Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The unit-based sustainability assessment tool (USAT) was administered at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), Kenya, between January and March 2012. The assessment focused on establishing to what extent the University integrated sustainability concerns into its core functions of teaching, research and community engagement. Using a unit-based assessment tool allowed for ‘building the picture’ of the whole university, as well as concentrating on specific units as required, that is, on one faculty at a time. The assessment revealed that, in terms of addressing sustainability concepts and issues, the overall university performance rating was 50.76%. The data clearly indicated that university performance was best in the teaching approaches cluster of indicators, followed by staff expertise and willingness to participate in sustainability teaching and research. Performance in community engagement and research and scholarships was lowest. The study revealed the need for resource mobilisation by the University for the purposes of additional training, community engagement, research and scholarships, increased sensitisation with regard to ESD (education for sustainable development) planning and implementation, and regular audits.