superior no país.
- Education for sustainable development in Portuguese universitiesPublication . Farinha, Carla; Azeiteiro, Ulisses; Caeiro, SandraPurpose – This paper aims to determine, from key actors’ perspective, how sustainability has been integrated into the policies and strategies of higher education institutions (HEIs), particularly Portuguese public universities, within the framework of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UN DESD) 2005-2014. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured exploratory interviews were conducted after gathering a sample of 15 key actors in decision-making processes who designed and implemented Portuguese education for sustainable development (ESD). Seven interviews with the key actors were undertaken and analyzed, leading to other plans, policies and programs that were not publicly accessible. Findings – The main findings are the lack of commitment from governmental institutions to implementing ESD at the university level and how few documents are partially linked to sustainable development, according to the key actors’ opinions. Nevertheless, Portuguese universities’ autonomy and their social responsibility have lead them to develop several initiatives and policies toward ESD. Research limitations/implications – Convenience sample does not allow results to be generalized to all Portuguese HEIs. Future investigation will be undertaken, including the analysis of plans, policies and strategies at university level, and a questionnaire survey will be applied to those responsible for implementing sustainability in Portuguese universities. Practical implications – This study provides findings, conclusions and recommendations that ultimately motivate HEIs to achieve sustainable development and to be more effective in integrating sustainability into their policies and strategies. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the literature by reflecting the lack of integration of policies and strategies in HEIs in a southern European country (Portugal), within the framework and goals of the UN DESD 2005-2014, and by explaining similar patterns probably existing in other countries
- Empowering non-academic staff for the implementation of sustainability in higher education institutionsPublication . Nicolau, Paula Bacelar; Mapar, Mahsa; Caeiro, Sandra; Moreno Pires, Sara; Nicolau, Mariana; Madeira, Catarina; Dias, Marta Ferreira; Gomes, Ana Paula; Lopes, Myriam; Nadais, Helena; Malandrakis, GeorgiosSustainability within higher education institutions (HEIs) is a well-established topic in the literature. Many fields of education for sustainable development have been explored, mainly focused on HEI students, as well as on academic staff. The technical, administrative, and management staff, referred to as non-academic staff has not received as much attention as the remaining HEI community, which leaves a gap in the successful implementation of sustainability practices and policies, as they play a vital and central role in the HEIs’ everyday functioning. Hence, the EUSTEPs project launched two sustainability training courses dedicated exclusively to this segment of the university community, aiming to increase their knowledge on facts and tools for the best sustainability transition. The first short-term online training, organized by the University of Aveiro and Universidade Aberta, Portugal, was run in May 2021. The training targeted 27 non-academic staff from different sectors. The second online training course was implemented one year later and involved 17 elements from the previous training. The results showed very high levels of overall satisfaction and full achievement of the participants’ expectations in sustainability issues. The non-academic staff learned and discussed the human–environment relationship, tracked and discussed their personal ecological footprint in the workspace, actively participated on how to run the university ecological footprint calculator, developed within the EUSTEPs project, and felt mobilized to implement actions to reduce their university’s environmental impacts (as well as in their general daily activities). Similar training programs can be used to impower non-academic staff for the implementation of sustainability in other higher education institutions, hence contributing to a successful integrated sustainability approach for the whole school.