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Education for sustainability as a way-out to nurture citizens: a reframing in policy practices of Chinese higher education

Chong Xiao (Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China)
Xiaoxin Du (Fudan Development Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China)

International Journal of Comparative Education and Development

ISSN: 2396-7404

Article publication date: 4 July 2024

Issue publication date: 8 November 2024

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Abstract

Purpose

This study examines education for sustainability (EfS) within the Chinese context, to specifically enrich the understanding on how EfS is structured and implemented to nurture citizenship in the policy practices of universities in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-case analysis is recruited to examine the commonalities and differences between two universities and identify patterns in cultivating sustainability citizenship within higher education institutions (HEIs) in China. Data were collected through reviewing documents, including two universities’ strategic plans, action plans, department meeting memos, program introductions, course outlines and publicity coverage. Observation was also adopted to enrich the data for analysis, covering meetings, speeches by senior management, university events and informal conversations about university operations.

Findings

Citizenship and sustainability in university strategic planning, curriculum and instruction, carriers of EfS institutionalization, and resources and impacts of EfS beyond the institutes were analyzed in a comparative manner, offering valuable insights into how EfS can be institutionalized in different universities based on their unique appeals, existing curriculum and management systems.

Originality/value

By exploring these intra-national distinctions in EfS, the study sheds light on the variation within China's citizenship education, which is traditionally seen as highly unified with limited room for differences. The detailed exploration of university strategies and program/course content enriches the literature of sustainability as an educational phenomenon on an international scale and modernized citizenship education in China.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was supported by the Research Grants of Fudan-Sinar Mas Thinktank (Project No. JGSXK2407), titled “Research on Corporate Participation in the Cultivation of Talents with Sustainable Development Awareness.”

Citation

Xiao, C. and Du, X. (2024), "Education for sustainability as a way-out to nurture citizens: a reframing in policy practices of Chinese higher education", International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 226-246. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCED-06-2023-0061

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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