The role of the socio-professional characteristics of university professors in the implementation of sustainability

Abstract

Purpose

In a context of growing concern about the environmental and social crisis, education for sustainability has emerged as a key educational approach to address these challenges. University education plays a crucial role in training professionals who are aware of and committed to sustainability. This study aims to examine the impact of the socio-professional characteristics of university professors on the awareness and implementation of sustainability in teaching and research.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses the academics’ statements through a survey to describe the degree of awareness and implementation of sustainability at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and evaluates the influence that certain socio-professional variables can have on their commitment to sustainability. For this purpose, the paper proposes the use of descriptive and inferential statistical techniques.

Findings

The research reveals that UPV/EHU is in the first phases of implementation of sustainability, indicating a low overall implementation. Therefore, it is proposed to promote internal awareness about sustainability, promote teacher training, integrate sustainability competencies in academic programs and promote research in areas with less scientific production related to sustainability, with emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and gender equality to achieve greater integration of sustainability in the university. In the case of the UPV/EHU, the sustainable development champions fulfill the profile of a female professor, with full-time dedication and whose disciplinary area is a minority.

Research limitations/implications

This research has an individual framework and a static nature, and the results should be interpreted only in their context. Future research should have a national framework, a longitudinal nature and a broader range of university institutional agents. Another limitation of this methodology is the question coding process (Likert scales), which opens a wide range of subjectivity for the researcher.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that measures the degree of implementation of sustainability at the UPV/EHU with the aim of specifying its efforts in the implementation and promotion of sustainability.

Citation

González Laskibar, X., Insunza Aranceta, G. and Alvarez-Meaza, I. (2024), "The role of the socio-professional characteristics of university professors in the implementation of sustainability", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-11-2023-0565