Education for Sustainable Development—The Case of Massive Open Online Courses

• Main Authors: Agnieszka Hajdukiewicz, Bożena Pera
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: education for sustainable development; massive open online courses; MOOCs; sustainable development goals; course description
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/20/8542

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a key instrument in transforming societies towards sustainable development, which can play a crucial role in the achievement of Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the current status and problems of implementation of Education for Sustainable Development by examining the sustainability-related knowledge content included in the higher education curriculum, with a special focus on the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). We used both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods, including keyword analysis of selected MOOCs’ syllabuses, to capture the nature of the studied phenomenon and enable assessment of the degree to which the sustainable development goals are integrated into the learning content. We found that most of 17 SDGs are reflected in the MOOCs learning content, but in case of some learning topics, such as “Zero hunger” and “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”, a bigger effort should be made to include them more broadly in the curricula. The research results can support educators’ efforts in identifying and incorporating challenging issues within the processes of curriculum development, indicating the need for a holistic and interdisciplinary approach, in which sustainability should be mainstreamed into all aspects of education.