ASSESSMENT of EDUCATION for SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

in

COSTA RICAN UNIVERSITIES

by

Dr. Jairo H. GarciaUniversity of Phoenix

Nasa: Visible Earth - The Blue Marble: (http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=2429) – Feb 9, 2009

Home

“Sustainability is here to stay

or we may not be“

Niall Fitzgerald

Deputy Chairman, Thomson Reuters and member of the Foundation Board of the

World Economic Forum

UNESCO – DESD2005-2014

Goal:

Integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning.

http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23295&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Costa Rica implemented a national policy to include ESD at all levels of education.

Problem

There is not a comprehensive study of progress of the inclusion of ESD in their

universities.

Objective

To assess the extent to which universities in Costa Rica are including ESD in:

1. Curriculums

2. Research and Scholarship

3. Faculty and staff development and rewards

5. Outreach to community

6. Student opportunities, and

7. Institutional mission and planning

Significance1. Provide information status HESD in Costa Rica.

2. Create awareness where this topic is not being addressed.

3. Promote actions or plans for SD

4. Baseline for future studies, and

5. Might motivate scholars to generate new theories and hypotheses from the data that emerged

Research Questions (4/8)

1. To what extent have universities in Costa Rica included ESD in their curriculums?

2. In what curriculums has ESD been included?

3. Are universities in Costa Rica requiring undergraduates to take courses in sustainability?

4. To what extent are universities in Costa Rica addressing research and scholarships in sustainability?

Research Questions

5. To what extent is ESD recognized as a factor for faculty and staff hiring and promotion?

6. To what extent are these universities participating in SD initiatives for the community at the local, regional, national or international level?

7. To what extent are these institutions providing opportunities for students to participate in SD initiatives?

8. To what extent are universities in Costa Rica committed to ESD?

Methodology

• Qualitative-exploratory cross-sectional web-based survey

• Participants: List of universities from Costa Rica’s minister of education

Importance of Qualitative Studies for Educational Research in Developing

Countries

Preston (1997): large-scale, cross-national quantitative research in developing countries “are seen to assume roles which are passive, non-reflective and determined by the researcher. They may learn nothing in the process of the study nor of its findings or the use to which they are put”

(p. 46).Preston, R. (1997). Integrating paradigms in educational research: Issues of quantity and

quality in poor countries. In M. Crossley & G. Vulliamy (Eds.), Qualitative educational

research in developing countries (pp. 31-64). New York: Garland.

Importance of Qualitative Studies for Educational Research in Developing

Countries

Kai-ming (1997) Although mathematical models can be powerful tools for forecast and policy simulations, they have two primary limitations: (a) the assumptions of the models are not always verifiable, and (b) mathematical models rarely take into account emerging trends that are not statistically significant but are common sense in the field.

Kai-ming, C. (1997). Qualitative research and educational policy-making. Approaching the reality in developing countries. In M. Crossley & G. Vulliamy (Eds.), Qualitative educational research in developing countries (pp. 65-85). New York: Garland Publishing.

Importance of Qualitative Studies for Educational Research in Developing

Countries

Qualitative research, in other hand, is aimed to generate theories and hypotheses from the data that emerge rather than testing preconceived and in some cases inappropriate frames of reference; (Crossley & Vulliamy, 1997).

Crossley, M., & Vulliamy, G. (1997). Qualitative research in developing countries. In M. Crossley & G. Vulliamy (Eds.), Qualitative educational research in developing countries. Current perspectives. New York, London: Garland Publishing.

Other Instruments

•The National Wildlife Federation’s State of the Campus Environment Survey•The Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) •The Audit Instrument for Sustainability in Higher Education •The Higher Education 21’s Sustainability Indicators •The Environmental Workbook Report•The Greening Campuses Instrument •The Campus Ecology Instrument •The Environmental Performance Survey•The Indicators Snapshot-Guide •The Grey Pinstripes with Green Ties •The EMS Self-Assessment

Shriberg, M. (2002). Institutional assessment tools for sustainability in higher education: strengths, weaknesses, and

implications for practice and theory. Higher Education Policy, 15(2), 153-167.

Instrument SelectedThe Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) focus on education.

• Developed by the University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF) between 1999 and 2001 + periodic reviews.

• SAQ :- Give a snapshot of the state of sustainability - Raise consciousness and encourage debate about ESD- Promote discussion on next steps to achieve SD

• Used in hundreds of HE institutes all over the world because:

– Easy to implement– Free to use

Why not STARS?

• Designed for colleges and universities in USA and Canada

• Rating system (Quantitative analysis)

• End result is a comparable performance indicator

The Survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JJLfK1wCycWBuhFL4LboBQ_3d_3d

- 54 universities listed by the Minister’s of Education

- 9 did not have active web-sites nor valid telephone

- 7 not valid phone-contacted via email– none replied

- 38 universities contacted via telephone and email

- 24 responded to the survey (return rate 53% of 45 contacted)

- 100% of publics responded

- 49% of privates responded

Participants

• 4 of 54 universities in Costa Rica are public

• Public universities have 48% of the student population

(National Council of Rectors, 2007)

Analysis

For Quantitative data: - Descriptive analysis - frequencies and percentages

For Qualitative data: - Moustaka’s (1994) analysis of significant statements

For Reliability:- Cross-reference of responses - (Greene, Caracelli, &

Graham, 1989)

Introductory Questions Framework UNESCO-DESD

Introductory Questions- framework UNESCO-DESD Public Private

QS1. Acceptance Brundtland Def (>=great deal) 75% 60%

QS2. ESD Priority at University (>=great deal) 75% 60%

QS3. ESD = Environmental. Ed. (no) 75% 65%

QS4. Heard about DESD 50% 35%

QS5. Heard about Earth Charter 100% 80%

SD definition

Themes %

Ecology / environment 40%

Economy 20%

Community 10%

Transformation 10%

Others 20%

(QS6) International Agreementsin ESD

• Only 10% checked international agreement listed; however, open-ended question did not corroborate the responses.

RQ1: To what extent have universities in Costa Rica included ESD in their

curriculums?

RQ1: To what extent have universities in Costa Rica included ESD in their curriculums?(table 5, pg.98)

Public Private

QS7. Offer of courses in sustainability

(> a little)

100% 60%

QS8. Inclusion of sustainability in traditional classes (> a little)

25% 25%

RQ2: In what curriculums has ESD been included?

• Biology• Environmental

sciences• Economics• Tourism• Public health• Architecture• Ethics

RQ3: Are universities in Costa Rica requiring undergraduates to take courses in sustainability?(table 6, pg.99)

Public

75%

Private

55%

RQ4: To what extent are universities in Costa Rica addressing research and scholarships in sustainability? (table 7, pg.99)

Public Private

QS10. Amount of research or scholarship in SD (> a little)

50% 10%

QS11. Percentage of Faculty who teach or do research in SD (> 0%)

100% 35%

QS12. Multidisciplinary Infrastructure for research in ESD

75% 30%

RQ5: To what extent is ESD recognized as a factor for faculty and staff hiring and promotion?(table 8, pg.100)

Public Private

QS13. Faculty/staff hiring and promotion

(> none)

75% 50%

QS14. Faculty and staff develop. for ESD

(>none)

100% 80%

RQ6: To what extent are these universities participating in SD initiatives for the community at the local, regional, national or international level?

(> a little) (table 9, pg.101)

Public

100%

Private

70%

Community Programs• “Horizontes Ambientales”: Environmental project

• “Hormiga”: Pay student loans by participating in environmental activities for the community

• “Zona Económica San Carlos”: Students help the community of San Carlos implement economic development programs

• Community work required for graduation for pre-graduate and masters programs

• Virtual activities about food print and development

• sustainable programs for eco-tourism

RQ7: To what extent are these institutions providing opportunities for students to participate in SD initiatives?

Public Private

QS16. Student Group (s) with an environmental or sustainability focus (table 10, pg.102)

100% 40%

QS17. Events for SD Encouragement (table 11, pg.104)

50% 60%

QS18. Student Groups Involved in SD

(> a little)

(table 12, pg.104)

75% 20%

RQ8: To what extent are universities in Costa Rica committed to ESD?

Public Private

QS19. Extent of formal written compromises to sustainability (> a little)

(table 13, pg.105)

100% 55%

QS20. Positions, Committees, or Practices to Sustainability (>none)

(table 14, pg.107)

100% 75%

QS21: Activities to Give Visibility to Sustainability (table 15, pg.108)

%

Celebrations (Day of the Environment, Earth Day, Water Day, etc.)

24%

Conferences 21%

Invitation of experts 15%

Recycling programs 15%

Others (use of energy programs, day without noise, day without smog, communications, etc)

25%

QS22: Strengths Implementing ESD

(table 16, pg.109)

%

Consideration of the importance of SD by administrator, faculty, and students

33%

Competent faculty in SD 24%

Institutional compromise 19%

Incorporation of SD in curriculums 10%

Others 14%

QS22: Weaknesses Implementing ESD

(table 16, pg.109)

%

Lack of institutional support 15%

Lack of resources 15%

Cultural change 11%

Need of obligatory curses in SD 7%

QS23:Next Steps Planned to Strengthen Commitment to ESD

(table 17, pg.110)

%

Reorganization of curriculum to include SD 15%

Promotion of SD practices (reduction of energy, water use, recycling)

15%

Cooperation between universities and SD organizations

15%

Conformation of multidisciplinary commissions, departments or teams to work in SD

7%

Nothing 15%

Discussions

• Instrument: – Advantages:

• Provided a quick snapshot of the status of ESD• Economically viable• Provided rapid turnaround in data collection • Mixed approach allowed cross-reference and corroboration

– Disadvantages:• the metrics used for the Likert-type questions, does not allow

deeper mathematical analysis. Difficult for larger population.

Discussions

• Representation of the population can be considered significant (53%).

• Strategy adopted for the analysis of data:• Descriptive analysis • Analysis of significant statements• Concurrent triangulation

Limitations

• It is not a full assessment

• It does not provide a path towards sustainability

• It does not provide systematic comparisons

• There was not field verification

(SQ.24) Comments

• “This survey has enabled me to think about the formulation and development of a sustainable development program to implement in our University” (Universidad de San José)

• “We are interested in knowing the results and proposals to work on this topic in the institution. Thanks” (Universidad de Ciencias Empresariasles)

(SQ.24) Comments

• “Thanks for raising this important issue” (Universidad Evangélica de las Américas)

• “It is very important for us to know the results of this relevant study, because although our university is very new, this area is of special relevance for us” (Universidad Latina de Costa Rica)

• “I found interesting the focus of the survey. Do you have an on-line program for training faculty and the university community in this topic?” ( Universidad de Ciencias

Medicas )

Recommendations

• Similar studies in other countries can be very beneficial to promote sustainability in higher education to achieve the goals of UNESCO-DESD and for the creation of a better and sustainable future for all.

Questions

?