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The study of economics involves core issues of sustainable development very relevant to society, such as growth, consumption or wellbeing. Accordingly, its epistemology and teaching contents influence other disciplines, the conception of society and the political agenda. From this perspective, it is strategic that the teaching of economics promotes sustainable development. The aim of this article is to examine what the subjects of economics and business economics teach about sustainability at the upper secondary education level in Spain, and if they contribute to the acquisition of the key competencies of the education for sustainable development. A content analysis is carried out of both the curriculum and the textbooks to that end. Our results emphasise that the ideas, concepts and values transmitted by the Spanish upper secondary economics textbooks do not adequately promote knowledge about sustainability or the learning of the key competencies.

Higher education must include training in sustainability to make all actors aware of the serious problems our planet is facing. Mathematics plays an important role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and at the same time these allow working with real situations in the subject of mathematics, providing the student with active learning. Sustainability is used to make the student see the usefulness of mathematics while instilling values and attitudes towards it. A set of problems have been raised during the academic year that are solved with the developed mathematical techniques, and through a survey, the students' perceptions about the usefulness of mathematics to reach the goals established in the SDG has been evaluated. The results show that, regardless of the student's gender, the student's assessment of the usefulness of this subject in solving real problems improved. It has been observed that this teaching methodology has helped to motivate students and even those who do not like this subject have improved their appreciation of it.

The study of economics involves core issues of sustainable development very relevant to society, such as growth, consumption or wellbeing. Accordingly, its epistemology and teaching contents influence other disciplines, the conception of society and the political agenda. From this perspective, it is strategic that the teaching of economics promotes sustainable development. The aim of this article is to examine what the subjects of economics and business economics teach about sustainability at the upper secondary education level in Spain, and if they contribute to the acquisition of the key competencies of the education for sustainable development. A content analysis is carried out of both the curriculum and the textbooks to that end. Our results emphasise that the ideas, concepts and values transmitted by the Spanish upper secondary economics textbooks do not adequately promote knowledge about sustainability or the learning of the key competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to find out what attitudes Economics and Business students have towards sustainability and what they expect from their education in relation to the achievement of economic, social and environmental sustainability. The objective is to find out if the studies of Economics and Business favour the development of pro-sustainability attitudes, taking into account factors such as the gender of the students, the course in which they are enrolled and the economic training received before entering university. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was designed covering ecological, social, cultural, economic and political aspects. The survey was conducted among students of the Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Management and the Bachelor's Degree in Economics. The authors used discriminant analysis and analysis of variance to test the research hypothesis. Findings: Students are concerned about environmental problems and are aware of the need for action, but there is little consensus on the actions needed to overcome them. Some negationist traits are detected: those who rely more on technology give less importance to environmental problems and to the possibility of a major ecological catastrophe. Girls are more in favour of sustainability than boys, and students who have previously studied economics consider that their training has enabled them to evaluate the resources available and necessary to perform any job more than those who have not studied economics, regardless of their sex and year. Originality/value: Many articles have focused on the importance of sustainability in higher education, but hardly any have analysed the role of economic education in achieving sustainability. Given the importance and the proven inter-relationship between economics and sustainability, with this article, the authors contribute to fill the gap in the literature. It is necessary that current students and future professionals receive adequate economic education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]