ERIC Number: EJ1478540
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1350-4622
EISSN: EISSN-1469-5871
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Authenticating the Integration of the SDGs into a Higher Education Fashion Program
Environmental Education Research, v31 n8 p1601-1615 2025
Integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into higher education programs, rather than treating them as add-ons, is essential for fostering genuine engagement with sustainability and driving transformational change across industries. However, evaluating whether the SDGs are meaningfully integrated into a program--and validating this integration--remains a challenge. This article presents an approach to authenticate the integration of the SDGs into higher education fashion curricula, using the Bachelor of Fashion and Textiles (Sustainable Innovation) at RMIT University, Australia, as the case study. Through cooperative inquiry, we employed a multi-level mapping approach to validate the SDG integration. This included a university-wide SDG mapping process using Elsevier's SDG keyword approach, program-level analysis, and a course-specific evaluation based on staff self-assessments. Our findings revealed differences in what the University high-level mapping identified, compared to the program staff self-assessments. This provided a two-way validation for both the SDG mapping exercise and the curriculum. It also became a useful reflective tool for program staff, as it highlighted how courses within a program are interconnected through the SDGs. The approach is not only applicable within fashion education but could be applied to other programs and disciplinary contexts to authenticate SDGs integration and to support ongoing curriculum development.
Descriptors: Sustainable Development, Integrated Curriculum, Higher Education, College Curriculum, Clothing, Textiles Instruction, Foreign Countries, Undergraduate Study, Bachelors Degrees, Concept Mapping, Curriculum Evaluation, Curriculum Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1School of Fashion & Textiles, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; 2UNEVOC Centre, School of Education, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia; 3Sustainability Committee, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia