Sustainability Competences and Pedagogical Approaches at the University of Parma
摘要
The University of Parma is located in the north of Italy and it belongs to the oldest universities in the country. The size of this university is about 32,000 students, with more than 5000 graduates per year and approximately 1000 professors and researchers. The University of Parma has its sustainability report and has enlarged the focus about sustainability in its degrees. This chapter presents the results from the 309 student responses. The main focus of the university is on the economic dimension which is the most addressed, followed by the environmental one. The ranking of the competences shows that Anticipatory thinking, System thinking, Critical thinking and analysis, and Interpersonal relations and collaboration were ranked the highest. The ranking of the pedagogical approaches resulted in Lecturing, Case studies, and Project- or problem-based learning being ranked the highest. The three competences most developed by pedagogical approaches were Assessment and evaluation, Personal involvement, and Tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. The three pedagogical approaches that developed the most competences were Supply chain/Life cycle analysis, Traditional ecological knowledge, and Community service learning. Based on the results some recommendations can be highlighted and implemented, such as the possibility to initiate a path toward the inclusion of sustainability in each degree programs by introducing dedicated courses or with a re-arrangement of existing course with a critical focus about sustainability. Traditional lecturing approach should leave space to learning-by doing and problem-based approaches which seems to be more compliant with the subject and the way to tackle sustainable concerns.