RCE Scotland - 2023

Location

United Kingdom
See map: Google Maps
GB
How do we know it’s working? Monitoring and evaluating education for sustainable development in Higher Education
Basic Information
Title of project : 
How do we know it’s working? Monitoring and evaluating education for sustainable development in Higher Education
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Scotland
Contributing organization(s) : 
University of St Andrews
EAUC (The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education) Scotland
Students Organising for Sustainability UK
Sparqs (Student Partnerships in Quality Scotland )
University of Edinburgh
Learning for Sustainability Scotland (RCE Scotland)
UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)for Higher Education (funder)
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
Rehema M White
Organizational Affiliation: 
University of St Andrews
E-mail: 
rehema.white@st-andrews.ac.uk
Name: 
Kathrin Mobius
Organizational Affiliation: 
EAUC Scotland
E-mail: 
kmobius@eauc.org.uk
Name: 
Sonya Peres
Organizational Affiliation: 
SOS-UK
E-mail: 
sonya.peres@sos-uk.org
Name: 
Justin Walker
Organizational Affiliation: 
Student Partnerships in Quality Scotland
E-mail: 
Justin.Walker@sparqs.ac.uk
Name: 
Professor Peter Higgins
Organizational Affiliation: 
University of Edinburgh
E-mail: 
Pete.Higgins@ed.ac.uk
Name: 
Betsy King
Organizational Affiliation: 
RCE Scotland (Learning for Sustainability Scotland)
E-mail: 
betsyking@lfsscotland.org
Format of project: 
Handbook, online tools
Language of project: 
English
Date of submission:
Monday, September 4, 2023
Web link: 
https://www.qaa.ac.uk//en/membership/collaborative-enhancement-projects/education-for-sustainable-development/monitoring-and-evaluating-education-for-sustainable-development-in-higher-education
Additional resources: 
Monitoring and Evaluating ESD log frame
Student competencies survey
A Handbook for Monitoring and Evaluating Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
Yes
UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA)for Higher Education ESD guidance 2021
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
Scottish Government Learning for Sustainability Action Plan 2023
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
UNESCO ESD for 2030
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Europe
Country: 
United Kingdom
Location(s): 
Scotland
Address of focal point institution for project: 
University of St Andrews
Irvine Building
North Street
St Andrews
KY16 9AL
Ecosystem(s):
Agricultural, Coastal, Forest, Fresh water, Grassland, Mountain, Urban/Peri-urban
Target Audience:
Higher
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
Scotland has mixed socioeconomic characteristics, and often within cities there can be areas of poverty next to more affluent areas. Several Local Authorities are ‘challenge authorities’ working to reduce the attainment gap and impact of poverty through the Scottish Attainment Challenge. Most of Scotland’s population is in the ‘central belt’ with many rural areas which bring their own challenges related to infrastructure.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
This project addresses SDG4 and the need to increase and enhance provision of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Scottish Universities, to enable transformative learning and for learners to fulfill their potential and develop skills for real world challenges. Several universities have begun monitoring, largely assessing indicators of activity (such as number of courses with sustainability content) rather than competencies developed or subsequent impact of ESD. Through a collaborative approach, the project has developed tools and a handbook to facilitate an active learning cycle from goal development and co-design of ESD provision embedded within the curriculum, to evaluation, reflection and modification of future goals.
Contents
Status: 
Completed
Period: 
April, 2022 to July, 2023
Rationale: 
Universities are recognized as key players in accelerating progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The generic Monitoring and Evaluating ESD in Higher Education Handbook and tools provides accessible, practical resources to support educators in engaging with evaluation of quality and impact of education for sustainable development in their settings.
Objectives: 
The objective was to collaboratively develop generic tools for M&E of ESD in universities that can be adapted and deployed at department, faculty and institutional level, using both quantitative measures and reflective approaches that strengthen the learning experience.
Activities and/or practices employed: 
Partnership activities that developed and disseminated the resources were:
• Workshops and desk research to assess current approaches to and tools for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of ESD in UK universities
•Piloting approaches and tools in two universities, acquiring feedback from educators, students and managers including semi-structured interviews
•Sharing lessons learned via workshops, embedding learning through University and ESD networks, and online resources
Size of academic audience: 
Approx 75 students from two universities were invited to engage with the competency surveys. Interviews were Approx 88 practitioners and 49 managers dissemination attended workshops in June 2023 The resources are on available on the Quality Assurance A
Results: 
The project presents an accessible framework that enables individual universities to design and implement monitoring and evaluation strategies for education for sustainable development. Importantly, tools and resources have been developed that support action and critical reflection through monitoring and evaluation of education for sustainable development. The lessons learned regarding the monitoring and evaluation process have been widely shared, and this will continue through engagement in workshops and conferences.
Lessons learned: 
It was important to test the pilot framework for monitoring and evaluation in a workshop attended by
project partners and key individuals with experience of monitoring and evaluation of ESD in their institutions. Discussions in the workshop led to modifications and enhancement of the framework and also to the inclusion of ‘Toolbox’ activities and ‘in practice’ guidance.

Conducting a series of semi-structured interviews with participants who both had experience of institutional monitoring and those who were only beginning their journey was important. We hope that sharing lessons learned in the Handbook will inspire and inform others to take action.
Key messages: 
Education for Sustainable Development contributes to quality education in all Universities, but how do we know it’s working? This project provides adaptable resources that can support effective monitoring and evaluation of ESD at department, faculty and institutional level, using both quantitative measures and reflective approaches that strengthen the learning experience for students.
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
This project relates to RCE Scotland’s collaborative ‘Topic Support Network’ events for Universities and Colleges across Scotland, organized in partnership with EAUC (The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education) Scotland.
Funding: 
The project was funded by the UK Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) for Higher Education

Pictures:

File Name Caption for picture Photo Credit
Image icon Handbook cover.png (312.24 KB) Handbook for monitoring and evaluating ESD
Image icon Framework Learning Spiral.png (211.37 KB) Learning Spiral
References and reference materials: 
PDF icon Monitoring and Evaluating ESD in HE final.pdf
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 
Direct
SDG 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development 
Direct
Theme
Curriculum Development 
Direct
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 1 - Advancing policy 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 3 - Developing capacities of educators and trainers 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
No
I acknowledge the above: 
Yes