Integrating Sustainable Development into the Curriculum: A Case Study on the Developing of Sustainability Competencies in Industrial Design Students at a Bachelor Level in Mexico

Abstract

This chapter presents a case study on integrating sustainable development (SD) into the Industrial Design Bachelor’s course at Tecnologico de Monterrey (TEC) in Mexico. The research is being conducted at TEC, where the lead author is a Professor of Architecture. Mexico has a five-year national development plan: the “Plan Nacional de Desarrollo 2013–2018” (PND). This provides a basis for guiding the policies and programs of the Government of Mexico. The focus of this study is on the PND’s “quality education goal to make scientific, technological, and innovation development pillars for sustainable economic and social progress.” This case study investigates a curriculum intervention, utilizing interviews with students to gather and analyze their responses to the university’s development of sustainability competencies. Their responses are explored through comparing a traditional semester with a semester in which sustainability contents and assessment criteria were added to the curriculum of the Industrial Design Workshop courses. The results reveal that the students recognized a significant advance in their development of sustainability competencies and that this had resulted from this curriculum intervention. This chapter proposes that the findings of the study indicate that a holistic approach has the potential to contribute significantly to SD education in Mexico.

Citation

López, M.E.N., Huddleston, R. and Lozano, R.P.M. (2020), "Integrating Sustainable Development into the Curriculum: A Case Study on the Developing of Sustainability Competencies in Industrial Design Students at a Bachelor Level in Mexico", Sengupta, E., Blessinger, P. and Yamin, T.S. (Ed.) Integrating Sustainable Development into the Curriculum (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 18), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 57-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000018022