The status of university professors on the localization of sustainable development curricula in higher education

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Humanity and Social Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran

2 PhD. Student in Curriculum Planning, Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Humanity and Social Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran

10.22080/jsn.2024.11855.1045

Abstract

Extended Abstract
1.  Introduction
Human concern about the environment increased when industrial development created many environmental problems. Today’s view of all-round development is balanced and sustainable, and unlike in the past, it is not limited to the economic aspect. In other words, economic growth, along with environmental and social developments, is one of the indicators of sustainable development. Educational localization means the freedom of the educational system or local areas to adapt the curriculum to local conditions and relate the curriculum situation and the teaching and learning process to the local environment. In the current research, indigenous knowledge means knowledge that, in the social and local context, causes attention to the priorities of sustainable development. Educational localization can also be considered as the positioning of the curriculum. Curriculum contextualization means a regular, structured, goal-oriented, and method-oriented collection of experiences that are presented, developed, and recorded by education professionals in universities and are understood and applied by students. The result of this positioning, in addition to the presence of local knowledge in the classroom, is to create a clearer and more practical understanding for the students. Educational or context-centered positioning allows university members to think about local issues and be more active in solving local community problems. Considering the importance of localization of education, how can local and situational awareness be connected with the written curriculum? This study, while taking advantage of the analysis of existing documents, introduces the concept of sustainable development and its relationship with the curriculum and tries to show that moving towards the localization of the curriculum leads to the improvement of sustainable development indicators by providing a basis for Improving understanding. A sustainable curriculum and desirable qualifications can give a suitable answer to the requirements of today’s world. In today’s changing and fast-paced world, the educational approach is one of the strategic imperatives in policy-making and planning, which is important in higher education, especially in the curriculum sector.

2. Research Methodology
The present study is practical in terms of purpose and descriptive in terms of data collection. The statistical population of the research included the faculty members of Golestan Azad University in the fields of educational sciences, geography, social sciences, psychology, English language, industrial engineering, and chemical engineering. A random sampling method was used to determine the research sample, and 82 people were selected as a statistical sample. The information required for the research was collected through a curriculum positioning questionnaire consisting of 19 questions in the four dimensions of policies/guidelines in the localization of the curriculum in the direction of sustainable development  (7 items), the awareness of academic staff members about their role in the contextualization of the curriculum in the direction of sustainable development (2 items), action in the localization of the curriculum in the direction of sustainable development (5 items), and the challenges of localization in the direction of sustainable development (5 items). The questionnaire also included an open question about the main factors limiting the localization of the curriculum. In order to determine the validity of the questionnaire, the opinions of the professors of the curriculum department and other academic staff members were used. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to determine the reliability or internal consistency of the research tools; the calculated value of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient is .0.89.

3. Research Findings
The results of the research show that 40.2% of faculty members believe that universities have policies that encourage the localization of curricula in the direction of sustainable development. At the same time, 59.8% of faculty members stated that universities do not have policies and guidelines for localization. A relative majority (76.5%) of the faculty members were aware of the fact that the localization of the curriculum is one of their duties, while 23.5% said that they were not aware of their role in localization. Also, a relative majority (62%) of faculty members believe that efforts are not made to localize the curriculum. Moreover, 52.9% of the students believe that the faculty members take action to localize the curricula (contents, methods, and materials), while 47.1% of them believe that no action is taken by the academic staff to localize the curricula.

4 . Conclusion
As the results of data analysis showed, in the three dimensions of curriculum localization, i.e., curriculum policy and guide, faculty members’ awareness of their role, and effort and action for localization, almost 60% of faculty members believe that universities do not have the necessary policies and guidelines for the localization of the curriculum, do not take the necessary action for the localization of the curriculum, and are not aware of their role for the localization of the curriculum, while almost 40% of the faculty members stated that the universities have the necessary policies and guidelines for the localization of the curriculum,  take action and effort to localize the curriculum, and have the knowledge to localize the curriculum. Regarding the localization challenges, the majority (88.2%) of the faculty members believe that they face major challenges in the localization of the curriculum. Also, 52.9% of the students believe that the academic staff members take action to localize the curricula (contents, methods, and materials), while 47.1% of them believe that the academic staff members have taken no action in this regard. Therefore, it can be said that the mentioned components of curriculum localization are facing deficiencies. In the analysis of this finding, which is confirmed by the results of various studies, it should be acknowledged that the localization of the curriculum and native learning increases learning and the motivation of learners. Therefore, the localization of learning can be witnessed when the content of the curriculum and the methods and materials related to it are directly related to the experiences and environment of the learner; hence, in order to understand which of the aspects of the curriculum (content, method, and contents) are localized, necessary efforts should be made. In general, according to the data analysis results, the localization of the curriculum in the studied sample faces challenges, defects, and deficiencies.

Funding
This research was written independently and based on the importance of curriculum localization in sustainable development and the authors’ environmental concerns.

Authors’ Contribution
The amount of participation of the authors in writing the article was 50% in such a way that the first author undertook the implementation of the research plan and supervision and the second author writing and forming an article in the template of the journal undertook implementation.

Conflict of Interest
No conflicts of interest are disclosed by the authors.

Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the faculty members of the Islamic Azad University of Golestan province and the curriculum experts who collaborated in the compilation and implementation of this research.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

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Journal of Society and the Environment
Volume 1, Issue 2
December 2024
Pages 79-90

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