Search

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show the activities that have been implemented in Monterrey Campus of Tecnologico de Monterrey to infuse sustainable development (SD) into the academic components, as well as to document similar SD activities that are being implemented in other campuses within the Tecnologico de Monterrey system. Another relevant issue is to share the experiences regarding SD incorporation in the academic area. Design/methodology/approach: Capacity building courses to "educate-the-educators," is the selected approach, to educate faculty regarding SD. Additionally, diverse methods are utilized to assess progress in incorporation of SD into courses and curricula. The capacity building is done through specific courses that are taught by faculty members with recognised knowledge in their fields but who also had the interdisciplinary skills to help the educators to understand and apply the concepts of the "triple bottom line", to their academic programme. The educational programme is focused upon educators who expressed personal and professional interest in expanding their skills to teach SD to their students. Findings: It is learned that working to catalyze the inclusion of SD concepts into courses and curricula requires a concerted effort among various stakeholders within the institution. It needs support from top administration, deans of academic divisions, the academic development department, as well as from faculty willing to participate in incorporating SD into their courses. Without this support, advances will be slow or non-existent. A first course to incorporate SD in the educators' courses is offered, but one difficulty that the authors encountered, with this initial course, is it does not provided an integrated and interconnected outlook, which shows the learners not only the triple bottom line concepts but also other dimensions relevant to SD. So, a second course is designed and evaluation of the improvements in SD understanding by educators who take this improved course is done using conceptual maps. Although no definitive instruments are developed, work is done on the development and testing of criteria to assess the degree of incorporation of SD into the modified courses taught by the participating faculty. Originality/value: It is shown that it is possible to support efforts to "weave SD as a golden thread" into the academic component of a HEI can be accomplished through the concerted action of various stakeholders. Good team teaching can facilitate faculty capacity building in SD. The evolutionary path of the "educate-the-educator's" program is one of the learnings by doing and continuous improvement. It is hoped that others will learn from the learning process. (Contains 1 note, 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present information about a team-teaching course on sustainable development (SD) for educators in an institution of higher education, Monterrey Campus of ITESM in Mexico. Design/methodology/approach - Four faculty members were invited to work together with the Sustainable Campus Programme coordinator in the process of developing the "Educate-the-Educator's" SD course. The course was structured using lectures, readings, class role play activities, homework, and general discussion. Additionally, a workshop-format was woven throughout the course; its function was to help the educators incorporate SD issues within their own courses. Finding: It was found that a multi-disciplinarily developed and delivered course is an effective vehicle for educating educators on SD. Documentation of some facets of the learning process further helped the "students" and the course leaders to better understand the whole learning process. Originality/value: The paper's value rests on the interconnected structure, showing resonance with the triple bottom line, as well as many other dimensions linked with sustainable development. This structure increased the course participants' comprehension of sustainability. Furthermore, the use of concept maps and digraph theory to evaluate "faculty participants" comprehension of the interconnections and dimensions of SD proved to be a successful innovation. (Contains 2 notes, 4 tables, and 11 figures.)