Educando para qué y para quién. El cambio de paradigma que el desarrollo sostenible demanda a la educación superior

Abstract

Society as it is currently organized does not have future, It is unsustainable; environmental, social, and economically. We are in a situation with a large increase in demands on the ecosystem and a decrease in available resources that leads to the emergence of social conflicts. This is due to the neoliberal economic paradigm that prioritizes growth at any price without taking into account the finite limits of the planet and increases the gap between the winners and losers of the system. Even the European Union coined the concept of sustainable growth, which per se is an oxymoron in a finite system like ours.

A paradigm shift is needed in three areas; first, the framework in which we are organized from the cultural point of view (values and principles that justify needs: sufficiency), structural (structure that allows to apply those values and principles) and technological (means to meet the needs); second, innovation breaks (optimal use, process and product improvement t and renovation based on needsn); and third, transdisciplinarity in relation to the stakeholders involved or affected by any socio-political and technological decision.

This change in the social paradigm requires a change of the educational paradigm at three levels: first, define a new educational paradigm to have in its vision and mission the sustainability values. Second level is the organization and management, defining how the educational system is organized and managed by the university in all its areas of influence (education, research, management); and finally, learning methodologies.