Publication detail

Investigating Students’ Sustainability Awareness and the Curriculum of Technology Education in Pakistan

Malik, M.N. Khan, H.H.Chofreh, A.G. Goni, F.A. Klemeš, J.J. Alotaibi, Y.

English title

Investigating Students’ Sustainability Awareness and the Curriculum of Technology Education in Pakistan

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

en

Original abstract

Various fields of manufacturing, management, and business, including technology education, software development, and information communication technology (ICT), have espoused sustainability concepts. Including sustainability concepts in technology, education can help students learn how to implement the dimensions of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental). Lack of awareness and education regarding sustainability among students can impact their competence to incorporate sustainability into technology development. Thus, the development of student competence across the curriculum of technology education for sustainability is crucial. This research aims to explore student competence development in technology education (IT, computer science, and software development) through investigating their awareness of sustainability, and to investigate how much sustainability is infused across the technology education curriculum. The case study for this research is taken from a very populous and developing country-Pakistan. First, an in-depth survey of higher education students is conducted to investigate their awareness level of sustainability. Second, qualitative document analysis is conducted, where the standard curriculum for technology education is taken and analyzed for its provision towards sustainability. A total of 159 students from various public-sector universities of Pakistan reported their awareness towards sustainability. The results show that 71% of them are unaware of the term sustainability in their respective fields, only 17% students know the basic definition of sustainability, and 12% of students have just an idea of how sustainability is related to technology education. It is also observed that the current curriculum of technology education does not sufficiently cover specific subjects or topics that can help students understand the concepts of sustainability. This study highlights the gaps in the offered curriculum for building the desired competence of students in technology education.

English abstract

Various fields of manufacturing, management, and business, including technology education, software development, and information communication technology (ICT), have espoused sustainability concepts. Including sustainability concepts in technology, education can help students learn how to implement the dimensions of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental). Lack of awareness and education regarding sustainability among students can impact their competence to incorporate sustainability into technology development. Thus, the development of student competence across the curriculum of technology education for sustainability is crucial. This research aims to explore student competence development in technology education (IT, computer science, and software development) through investigating their awareness of sustainability, and to investigate how much sustainability is infused across the technology education curriculum. The case study for this research is taken from a very populous and developing country-Pakistan. First, an in-depth survey of higher education students is conducted to investigate their awareness level of sustainability. Second, qualitative document analysis is conducted, where the standard curriculum for technology education is taken and analyzed for its provision towards sustainability. A total of 159 students from various public-sector universities of Pakistan reported their awareness towards sustainability. The results show that 71% of them are unaware of the term sustainability in their respective fields, only 17% students know the basic definition of sustainability, and 12% of students have just an idea of how sustainability is related to technology education. It is also observed that the current curriculum of technology education does not sufficiently cover specific subjects or topics that can help students understand the concepts of sustainability. This study highlights the gaps in the offered curriculum for building the desired competence of students in technology education.

Keywords in English

Competence development; Curriculum; Sustainability; Technology education; Higher education; Qualitative analysis; Student; Technological development; University sector; Pakistan;

Released

01.05.2019

Publisher

MDPI AG

Location

MDPI, ST ALBAN-ANLAGE 66, CH-4052 BASEL, SWITZERLAND

ISSN

2071-1050

Volume

9

Number

11

Pages from–to

2651–2660

Pages count

10

BIBTEX


@article{BUT160810,
  author="Abdoulmohammad {Gholamzadeh Chofreh} and Jiří {Klemeš},
  title="Investigating Students’ Sustainability Awareness and the Curriculum of Technology Education in Pakistan",
  year="2019",
  volume="9",
  number="11",
  month="May",
  pages="2651--2660",
  publisher="MDPI AG",
  address="MDPI, ST ALBAN-ANLAGE 66, CH-4052 BASEL, SWITZERLAND",
  issn="2071-1050"
}