Crafting a definition of sustainability for engineering education and applying it to assess curriculum
In order to be thoughtful practitioners towards the environment and society, engineers must be able to integrate different dimensions of sustainability—knowledge and application—in a holistic manner. This case study, conducted at the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of To...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Sustainability Science and Technology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2977-3504/adcf28 |
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| author | Sherry-Ann Ram Deborah Tihanyi Heather L MacLean I Daniel Posen |
| author_facet | Sherry-Ann Ram Deborah Tihanyi Heather L MacLean I Daniel Posen |
| author_sort | Sherry-Ann Ram |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In order to be thoughtful practitioners towards the environment and society, engineers must be able to integrate different dimensions of sustainability—knowledge and application—in a holistic manner. This case study, conducted at the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, focuses on the knowledge aspect of an engineer’s training by (1) creating a framework to define sustainability for engineering, (2) developing and evaluating a method for assessing the sustainability content in engineering curriculum, and (3) assessing holistic aspects by looking at connections among the sustainability pillars within the curriculum. It is challenging to define sustainability: commonly cited definitions are hard to operationalize and not sufficiently specific to engineering; no single existing framework captures all engineering concepts for sustainability. This study developed a new framework and codebook to define sustainability, starting with the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and social, then adding a fourth pillar of professional responsibility, with 4–6 specific themes within each pillar. We then qualitatively analyzed the content in undergraduate engineering courses, assessing and triangulating across course descriptions, then syllabi, and finally an instructor survey. The results indicate the environmental pillar is most prevalent in the curriculum, followed by economic and social, with increasing sustainability moving from descriptions to syllabi to instructor surveys. Sustainability content varied substantially across programs, with Civil Engineering courses covering the most and Electrical Engineering the least. The results also indicate that sustainability tends to be taught by pillar rather than in a holistic manner. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1c050e4828aa441da3e4ede659eee8aa |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2977-3504 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sustainability Science and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-1c050e4828aa441da3e4ede659eee8aa2025-08-20T04:03:22ZengIOP PublishingSustainability Science and Technology2977-35042025-01-012202400410.1088/2977-3504/adcf28Crafting a definition of sustainability for engineering education and applying it to assess curriculumSherry-Ann Ram0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6944-609XDeborah Tihanyi1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6673-4811Heather L MacLean2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4824-6483I Daniel Posen3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5093-140XDepartment of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto , 35 St George St, Toronto, ON M8Z 3Y6, CanadaInstitute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP), University of Toronto , 55 St. George Street, Room 723, Toronto, ON M5S 0C9, Canada; Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto , 5 King’s College Road Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, CanadaDepartment of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto , 35 St George St, Toronto, ON M8Z 3Y6, Canada; Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP), University of Toronto , 55 St. George Street, Room 723, Toronto, ON M5S 0C9, Canada; School of the Environment, University of Toronto , 1016V-33 Willcocks St, Toronto, ON M5S3E8, CanadaDepartment of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto , 35 St George St, Toronto, ON M8Z 3Y6, Canada; Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education and Practice (ISTEP), University of Toronto , 55 St. George Street, Room 723, Toronto, ON M5S 0C9, Canada; School of the Environment, University of Toronto , 1016V-33 Willcocks St, Toronto, ON M5S3E8, CanadaIn order to be thoughtful practitioners towards the environment and society, engineers must be able to integrate different dimensions of sustainability—knowledge and application—in a holistic manner. This case study, conducted at the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, focuses on the knowledge aspect of an engineer’s training by (1) creating a framework to define sustainability for engineering, (2) developing and evaluating a method for assessing the sustainability content in engineering curriculum, and (3) assessing holistic aspects by looking at connections among the sustainability pillars within the curriculum. It is challenging to define sustainability: commonly cited definitions are hard to operationalize and not sufficiently specific to engineering; no single existing framework captures all engineering concepts for sustainability. This study developed a new framework and codebook to define sustainability, starting with the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and social, then adding a fourth pillar of professional responsibility, with 4–6 specific themes within each pillar. We then qualitatively analyzed the content in undergraduate engineering courses, assessing and triangulating across course descriptions, then syllabi, and finally an instructor survey. The results indicate the environmental pillar is most prevalent in the curriculum, followed by economic and social, with increasing sustainability moving from descriptions to syllabi to instructor surveys. Sustainability content varied substantially across programs, with Civil Engineering courses covering the most and Electrical Engineering the least. The results also indicate that sustainability tends to be taught by pillar rather than in a holistic manner.https://doi.org/10.1088/2977-3504/adcf28defining sustainabilitycurriculum analysisqualitative and quantitative analysis |
| spellingShingle | Sherry-Ann Ram Deborah Tihanyi Heather L MacLean I Daniel Posen Crafting a definition of sustainability for engineering education and applying it to assess curriculum Sustainability Science and Technology defining sustainability curriculum analysis qualitative and quantitative analysis |
| title | Crafting a definition of sustainability for engineering education and applying it to assess curriculum |
| title_full | Crafting a definition of sustainability for engineering education and applying it to assess curriculum |
| title_fullStr | Crafting a definition of sustainability for engineering education and applying it to assess curriculum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Crafting a definition of sustainability for engineering education and applying it to assess curriculum |
| title_short | Crafting a definition of sustainability for engineering education and applying it to assess curriculum |
| title_sort | crafting a definition of sustainability for engineering education and applying it to assess curriculum |
| topic | defining sustainability curriculum analysis qualitative and quantitative analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2977-3504/adcf28 |
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