Long Thang Van Nguyen, Donna Cleveland, Chi Tran Mai Nguyen and Corinna Joyce
This study explores how problem-based learning (PBL) programs can address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via the higher education (HE) curriculum, teaching materials and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores how problem-based learning (PBL) programs can address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via the higher education (HE) curriculum, teaching materials and relevant assessments, supporting learning at scale for HE institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
Employing SDGs and their indicators as the coding framework, our two-phase study evaluates the curriculum and teaching materials of seven PBL programs at a leading higher education institution (HEI). The first phase involved a content analysis to assess the degree of sustainability integration in 156 relevant courses. The second phase applied a semi-automated mapping protocol to analyze learning and teaching materials in 120 relevant courses.
Findings
The school aligns with 17 SDGs (100%), covering 94 indicators (55.62%). On average, each program within the school addresses over ten of these goals and incorporates more than 24 associated indicators. However, the study reveals an imbalance in the incorporation of SDGs, with some goals not yet deeply and comprehensively embedded in the curriculum. While there is a substantial focus on sustainability theories, the practical implications of SDGs in emerging countries, particularly through case studies and assessments, require significant enhancement.
Practical implications
Mapping SDGs allows HEIs to identify strengths and gaps in SDG integration, thereby improving the PBL approach to enhance student work readiness in sustainability-focused careers.
Originality/value
Through the lens of transformative learning theory, this study provides evidence of SDG integration into PBL curricula. It highlights a mapping methodology that enables HEIs to evaluate their sustainability readiness in curriculum, teaching materials and relevant assessments.
Details
Keywords
Adriana I. Martinez Calvit and Donna Y. Ford
The purpose of this paper is to present insights from the implementation of a dialogic social studies curriculum and its potential to support diverse learners. Policymakers and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present insights from the implementation of a dialogic social studies curriculum and its potential to support diverse learners. Policymakers and educators must attend to the learning needs of diverse/minoritized (Note: In this paper, the authors use minoritized and diverse interchangeably) students who have been marginalized in public education. A critical goal is to close racial, ethnic and socioeconomic achievement gaps by increasing, for example, students’ engagement with curriculum and instruction. In this paper, the authors bridge research on dialogic instruction and culturally relevant and responsive education with the goal of informing curricular design and instructional practice.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper discusses the utility of dialogic instruction in improving learning outcomes for minoritized student populations. While some researchers have examined the positive effects of dialogic instruction on underperforming students (e.g. Murphy et al., 2009; Pillinger and Vardy, 2022), few scholars have examined dialogic instruction through a culturally relevant and responsive lens. The authors argue that the application of this critical lens may improve learning outcomes for diverse learners who have been marginalized in public education systems.
Findings
The authors present illustrative vignettes and insights from a pilot study of a novel social studies curriculum. This curriculum applies a social justice lens by guiding students in the exploration of complex social issues that affect them. Given the diversity of their collaborating teachers’ classrooms (55% are racially minoritized students), the authors applied principles of culturally relevant and responsive education (e.g. Ford, 2010; Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995) when designing and piloting the curriculum. Prior personal and professional experiences by the first author point to the potential of dialogic instruction to meaningfully support minoritized students’ learning.
Originality/value
This paper builds on two bodies of literature – dialogic instruction and culturally relevant and responsive education – to identify how an innovative social studies curriculum may improve learning for diverse student populations. It calls for the advancement of a research agenda that applies a culturally relevant and responsive lens to inform instructional practice. The authors begin this discussion with two vignettes.
Details
Keywords
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources and research and computer skills…
Abstract
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources and research and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the twenty‐first to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1994. A few are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.
In recent years there has been growing discussion in the library community regarding the civic role of the public library. The discussion is rooted in a deep-seated professional…
Abstract
In recent years there has been growing discussion in the library community regarding the civic role of the public library. The discussion is rooted in a deep-seated professional commitment to the value of the public library as an institution of democratic society. As a recent president of the American Library Association, Nancy Kranich, wrote in 2001, “Libraries serve the most fundamental ideals of our society as uniquely democratic institutions. As far back as the nineteenth century, libraries were hailed as institutions that schooled citizens in the conduct of democratic life.” (p. vi).
Community Foundations are becoming an increasingly popular avenue for philanthropy in the United States. They may serve a particular city, as do the Pittsburgh Foundation and the…
Abstract
Community Foundations are becoming an increasingly popular avenue for philanthropy in the United States. They may serve a particular city, as do the Pittsburgh Foundation and the Colorado Springs Community Trust, or an entire state, as do the Oregon Community Foundation and Hawaiian Foundation. They may be decades old or in the first stages of development. In an interview with Donna Grant, Executive Director of the Tucson (Arizona) Community Foundation, the many facets of this type of charitable institution are explored.
Myron D. Fottler and Donna Malvey
Wal-Mart has had a major impact on both retailing and the U.S. economy in general through its supply chain management, efficiency, cost-containment, outsourcing, and market power…
Abstract
Wal-Mart has had a major impact on both retailing and the U.S. economy in general through its supply chain management, efficiency, cost-containment, outsourcing, and market power. We examine Wal-Mart's strategy in retailing and its likely impact as it begins to make incursions into health care from the perspective of strategic entrepreneurship (SE) theory. Wal-Mart's resources including an expansion focus, low-cost culture, supply chain management, adoption of new technology, and market intelligence are described and related to the SE model. In addition, Wal-Mart's current health care services and target markets are outlined. This is the first paper which comprehensively outlines the competitive threat which Wal-Mart poses to traditional health care providers and insurers. The paper concludes with implications for the health care industry, future predictions, and potential future research.
Donna J. Wood and Raymond E. Jones
This paper uses a stakeholder framework to review the empirical literature on corporate social performance (CSP), focusing particularly on studies attempting to correlate social…
Abstract
This paper uses a stakeholder framework to review the empirical literature on corporate social performance (CSP), focusing particularly on studies attempting to correlate social with financial performance. Results show first that most studies correlate measures of business performance that as yet have no theoretical relationship (for example, the level of corporate charitable giving with return on investment). To make sense of this body of research, CSP studies must be integrated with stakeholder theory. Multiple stakeholders (a) set expectations for corporate performance, (b) experience the effects of corporate behavior, and (c) evaluate the outcomes of corporate behavior. However, we find that the empirical CSP literature mismatches variables in terms of which stakeholders are relevant to which kind of measure. Second, only the studies using market‐based variables and theory show a consistent relationship between social and financial performance, particularly those showing a negative abnormal return to the stock price of companies experiencing product recalls. Although this paper shows that the CSP construct is not yet well‐specified enough to produce stronger results, recent research suggests that much progress is being made both empirically and theoretically in developing valid and reliable measures of corporate social performance.
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources, research, and computer skills related…
Abstract
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources, research, and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the seventeenth to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items, in English published in 1990. A few are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources, research, and computer skills related…
Abstract
The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources, research, and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the eighteenth to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1991. A few are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.