Hammer Thomas, Lewis Anna Lena
Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
Discov Sustain. 2023;4(1):19. doi: 10.1007/s43621-023-00134-w. Epub 2023 Mar 28.
A relatively broad consolidated consensus has emerged among experts regarding the competencies that should be fostered through an education for sustainable development at the higher education level. However, there is little empirical support to aid in answering the question of which competencies should be promoted from the perspective of students and graduates. This was the main purpose for analyzing the corresponding results of the evaluation of the study programs in sustainable development at the University of Bern. In a standardized survey, students (N = 124), graduates (N = 121), and the supervisors of internships (N = 37) were asked, among other questions, how important they consider the fostering of the respective 13 competencies during their studies and for their professional activities. Overall, the results confirm the view of experts: the study programs should be designed for a comprehensive empowerment with respect of responsible and self-motivated participation in meeting the challenges of sustainable development. Even the students are of the opinion that competency-oriented education is important and that not only the acquisition, respectively the imparting of knowledge is relevant. Regarding the estimation of the promotion of competencies in the study program, the three groups agree that the competencies "Interconnected, foresighted, and thinking approaches in system-dynamic contexts" and "Recognizing on one's own perspective on a situation and problem, empathizing with other perspectives, and taking these into account when solving problems" are the most important. For the professional field, the competency "Communicating in a comprehensive and target group-oriented manner" is rated most important by all three groups. However, it must be noted that there are also differences between the varying perspectives of the students, graduates, and internship supervisors. The results indicate opportunities for improvement that can also be considered as recommendations in the further development of inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability-oriented study programs. Furthermore, lecturers should, especially regarding a multidisciplinary team, coordinate and communize the development of competencies across the different educational elements. Students should be well informed regarding how the various educational elements, i.e., teaching/learning arrangements and assessments, are intended to contribute to the overall development of competency. Finally, in order to ensure that lecturers align respective learning outcomes, as well as teaching/learning arrangements and assessments in their educational elements, there will need to be a greater focus on competency development across a program of study.
关于在高等教育阶段通过可持续发展教育应培养哪些能力，专家们已形成了相对广泛的综合共识。然而，从学生和毕业生的角度来看，对于应提升哪些能力的问题，几乎没有实证依据可供参考。这就是分析伯尔尼大学可持续发展研究项目评估相应结果的主要目的。在一项标准化调查中，研究人员询问了学生（N = 124）、毕业生（N = 121）和实习导师（N = 37）等问题，比如他们认为在学习期间以及职业活动中培养各自的13种能力有多重要。总体而言，结果证实了专家的观点：研究项目的设计应旨在全面赋能，以促进学生能够负责且积极主动地参与应对可持续发展的挑战。甚至学生们也认为以能力为导向的教育很重要，而且不仅知识的获取和传授是相关的。关于对研究项目中能力提升的评估，三组人员一致认为“系统动态环境中的相互关联、有远见和思维方式”以及“认识自己对一种情况和问题的看法，理解其他观点，并在解决问题时加以考虑”这两种能力最为重要。对于专业领域，“以全面且面向目标群体的方式进行沟通”这一能力在三组人员中均被评为最重要的。然而，必须指出的是，学生、毕业生和实习导师的不同观点之间也存在差异。这些结果表明了改进的机会，也可被视为跨学科和跨领域可持续发展导向研究项目进一步发展的建议。此外，授课教师尤其应在多学科团队中，协调并交流不同教育要素间能力的培养。学生应充分了解各种教育要素，即教学/学习安排和评估，如何旨在促进能力的全面发展。最后，为确保授课教师在其教育要素中使各自的学习成果以及教学/学习安排和评估保持一致，需要更加注重整个学习计划中的能力发展。
