Education for Sustainability: Current Status, Prospects, and Directions

Abstract

Sustainability is a complex concept that is addressed by most companies, and is the direction of their development. Culture and education for sustainable development must start from higher education. At the level of higher education, the presence of sustainability subjects was mainly assessed in the curricula of study and also the understanding of the concept among students. In Romania these studies are not defined in depth. Also a comparative analysis of students' knowledge and understanding of the concept in business (after graduating higher education) has yet to be made. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the current level of education for students and the business environment basedon the sustainability principles. The first objective of this paper was to review and present the previous research on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The second objective was to identify and assess the current level of ESD in Romania.

Keywords: Higher educationsustainable developmentbehavior changeattitude

Introduction

Traditionally companies have no concerns beyond those strictly related to business activity, all

resource allocations being designed to achieve their economic objectives and reflected ultimately in

profit. Lately this business behaviour began to change, with the focus on sustainability and aligning with

European requirements on environmental, social and economic dimensions. In recent studies (Baleanu et

al., 2014; Viegas et al., 2016) it is pointed out that companies are starting to become increasingly

involved in the sustainable development and understand the meaning of the concept in its entirety.

An important role in promoting the concept of sustainability is held by institutions of higher

education and especially at the post-graduate level (Baleanu et al., 2010; Moraru et al., 2014). In the case

when the post-graduate students perceive and understand what the concept is, then sustainability reporting

in companies where they work or will work has no longer any barrier.

This paper aims to identify the current level of involvement in the sustainable development of

communities in Romania and assess the level of understanding of the concept for students in higher

education.

Problem Statement

A growing number of organizations seeking to develop sustainable operations and align with

international requirements. Moreover, expectations that long-term profitability is directly proportional to

social responsibility and environmental protection, are advancing. Involvement in sustainability reporting

helps organizations to set goals, to measure performance and manage change in order to achieve

sustainable operations. A sustainability report submits information on the impact of an organization, be it

positive or negative, on the environment, society and economy (Mocan et al., 2015). Involvement in

sustainability reporting contributes to long-term development of the organization, but also to improving

the image in front of the stakeholders. The reporting environment can be chosen by the organization.

Electronic or online reports and reports on paper are two appropriate media for reporting. Organizations

can choose to use a combination of web and reports on paper or use only one medium. From this

perspective, researching the awareness and adoption of this concept is helpful. To investigate the

awareness and adoption, the research is based on the degree of learning of the concept of sustainable

development among undergraduate and graduate students, and among the companies in Romania.

So, the students represent the human resource that will contribute to business development (Popa

et al., 2015; Vassigh et al., 2014). The students do not have the basic elements of education for

sustainable development (ESD). A number of studies highlight the fact that students do not have the

sustainability knowledge (Viegas et al., 2016; Chaiwichit, 2016). In Barth's and Rieckmann study in

2012, it is noted that students should acquire skills for sustainable living and be able to understand the

link between interaction and consequences over a long period of time. In 2013, Boutou confirms that

future professionals must be prepared from the perspective of sustainability to be competitive and be

hired easily by companies. In the studies Godemann et al. (2014), Amaral et al. (2015), and Haskova et

al. (2016) it is shown the important role that sustainable development plays in the curriculum of the

students.

Therefore, knowledge on sustainable development is needed among students. With this purpose a

questionnaire was developed that was first applied to students in higher education to identify the level of

knowledge of the concept. The second survey was carried out for companies in Romania, being applied to

identify the involvement of these companies in sustainable development. Therefore, the research is based

on two directions:

§The questionnaire survey applied in academia, and

§The questionnaire survey applied to business.

Research Questions

This research aims to answer the questions: “What are the sustainability principles to be followed?

What are the future directions in terms of ESD?”, and to highlight the degree to which human resource

and companies are interested in these principles and directions of development.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the current level of education for students and the

business environment on the sustainability principles. The first objective of this paper was to review and

present the previous research on ESD. The second objective was to identify and assess the current level of

ESD in Romania. Based on the principles and directions of sustainable development, this research used

two questionnaires that were applied among students (600 students) and companies in Romania. (100

companies)

Research Methods

Focus groups were conducted in this study to identify the current level of education in terms of

sustainability. For the business environment a questionnaire was applied to identify the level of

knowledge of this process of sustainable development.

The questionnaire survey applied to companies in Romania

The research directions of this questionnaire are:

§Company identification through various elements - to outline the profile of the organization.

§ Risk management in organizations - sustainable development involves risk assessment

because it is present in every activity and there is no durability without hazard and threats

identification.

§Standardization and globalization - sustainability leads to standardization of processes and the

implementation of international standards.

§Sustainability - perception and implementation of sustainability principles and directions.

The entire research design is shown in Figure 01 below, starting from directions and theoretical

principles, evaluating the perception of sustainability in business and among students and directions are

obtained to be followed for global sustainable development.

See Full Size >

Findings

The study outlines that inclusion of courses on sustainable development contributes to the

development of a sustainable business, sustainable companies and of sustainable jobs. The results of

applying the questionnaires are collated below.

7.Conclusion

Finally, it can be concluded that inclusion of materials on sustainable development contributes to

the development of a sustainable environment and sustainable businesses. The relationship between

education and sustainable development is a directly proportional one.

From the analysis conducted in this paper, in Romania, the following can be concluded:

§The concept of sustainability is perceived by most companies, but reporting is not realized in

standardized form. This could be complemented by a series of courses that can be achieved in

the years of study.

§Respect for the environment and society can be shaped even during the years of study so that

when the student is hired this mind set is already intact.

§Various financial analyses are performed at the superficial level or only on the final financial

results, which could be supplemented by courses in academia.

§To apply the theoretical knowledge as many agreements with companies should be concluded

to increase employability percentage in final year of study.

§Introducing new trends and directions concerning the development of the business

environment.

In conclusion, it can be said that the business environment in Romania is in continuous

development and is aligning with international requirements. The students are interested in business

requirements and prefer to be employed after graduation. This is supported also by the idea that during

the years of study, hiring students is done without the necessary qualifications and thus the pay is low.

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