SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AS A PEDAGOGICAL CHALLENGE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY UNIVERSITY

Currently, international organizations involved in education assign to universities the social responsibility of designing interdisciplinary approaches to the study of major global challenges. These global challenges, including sustainability, educational inclusion and development cooperation, present an opportunity for seeking synergies that will make the study of these challenges a reality in the classrooms of higher education centers. The objective of this work is to investigate the opportunities and barriers universities face for undertaking such missions. The methodology consists, in the first place, of constructing a theoretical framework that allows for establishing relationships within education for studying sustainability, inclusion, poverty and mobility. The second part deals with the technique of service learning and environmentalization of the university curriculum. We address the latter at a conceptual level as well as from perceptions of university teachers based on a qualitative study done by the Faculty of Education of the University of Malaga. The conclusions reveal the relationship between an education that ensures social and environmental justice, in addition to the difficulties of working towards sustainability due to the lack of training of university teaching staff.