Promoting sustainability in institutions of higher education—The perspective of university teachers

Abstract

Despite common agreement on the importance of integrating sustainability into universities, the level of progress made in that process varies greatly in different countries and academic institutions. At the University of Belgrade, efforts are being made to integrate sustainability issues into the curriculum of certain studies, while slow progress is seen within other areas of sustainability. Because of the importance of teachers in promoting and integrating sustainability in universities, the focus of this paper is on their perspective and the challenges they face in performing this complex role in the academic and wider community. This paper contains the results of a survey of teachers, performed at selected faculties of the University of Belgrade. The aim was to gain insight into the teachers’ own assessment of the role they play and the barriers they perceive in promoting sustainability, within the specific context of their respective academic institutions. The teachers’ perceptions and needs expressed in this research offer a foundation for further discussion of the existing situation and the potential for improvement, using lessons learnt from international experience, together with knowledge of the unique local context.