Sustainability funding in higher education: a literature-based review
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
ISSN: 1467-6370
Article publication date: 14 April 2020
Issue publication date: 22 April 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report a literature review on sustainability funding in higher education and an analysis of the theoretical influence on academic research. The theoretical contribution and the most influential authors were examined to better understand the intellectual structure that links the theories and authors that have researched this topic. This study not only allows comprehension of the current research scenario but also, based on the gaps identified, provides guidelines for future studies on sustainability in higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
Citations and co-citations were analyzed in a sample of 745 papers, published between 1994 and 2018 in international journals, found in the Web of Science database on the topic of sustainability in higher education. Using the co-citations map, multidimensional scaling (MDS) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the conceptual and theoretical relations in these studies were identified.
Findings
It was possible to identify five clusters of the topics investigated, namely, sustainability competences; campus greening; co-creation and transfer of knowledge; sustainability science; and sustainability in university courses and curricula. A considerable number of studies were found in the areas of sustainability competencies and campus greening that focus on sustainability aspects. The clusters co-creation and transfer of knowledge, and sustainability science are related to the management of sustainability in higher education. The sustainability in university courses and curricula cluster focuses on actions within the scope of the courses and academic training.
Research limitations/implications
Although there are limitations related to the choice of a single database (Web of Science), as the study was limited to 745 papers, the analysis of the citations and co-citations provides important information on the study of sustainability in high education. The results are also limited to the presentation of the data grouped according to the factors extracted in the period analyzed, as it is not the objective of this study to examine in depth the characteristics of each of the 745 papers and their relationship with the theoretical dimensions identified.
Originality/value
This paper is original, as it identifies by applying MDS and EFA to scientific papers, the topic of sustainability in higher education and the clusters that constitute this field of study. The main contribution of this research is the finding that, although there are five different theoretical dimensions of sustainable financing, they are not treated separately. This study also contributes to increasing the knowledge on the main topics, concepts and relations, which can guide future research.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was conducted by the Center for Sustainable Development (Greens), from the University of Southern Santa Catarina (Unisul), in the context of the project BRIDGE – Building Resilience in a Dynamic Global Economy: Complexity across scales in the Brazilian Food-Water-Energy Nexus; funded by the Newton Fund, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the Research Councils UK (RCUK).
Citation
Montenegro de Lima, C.R., Coelho Soares, T., Andrade de Lima, M., Oliveira Veras, M. and Andrade Guerra, J.B.S.O.d.A. (2020), "Sustainability funding in higher education: a literature-based review", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 441-464. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-07-2019-0229
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited