Search

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.

During the home confinement caused by COVID-19, universities closed and all teaching became virtual, testing the sustainability of the education system. A total of 3080 Spanish university students participated in a survey to analyse how they have adapted to this situation, whether there has been a digital divide and how they have followed training activities. The results reveal that households have had to invest in ICT equipment and universities have offered support to vulnerable students. Students were not prepared for this change, found it difficult to follow the course online, spent more hours per day studying and achieved lower academic performance. Higher education institutions must ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education that reduces the digital divide, promoting sustainable activities.

Universities are making great efforts to provide quality and inclusive education for all. However, the number of students with disabilities or educational needs studying higher education is still low. Student support resources are essential to the success of inclusive education. An inclusive education indicator has been developed that establishes a ranking of those universities best prepared to offer inclusive resources. As an example, the indicator has been developed for the case of Spanish public universities, based on information provided by the Spanish Network of Support Services for People with Disabilities at University, which produced an online University Guide for Students with Disabilities with several areas and points that collect information on the resources available at universities. This indicator is dynamic and can be updated quickly and easily. Through it, universities may know in which aspects they need to improve. In addition, they could take as a reference those universities that are better positioned according to the value of the indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the current situation of higher education institutions in Spain regarding the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals in the classroom, and what is the role of mathematics in this task. Design/methodology/approach: A review is made of how the concept of sustainability has evolved in higher education, its gradual introduction in the University and the way in which this subject is approached in the field of mathematics. Findings: The study concludes that higher education has a key role to play in designing strategies that lead to the global sustainability of the planet. This implies major changes in degree curricula, assessment, competences and teacher training. Cross-disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity between different subjects within the same degree is a strategy for students to analyse the Sustainable Development Goals using mathematical techniques. Social implications: The University as an institution must train socially responsible professionals who are aware of the importance of promoting a sustainable world. Changes should be made to introduce values in the classroom that promote and encourage sustainability. Training should be seen as a continuous process that leads to the preparation of professionals committed to society and nature and who develop strategies aimed at improving the planet through values. Originality/value: Through practical activities, the Sustainable Development objectives can be analysed from several subjects of the same degree, emphasising the interdisciplinary and transversal nature that should be the central axis of higher education. Each subject can develop a strategy for change in favour of sustainability that will be reinforced and increased by working together on the proposed teaching practice. In this way, the contents of the different subjects are not isolated, but rather the student can see how there is an interrelationship between them and with real life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid transition to emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges for teachers, students, and higher education institutions, impacting students' learning and engagement in the learning process. Based on Self-Determination Theory, this paper employs a collective case study research methodology to examine teachers' strategies for supporting students' learning and engagement in virtual learning environments during emergency remote teaching in the pandemic era, with the goal of offering guidelines to assist teachers in fostering student learning and engagement in these virtual settings. The inductive thematic analysis of eight semi-structured interviews with teachers from Spain, Oman, Nigeria and Cambodia revealed some challenges faced by teachers in engaging their students in virtual environments and some teaching and support strategies that teachers adopted to enhance students' engagement in virtual classrooms. The study synthesised a set of strategies for teachers in higher education to support students' engagement and learning in online environments. Teachers' autonomy, structure and involvement support strategies had a behavioural, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement on students' learning process. The paper discussed limitations and future research endeavours in online teaching and learning and students' engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the home confinement caused by COVID-19, universities closed and all teaching became virtual, testing the sustainability of the education system. A total of 3080 Spanish university students participated in a survey to analyse how they have adapted to this situation, whether there has been a digital divide and how they have followed training activities. The results reveal that households have had to invest in ICT equipment and universities have offered support to vulnerable students. Students were not prepared for this change, found it difficult to follow the course online, spent more hours per day studying and achieved lower academic performance. Higher education institutions must ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education that reduces the digital divide, promoting sustainable activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adapting new learning and teaching practices during COVID-19 pandemic has impacted students' learning in higher education. Using a cross-sectional research methodology, the study attempted to understand the cross-cultural impacts of COVID-19 on higher education students in Cambodia, Nigeria, Oman and Spain to determine the changes that COVID-19 has brought about in higher education students; examine how students' learning behaviour and attitudes have changed during COVID-19; identify the challenges they have experienced; and identify the changes that have taken place in learning and teaching in the selected countries. A total sample of 242 students was randomly selected from four higher education institutions in each of the selected countries. The study provided a cross-cultural understanding of how COVID-19 has affected students' well-being, behaviors and learning. The results show that COVID-19 had adverse effects on the well-being of students in the four countries. Students received inadequate social support and security protection from others and instructors when they needed it. Omani students received less social support compared with the other three countries. COVID-19 had the worse effect on students' employment in the four countries. The effect pressed much concern on Nigerian students who experience a great job loss. Students from the four countries were required to put a lot of effort and energy to fulfil the requirements in the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has had a great impact on the lives of all students. A survey conducted among Spanish university students aims to find out what their concerns are before the start of the 2020–2021 academic year. This study tries to explain the impact of the coronavirus on students after returning to the classroom, and not only during confinement. Among the main concerns of the students are the way examinations are conducted, the development of learning or the teaching method used as a consequence of the situation caused by the coronavirus. The results shown can be of great use to the educational community in establishing policies aimed at improving the level of teaching and the well-being of students in the face of this educational change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has created cause for rapid innovation in, reimagining of, and pivoting of higher education institutions. Prior to 2020, the global higher education sector began to radically focus their efforts on creating sustainable institutions, and incorporated the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The novel coronavirus pandemic may have changed that. This systematic review examines eight manuscripts, identified through a systematic search strategy on sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic across 2020–2021. Interestingly, the low volume of manuscripts identified highlights potential learning and teaching risks, as priorities may have shifted during rapid digitalization and emergency remote teaching practices. These manuscripts focused on Goal 4, inclusive and equitable quality education (50%); Goal 8, decent work and economic growth; Goal 9, industry, innovation, and infrastructure (37.5%); and goal enabling through integrating and embedding sustainability into the curriculum (12.5%). The implications of this systematic review highlight a need to rebuild efforts to focus on the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly considering the evolving higher education landscape during COVID-19. While there were still considerable volumes of manuscripts on higher education and sustainability during 2020–2021, the lack of contextualization to current higher education conditions should be of concern for sustainability scholars. This systematic review creates a critical foundation for accelerating our understanding of achieving SDGs in higher education during and beyond the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]