Suchergebnisse

Die UN-Agenda 2030 und die 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) schreiben Hochschulbildung eine wichtige Rolle zu. Hochschulbildung ist einerseits als Entwicklungsziel (SDG 4.3.), andererseits als wesentliches Instrument zur Erreichung der anderen Ziele in den SDGs verankert. Das vorliegende Briefing Paper fasst die internationale Diskussion zu beiden Dimensionen aus entwicklungspolitischer Sicht zusammen. Es beleuchtet eingangs den Stellenwert von Hochschulbildung in den SDGs. Anschließend geht es auf die aktuellen globalen Rahmenbedingungen ein. In einem dritten Kapitel erörtert es die Herausforderung des universellen Hochschulzugangs, insbesondere für Länder des Globalen Südens. Schließlich diskutiert es die Rolle von Hochschulen für die Erreichung der SDGs und die wesentlichen Hindernisse bei der Umsetzung, um abschließend kurz die Implikationen der internationalen Diskussion für Österreichs Hochschulen zu reflektieren.

Purpose
Higher education is uncertain which sustainability-related education targets should be sought and monitored. Accepting that something needs to be measurable to be systematically improved, the authors explored how measures relate to potential targets. This paper aims to focus on dispositions to think critically (active open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking in appraising reasoning) as measures and explored how they related to sustainability concern as an indicative educational target.


Design/methodology/approach
This research included the development and testing of research instruments (scales) that explored dispositions to critical thinking and sustainability concern. Authors researched these instruments within their own correspondence groups and tested them with university students and staff in Pakistan, the USA, Austria, India and New Zealand. The authors also asked a range of contextualising questions.


Findings
Respondents' disposition to aspects of active, open-minded thinking and fair-minded thinking do predict their concern about facets of sustainability but their strength of religious belief was an important factor in these relationships and in their measurement.


Practical implications
This research demonstrates the complexity of monitoring dispositions to think critically and sustainability concern in educational systems, particularly in circumstances where the roles of religious beliefs are of interest; and suggests ways to address this complexity.


Originality/value
This research integrates and expands discourses on ESD and on critical thinking in diverse disciplines and cultures. It investigates measurement approaches and targets that could help higher education institutions to educate for sustainable development and to monitor their progress, in ways that are compatible with their culture and values.