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Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education pp 984–992Cite as

Integrating Principles of Sustainable Development into Higher Education

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Definition

Principles of sustainable development may be defined as the concepts or propositions that inform the beliefs, choices, strategies and actions of organizations and individuals and that lead to optimum sustainable development outcomes.

Introduction

Education is a key instrument of social change. Legal instruments, often heavily relied on in many jurisdictions, have to be complemented with other shapers of social behavior such as market forces and primarily education (Schuck 2000). Optimum education can lead to learners’ proactive engagement with social issues and both address emerging challenges and mitigate the negative consequences of previous actions and decisions (Manuel 2017).

In light of the ongoing discourse about how higher education (HE) can influence a move toward a sustainable future, this chapter explores the extant literature on the concepts of sustainability, sustainable development (SD), education for sustainable development (ESD), and the principles and value...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. World Maritime University, Malmö, Sweden

    Michael Ekow Manuel

  2. Blackpool and The Fylde College, Fleetwood, Lancashire, UK

    Alina Prylipko

Authors
  1. Michael Ekow Manuel
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  2. Alina Prylipko
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Ekow Manuel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Life Sciences, World Sustainable Development Research and Transfer Centre, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

Section Editor information

  1. University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Ulisses Azeiteiro

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Manuel, M.E., Prylipko, A. (2019). Integrating Principles of Sustainable Development into Higher Education. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11352-0_517

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