Abstract
The global higher education student population is largely comprised of those within Generation Z, generally characterized by their care and concern for the well-being of our world. However, many are still experiencing a curriculum designed decades ago for their parents or grandparents who lived in a world arguably far less attuned to issues such as climate change, sustainable development, and inequality.
This paper details a case study of a liberal arts career capstone course that aligns theoretical career development frameworks with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), modernizing the curriculum to help students explore their potential contributions to a more sustainable world. With reflective elements throughout the course, students envision how they can take the skills and experiences amassed during their studies in order to transform into leaders and change agents in their future organizations and communities.
The main pedagogical interventions from this innovative for-credit course are featured, such as a portfolio with an SDG-infused mission statement and an information interview assignment exploring how professional fields can contribute to the SDGs. This paper will be of interest to faculty, administrators, and curriculum developers interested in infusing sustainable education and the SDGs into the curriculum.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Brown SD and Krane NER (2000) Four (or five) sessions and a cloud of dust: Old assumptions and new observations about career counseling. In: Brown SB & Lent RW (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (3rd ed). John Wiley & Sons, New York, p 740
Golestani C (2016) Social activism and extended education. Int J Res Ext Educ 4(2):110–127
Harris C (2021) Looking to the future? Including children, young people and future generations in deliberations on climate action: Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly 2016–2018. Innovation: The European J Social Sciences 34(5):677–693
Haugestad CAP, Skauge AD, Kunst JR, Power SA (2021) Why do youth participate in climate activism? A mixed-methods investigation of the #FridaysForFuture climate protests. J Environ Psychol 76:1–15
Ho C (2020) Teaching career education using the united nations sustainable development goals. https://youtu.be/Iqq9aq3t_Vo (Last Accessed 28 Feb 2022)
Hoppock R (1932) Courses in careers. J High Educ 3(7):365–368
Johnson SS (2021) Climate change & well-being: The role for health promotion professionals. Am J Health Promot 35(1):140–143
Kimball G (2014) Why recent uprisings are led by youth. http://www.heathwoodpress.com/why-recent-global-uprisings-are-led-by-youth-gayle-kimball/ (Last Accessed 6 Mar 2022)
Kohler-Evans P, Barnes CD (2015) Compassion: How do you teach it? J Educ Pract 6(11): 33–36
Kosko SJ, Dastin A, Merrill M, Sheth R (2022) Marginalised youth activism: Peer-engaged research and epistemic justice. J Hum Dev & Capab 23(1):136–156
Miller LJ and Lu W (2018) Gen Z is set to outnumber millennials within a year. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-20/gen-z-to-outnumber-millennials-within-a-year-demographic-trends (Last Accessed 3 Mar 2022)
Nishiyama K (2017) Deliberators, not future citizens: children in democracy. J Public Deliberation 13(1):1–24
OECD (2021) Education at a glance 2021: OECD indicators. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/b35a14e5-en/1/3/3/4/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/b35a14e5-en&_csp_=9689b83a12cab1f95b32a46f4225d1a5&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book (Last Accessed 5 Mar 2022)
Qasem A (2013) Five barriers to youth engagement, decision-making, and leadership in Yemen’s political parties. https://www-saferworld-org-uk.ezproxy.kpu.ca:2443/resources/publications/785-five-barriers-to-youth-engagement-decision-making-and-leadership-in-yemens-political-parties (Last Accessed 6 Mar 2022)
Reardon RC, Peace CS and Burbrink IE (2021) College career courses and instructional research from 1976 through 2019. Scholarship of teaching and learning in psychology 1 Apr 2021
Selingo JJ (2018) The new generation of college students: How colleges can recruit, teach, and serve Gen Z. https://highland.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NewGenerationStudent_i.pdf (Last Accessed 1 Mar 2022)
Spight DB (2020) Early declaration of a college major and its relationship to persistence. NACADA J 40(1):94–109
Stebleton MJ, Diamond DK (2018) Advocating for career development and exploration as a high-impact practice for first-year students. J CollE Character 19(2):160–166
UN (2022) Sustainability. https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability (Last Accessed 6 Mar 2022)
Wallis H, Loy LS (2021) What drives pro-environmental activism of young people? A survey study on the Fridays For Future movement. J Environ Psychol 74:1–10
WEF (2020) The future of jobs report 2020. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf (Last Accessed 6 Mar 2022)
World’s Largest Lesson (2016) Malala introducing the World’s Largest Lesson. https://vimeo.com/138852758 (Last Accessed 23 Feb 2022)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ho, C.T.Y. (2023). Making Career Development Sustainable: A Senior Capstone Course Case Study. In: Leal Filho, W., Lange Salvia, A., Pallant, E., Choate, B., Pearce, K. (eds) Educating the Sustainability Leaders of the Future. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22856-8_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22856-8_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-22855-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-22856-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)