Sustentabilidade no Ensino do Design
Diretrizes e Estratégias para o Brasil e Portugal
- Name
- Natália Plentz
- Year
- 2020
- Institution
- Lisbon School of Architecture Universidade de Lisboa
- Supervisors
- Rita Almendra
- Discipline
- Design
- Scope
- Design Education
- Taxonomy
- Epistemology/Praxiology
- Type
- Theoretical
- Language
- Portuguese
- Wordcount / Pagecount
- 117,552 / 330
- Joint supervision
- No
Teaching Design for Sustainability in higher education in Portugal and Brazil
Research Process (14 methods)
x
higher education Design courses in Brazil and Portugal
7 students (one from each of 7 groups in a Service Design course) and conversations with student pairs (in a Product and Service Sustainability master's course)
Course coordinators and professors involved with sustainability
48 Students and 25 ex- students
Former students suggested by professors and coordinators
Design education Curricula from 4 universities
8 Theses and 25 Dissertations focused on Sustainability
A mix of professors, students, and Design professionals
Textbook development
Experts (professors with experience in Design and sustainability) from Brazil and Portugal
2-day workshop with students
| # | Name of Method | Research Phase | Research Approach | Researcher Role | Object of Study / Participants | N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Literature review | Exploratory | Qualitative | x | x | x |
| 2 | Document analysis | Exploratory | Qualitative | x | higher education Design courses in Brazil and Portugal | Unspecified |
| 3 | Interview | Exploratory | Qualitative | x | 4 | |
| 4 | Interview | Exploratory | Qualitative | x | 7 students (one from each of 7 groups in a Service Design course) and conversations with student pairs (in a Product and Service Sustainability master's course) | 7 |
| 5 | Interview | Exploratory/Generative | Qualitative | x | Course coordinators and professors involved with sustainability | 20 |
| 6 | Questionnaire | Exploratory/Generative | Both | x | 48 Students and 25 ex- students | 73 |
| 7 | Questionnaire | Exploratory/Generative | Qualitative | x | Former students suggested by professors and coordinators | 25 |
| 8 | Mapping | Exploratory/Generative | Qualitative | x | Design education Curricula from 4 universities | 350 |
| 9 | Mapping | Exploratory/Generative | Qualitative | x | 8 Theses and 25 Dissertations focused on Sustainability | 33 |
| 10 | Case study | Generative | Qualitative | x | ||
| 11 | Focus group | Generative | Qualitative | A mix of professors, students, and Design professionals | 7 | |
| 12 | Tool development | Generative | Qualitative | Design process | Textbook development | |
| 13 | Expert panel | Evaluative | Both | Experts (professors with experience in Design and sustainability) from Brazil and Portugal | 8 | |
| 14 | Workshop | Evaluative | Qualitative | 2-day workshop with students | 15 |
Knowledge Transfer & Exchange
Knowledge Exchange (PhD Process): Exchange with Academia
| IK&T | Academia | Design Practice | Society |
|---|---|---|---|
| Context | No | No | No |
| Vision | Yes | No | No |
| Means | Yes | No | No |
Recommendations (11)
Work on sustainability from the beginning of the degree to reduce student'sdifficultyin dealing with the compelxity of inserting it.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Avoid separating projects into “sustainable” and “non‑sustainable”, treating sustainability as a transversal premise.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Short → Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Have specific sustainability courses to reduce fragmented knowledge.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Working on sustainability through project‑based approaches to reduce the difficulty of applying concepts in practice.
- Scope:
- Micro → Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Short → Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Including sustainability in course syllabi to avoid dependence on the teacher’s individual will or vision.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Proposing classroom practices to address sustainability, supporting teachers in identifying the most effective teaching approaches.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Develop a dedicated course model with defined objectives, contents, and competencies to minimise fragmented knowledge and existing gaps.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Conducting sustainability workshops and meetings to ensure instructors remain updated and to align divergent pedagogical perspectives.
- Scope:
- Meso
- Time Horizon:
- Short → Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Indicative
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Develop a questionnaire to diagnose how sustainability is being integrated into higher education.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Short → Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Implement the proposed model and assess impacts using the questionnaire before and after.
- Scope:
- Meso → Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Medium
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium
Conduct studies in additional countries to verify whether the model can be applied in other contexts.
- Scope:
- Macro
- Time Horizon:
- Long
- Evidence Strength:
- Exploratory
- Feasibility:
- Medium