Sustainability policy and sustainability in higher education curricula: the educational developer perspective

In the last ten years, various studies have investigated the views of different groups of higher education staff and students about sustainability and its inclusion in university curricula, yet one staff group under-represented in the research is that of the educational developer. This project attempted to address this gap, by gathering educational developer perspectives about sustainability in the curriculum. It sought to capture their views about a national level sustainable development policy, their opinions on the relationship between educational development and pro-sustainability curriculum change, and whether, therefore, sustainability should form part of their own roles. The study was informed by the ‘theory of the second best’ and involved nine interviews. Educational developers identified several concerns with the policy, whilst opinions about their own involvement in sustainability were very diverse. It is argued that sustainability policy should be developed through clearer statements about curriculum, and that it is informed by, and speaks to educational developers and other staff groups. It is also suggested that there are opportunities for educational developers to make contributions to the progression of sustainability, but that individual departments and staff should make decisions about such involvement