A self-evaluation tool of sustainability concepts in higher education institutions courses

Abstract

In this paper, a self-evaluation tool is developed to allow educators and Higher Education Institutions to assess their efforts in pursuing Education for Sustainable Development. The composite index here proposed allows the individual components that contribute to the pursuit of sustainability in education to be grasped in isolation and, at the same time, provides an overall evaluation measure of all the elements taken into consideration. The index is based on the identification of elements that measure the efficiency of the allocated expenditure. At the same time, it encompasses measures of the impact and perception of sustainability concept  by  staff  and students.  Albeit in a laborious way, the application of the tool leads to an unbiased assessment of education for sustainable development results. This composite indicator can be used in a replicative manner elsewhere and offers the advantage of being able to carry out comparative evaluative analyses. This is due to its adaptive flexibility.