Understanding Sustainability Education Within Undergraduate Engineering at the University of Toronto

Abstract

Educating engineering students for sustainable development and environmental stewardship is an important preparatory foundation for addressing global complex problems. However, the necessary knowledge and learning for sustainability in engineering education may not be sufficient to meet these challenges. The research in this dissertation is investigating how engineers are being equipped to be sustainably responsible in their personal lives and professional practice. This research is multi-disciplinary including engineering, environmental, and education concepts. The undergraduate engineering students and curriculum at the University of Toronto (UofT) are featured as case studies. UofT is appropriate as the institution trains one of the largest cohorts of engineers in Canada, offering opportunities for engineering students to contribute positively to sustainability as future engineers in Canada. The three substantive studies represent the personal, professional and blended aspects of sustainability for undergraduate engineering students. In Study 1 – The Complex Relationship between Carbon Literacy and Pro-Environmental Actions among Engineering Students – I investigated students’ pro-environmental knowledge and actions pertaining to emissions and the relationship between them. I developed a survey and life cycle assessment-based methodology to estimate carbon footprint. The results indicated an overall weak relationship, but believing an action has high impact was associated with lower carbon footprint. In Study 2 – Crafting a Definition of Sustainability for Engineering Education and using it to Assess Curriculum – I developed a framework to describe sustainability in engineering and methodology to assess curriculum, then evaluated content in the undergraduate engineering curriculum at UofT by performing a qualitative analysis and surveying instructors. The results indicated that sustainability pillars tend to be taught in isolation rather than integrated. In Study 3 – Changes in Engineering Students’ Sustainability Perceptions and Engagement through Reflective Statements – I analyzed students’ personal statements from a sustainability related course. The results indicated a more balanced view of sustainability at the end of the course and development of broader societal thinking. Together these studies form a body of work that can be used to assess sustainability and be used to inform or recommend future plans in undergraduate engineering education programs. In addition, the instruments and generalizable methods can be extended to other institutions.