Dr. Erin McAdams, assistant professor of political science at Presbyterian College, was recently published in the International Journal of Sustainability of Higher Education. Her article focused on examining both the amount and type of coursework impact on students’ conceptualizations of sustainability.

In the article, McAdams refers to a 2011 sustainability survey, which utilized a sample of 522 students enrolled in a medium-sized university located in the Southeastern U.S.  The results of McAdams’ article argued that the survey demonstrated that the type of courses taken by students have significant impact on how they come to understand concepts of sustainability. However, McAdams argued, the number of courses a student takes that reference sustainability has no significant statistical impact on how the student comes to understand sustainability.

McAdams’ study examined both the number and the kinds of courses students take in regards to learning about sustainability. It also provided a framework for understanding the varied ways in which sustainability is defined in academia.

The results from the study suggested students may be exposed to particular messages within an academic division or subject. These messages often encourage students to emphasize only certain elements of sustainability; those elements closest to the students’ subject matter. Thus the study implied that students lack an integrated or holistic understanding of sustainability. Therefore concluding, students only see sustainability though the same context in which it was introduced to them.

For more information, contact McAdams at esmcadams@presby.edu.

Written by Rebecca Rowell, a senior English major, double minor in media studies and women and gender studies from Lugoff, S.C.