University Sustainability Course Creation in China: Experiences from the CUFE

Abstract

Higher education for sustainable education (HESD) has earned more attention in China rhetorically. Reorientation of the curriculum is taken as the essential vehicle for the implementation of HESD. However, there is less in-depth and systematic research on how a stand-alone course is designed for undergraduates of all majors in China and what perceptions college students have on the sustainability education. Taking Central University of Finance and Economics as a case, the study investigates the creation of a sustainability course and provides an initial survey of students’ perceptions on the course contents and arrangement. Students recognized their deficiency on the global sustainable development action and accepted the importance of sustainability curricula. They also made suggestions on course contents and pedagogies. The study argues that current HESD initiatives essentially manipulated by the government may miss out on reaching a majority of universities, therefore, to promote sustainability in universities in China, the importance of governance and politics should not be ignored. The research findings provide a useful reference to instructors to improve teaching and further pedagogical research, as well as educational authorities to transform HESD policy making and implementation.