Education Projects for Sustainable Development: Evidence from Ural Federal University

📝 Abstract

Sustainable development is a worldwide recognized social and political goal, discussed in both academic and political discourse and with much research on the topic related to sustainable development in higher education. Since mental models are formed more effectively at school age, we propose a new way of thinking that will help achieve this goal. This paper was written in the context of Russia, where the topic of sustainable development in education is poorly developed. The authors used the classical methodology of the case analysis. The analysis and interpretation of the results were conducted in the framework of the institutional theory. Presented is the case of Ural Federal University, which has been working for several years on the creation of a device for the purification of industrial sewer water in the framework of an initiative student group. Schoolchildren recently joined the program, and such projects have been called university-to-school projects. Successful solutions of inventive tasks contribute to the formation of mental models. This case has been analyzed in terms of institutionalism, and the authors argue for the primacy of mental institutions over normative ones during sustainable society construction. This case study is the first to analyze a partnership between a Federal University and local schools regarding sustainable education and proposes a new way of thinking.

💡 Analysis

Sustainable development is a worldwide recognized social and political goal, discussed in both academic and political discourse and with much research on the topic related to sustainable development in higher education. Since mental models are formed more effectively at school age, we propose a new way of thinking that will help achieve this goal. This paper was written in the context of Russia, where the topic of sustainable development in education is poorly developed. The authors used the classical methodology of the case analysis. The analysis and interpretation of the results were conducted in the framework of the institutional theory. Presented is the case of Ural Federal University, which has been working for several years on the creation of a device for the purification of industrial sewer water in the framework of an initiative student group. Schoolchildren recently joined the program, and such projects have been called university-to-school projects. Successful solutions of inventive tasks contribute to the formation of mental models. This case has been analyzed in terms of institutionalism, and the authors argue for the primacy of mental institutions over normative ones during sustainable society construction. This case study is the first to analyze a partnership between a Federal University and local schools regarding sustainable education and proposes a new way of thinking.

📄 Content

Education Projects for Sustainable Development: Evidence from Ural Federal University1

Marina Volkova1, Jol Stoffers2 and Dmitry Kochetkov3,4*
1Ural Federal University, Russian Federation; m.v.volkova@urfu.ru
2Research Centre for Employability, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands; jol.stoffers@zuyd.nl
3RUDN University, Russian Federation; kochetkov-dm@rudn.ru 4Higher School of Economics, Russian Federation; d.kochetkov@hse.ru *Correspondence: kochetkovdm@hotmail.com

Abstract: Sustainable development is a worldwide recognized social and political goal, discussed in both academic and political discourse and with much research on the topic related to sustainable development in higher education. Since mental models are formed more effectively at school age, we propose a new way of thinking that will help achieve this goal. This paper was written in the context of Russia, where the topic of sustainable development in education is poorly developed. The authors used the classical methodology of the case analysis. The analysis and interpretation of the results were conducted in the framework of the institutional theory. Presented is the case of Ural Federal University, which has been working for several years on the creation of a device for the purification of industrial sewer water in the framework of an initiative student group. Schoolchildren recently joined the program, and such projects have been called university-to-school projects. Successful solutions of inventive tasks contribute to the formation of mental models. This case has been analyzed in terms of institutionalism, and the authors argue for the primacy of mental institutions over normative ones during sustainable society construction. This case study is the first to analyze a partnership between a Federal University and local schools regarding sustainable education and proposes a new way of thinking. Keywords: sustainable development, sustainable education, university-to-school projects, mental institutions, case study, Russia

1. Introduction Two polar viewpoints exist regarding Earth’s climate, with proponents and opponents of the concept of global warming agreeing that humanity has contributed to climate change. Researchers are paying more and more attention to studying the causes and effects of climate change from the standpoint of social sciences (Rosa and Dietz, 2012; Rosa et al., 2015; Jorgenson et al., 2019). The growth of the world’s population and technological advancements have required increasing amounts of energy, which can be obtained only by burning fuel. Consequently, technogenic pollution of the planet has grown steadily over the years and air quality in large cities does not meet regulatory standards, leading to increases to respiratory, cardiovascular, and allergenic diseases and generating annual financial losses comparable to the GDP of a small country. Another prominent issue is water

1 This study was first presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Cities (Sandler, Volkova and Kochetkov, 2018). quality. The amount of water in nature is fixed, and for use in industry, agriculture, and everyday life, only fresh water is suitable. Contaminated water causes a decrease in the quality of drinking water, thermal pollution of water bodies, and flooding of territories. The demand for water has reached a level such that in many places, including Europe, there is an acute problem regarding the lack of fresh water. Scientists warn that in one or two generations, most of the world’s population will lack fresh water (Connor, 2013). In a synthesis report, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General stressed sustainable development goals (SDG) for everyone (United Nations, 2014) and that no one should be left behind (Chin and Jacobsson, 2016). Universities have demonstrated a trend of redesigning their strategies and organizations in line with principles of sustainability (Beynaghi et al., 2016). Sustainability is then transformed from a component of education to a social learning process (Barth and Michelsen, 2013). Universities commonly join global networks such as the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, supported by the UN, the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN), the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) in the United States, and the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) in the United Kingdom (Soini et al., 2018). A modern interpretation of sustainable development includes environmental, economic, and social dimensions (Shriberg, 2004; Kuhlman and Farrington, 2010; Farley and Smith, 2013).
The UN’s vision emphasizes the role of education in building the future (United Nations, 2015). Concerning education for sustainable development (ESD), this does not entail gathering recyclable materials, feeding birds in winter, and participation in ecological events. These a

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