Integration of Sustainability with Contemporary Curricula & Understanding of Traditional Academia: An Analysis of the Existing Situation

Abstract

This study scrutinizes the extent to which sustainability concepts are incorporated into traditional academia in Pakistan. A mixed-method approach was adopted to examine the degree of sustainability integration in university curricula. Information was gathered using a multistage sampling technique. The study population consisted of BS, M.Phil. and Ph.D. students enrolled in seven departments of physical, chemical, biological, environmental, agricultural, and economic and management sciences among the top five universities in metropolitan cities in Pakistan. Interviews of VCs, Directors Q.E.C, ORIC, and HODs were conducted in the above-mentioned departments from top-ranked universities in Sindh, Punjab, and the Federal Territory of Islamabad. Quantitative data were collected by adapting the sustainability assessment questionnaire (SAQ) designed by The Association of University Leaders for Sustainable Future (ULSF), while qualitative data were collected through a self-developed interview sheet. The collected information was analyzed using (SPSS). The integration of sustainability concepts in the traditional disciplines of HEIs was investigated through the implementation of the chi-square test. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Research findings reveal that it was hard to find any induction of separate content as Sustainable Development or Education for Sustainable Development, in addition to the unavailability of an introductory sustainability workbook as an initiative in national universities. The study revealed that a number of sustainability-related topics were included, yet not under the umbrella of the development goals. The study’s findings suggest that traditional academia need to focus on the revision of their curricula to streamline their scheme of studies with the emerging notion of ESD to walk along the HEIs of the outer world in the race of attainment of sustainable development goals for present as well as future generations. Practically, this study may contribute to the revolution of prevailing curricula.