Higher Education Curriculum for Sustainability: Course Contents Analyses of Purchasing and Supply Management Programme of Polytechnics in Ghana

Date
2016-03-01
Authors
Ingley, C
Etse, D
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Emerald
Abstract

Events such as worsening droughts, flooding, global warming, poverty and famine, civil unrest, humanitarian crisis, and human rights violations which now characterise human existence are proof enough that passivity is no longer an option, and certainly not an option for higher education; all must stand and be counted for their contributions towards a more sustainable world. Higher education has over the years been seen as an agent for addressing the problems of sustainability, and the curriculum is regarded as a critical tool for delivering related educational objectives. The research reported in this article is an attempt to determine the degree of attention to sustainability present in the curriculum of the Higher National Diploma (HND) Purchasing and Supply Management programme in Ghana, and also to ascertain the nature of sustainability issues addressed by the curriculum. Documentary research is the methodology used in conducting this study. Findings of the study suggest that sustainability has a low presence in the curriculum. A greater proportion of the sustainability sub-topics in the curriculum addressed issues of social justice, while economic sustainability issues featured the least. More deliberate and greater effort is recommenced to integrate sustainability in the curriculum, and also sensitise and train all relevant stakeholders in issues of sustainability.

Description
Keywords
Procurement; Curriculum; Sustainability; Higher education; Ghana; Higher National Diploma
Source
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 17 Iss: 2, pp.269 - 280
Publisher's version
Rights statement
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2016. Authors retain the right to place his/her pre-publication version of the work on a personal website or institutional repository for non commercial purposes. The definitive version was published in (see Citation). The original publication is available at www.emeraldinsight.com (see Publisher’s Version).