Journal article
Providing a Gender Perspective on Sustainability Competences and Pedagogical Approaches: Experiences of Students From 17 International Case Studies
Sustainable Development, Vol.Advanced access
01-Jun-2026
Abstract
During the last three decades, higher education institutions (HEIs) have integrated sustainability into their curricula. Recent research has focused on sustainability competences and pedagogical approaches, and how the latter foster the development of the former. Previous studies have examined the connections between pedagogical approaches and sustainability competences from an educators' perspective. However, there has been limited research addressing a students' perspective, particularly in relation to gender. This paper aims to provide insights into developing students' sustainability competences through pedagogical approaches from a gender perspective. A survey was applied to students at 17 universities from 13 countries. The responses were analyzed using: (1) Descriptive statistics and Friedman tests; (2) t-tests comparing perceptions of male and female students; and (3) correlations between competences and pedagogical approaches comparing both perspectives. The results showed differences in how male and female students' competences ranked, with female students having a more concentrated range of competences. The pedagogical approaches results showed little to no differences and concurred with the published literature. The results also indicated differences between genders regarding how the pedagogical approaches develop the competences, where female students tend to develop more sustainability competences than males. HEIs must recognise gender-based perceptual differences and develop strategies that build upon the strength of both perspectives and, thus, better implement sustainability competence education.
Details
- Title
- Providing a Gender Perspective on Sustainability Competences and Pedagogical Approaches: Experiences of Students From 17 International Case Studies
- Authors
- Gabriela Ortiz-Martínez (Corresponding Author) - Tecnológico de MonterreyMaria Barreiro-Gen - Universidade da CoruñaJordi Segalàs - Universitat Politècnica de CatalunyaAlberto Mendoza - Tecnológico de MonterreySandra Caeiro - Universidade AbertaJoão Simão - Universidade AbertaClaudio Favi - University of ParmaBartłomiej Gładysz - Warsaw University of TechnologyMaría Alló - Universidade da CoruñaCarmen Gago-Cortés - Universidade da CoruñaUbiratã Tortato - Pontifícia Universidade Católica do ParanáFerenc Mónus - University of DebrecenSevket Bostanci - European University CyprusMárta Dobróné Tóth - University of NyíregyházaJavier Benayas - Universidad Autónoma de MadridMaría Teresa Jiménez Munguía - Universidad de las Américas PueblaDéborah Xanat Flores Cervantes - Universidad de las Américas PueblaRené Alejandro Lara Díaz - Universidad de las Américas PueblaNelly Ramírez Corona - Universidad de las Américas PueblaCheryl Desha - Griffith UniversityRob Hales - Griffith UniversityJennifer Boddy - Griffith UniversityIlija Djekic - University of BelgradeSavindi Caldera - University of the Sunshine CoastOrlando Sáenz - University of Applied and Environmental SciencesLeyla Azizi - Hannah-Arendt-Institut für Totalitarismusforschung e.V. an der TU DresdenRemmer Sassen - Hannah-Arendt-Institut für Totalitarismusforschung e.V. an der TU DresdenRodrigo Lozano - Universidade da Coruña
- Publication details
- Sustainable Development, Vol.Advanced access
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- DOI
- 10.1002/sd.71268
- ISSN
- 1099-1719
- Copyright note
- © 2026 The Author(s). Sustainable Development published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Grant note
- Dr. Rodrigo Lozano is funded by the Beatriz Galindo (senior modality) Programme grant (BG24-00005) given to the Universidade da Coruña by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities of the Spanish Government.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991240388102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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