Sustainability in the Master Science Education and Communication

Abstract

Sustainability is an important socio-scientific issue for which university education is thought to be important in training both future teachers and other professionals on the subject. This study explored the need for a separate course and its contents on sustainability in the Master Science Education and Communication at Utrecht University. Three focus group interviews were conducted with stakeholders close to the course materials (teachers, students, PhD/alumni) where the groups were asked about their preferences regarding such a course on sustainability. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded according to a coding scheme constructed with a combination of a bottom-up and top-down approach. From the results, course guidelines were distilled. Next to that, other Science Education and Communication masters from Dutch universities were reviewed on their sustainability education contents, as well as the course Sustainability Education already given at Utrecht University at the Graduate School of Teaching. It is recommended to create a course focused on changing both attitude in students and give them competencies specifically regarding sustainability education and communication, with the aim to let students pass that knowledge on to next groups and generations. With the guidelines from this study, a first pilot course could be created and tested in the master program Science Education and Communication.