Nineteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

There is a widespread movement in higher education, where sustainability and the UN SDGs increasingly are becoming integrated into curricula. Such integration can be carried out in many ways, for example through development of new courses or modules, new programmes, seminars, workshops, or conferences. However, these integration paths are likely to be partial at best, primarily reaching already knowledgeable teachers and students. Therefore, we (chair and vice chair of the faculty board) initiated a comprehensive strategy at Södertörn University in Stockholm with the aim to have at least one general learning objective on sustainability in all programme plans. Because of the binding status of learning objectives in Swedish higher education, this we thought would ensure broad integration, while at the same time allowing individual programme boards to adapt learning objectives at the course level to programme specific considerations. However, despite being an initiative from two representatives elected by teaching staff, this initiative was heavily criticized for being “directed from above” and an example of “illegitimate steering not compatible with academic freedom”. After some turmoil in the teaching staff, the initiative was effectively buried. Reflecting afterwards on this experience, we think it is vital to have collegial and open deliberations on how to integrate sustainable development in higher education. Possibly even more important, academic freedom and societal responsibility needs to be discussed and problematised within academia to find common grounds and negotiated strategies.