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The findings of a survey of European graduates show that higher education has made a significant contribution to achieving the SDGs. But as Kai Mühleck writes, now is not the time to slow down.
Policy makers, the sector itself and a wide range of stakeholders see higher education institutions as key agents for the green transition of European societies and economies, and more broadly for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As detailed in a recent survey report from the European University Association, in the past years universities have systematically stepped up their activities for sustainability and greening.
But have these efforts already made an impact among recent university graduates, and how far has European higher education travelled in achieving the SDGs? The results of EUROGRADUATE, a Europe-wide survey of graduates, shows both progress and leeway for improvement.
The UN set a target for 2030 to ‘ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development’. So, how much progress have we made to achieve this?
EUROGRADUATE 2022 surveyed in parallel two graduate cohorts (2020/21 and 2016/17). According to its findings, three quarters of 2020/21 higher education graduates reported that environmental sustainability was covered at least ‘to some extent’ in their study programme. This is a notable increase on the 2016/17 cohort, for whom the share was two thirds.
The extent to which environmental sustainability is dealt with depends on the field of study, with the most intensive coverage of the topic to be found primarily among the natural sciences. Nonetheless, we found that it is covered throughout all fields. There are also notable differences between countries. For example, it is especially well covered in Austria, Cyprus and Latvia.
To combat climate change, SDG 13 (Climate action) targets awareness-raising. This is one area where improvements are still necessary, and education can play an important role. Indeed, the European Social Survey (ESS) shows that accurate knowledge about the causes of climate change is more widespread in the highly educated segment of the population.
Yet despite this, and an overwhelming scientific consensus about climate change being man-made, about a quarter of the 2020/21 graduate cohort surveyed by EUROGRADUATE does not attribute climate change (mainly) to human activities. At the same time, anxiety about climate change is very widespread. 90% of graduates are at least somewhat worried and about half of graduates are very or even extremely worried.
Of course, the SDGs cover a wide range of topics that go beyond environmental sustainability. For example, Goal 4 is about ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all, Goal 5 seeks to eliminate gender disparities and Goal 10 is dedicated to combatting other forms of inequality.
Regarding female participation, higher education has indeed achieved a lot. In most of the countries covered by the EUROGRADUATE survey the share of female graduates is already above 60%. Indeed, concerns about a disproportionate lack of educational attainment are starting to refocus on men.
At the same time, women are more likely to choose fields of study, like education or the arts and humanities, which typically lead to jobs with lower salaries. Men are still more likely to choose courses in technology and engineering, which is the field with the highest income prospects. This gender-specific choice of subjects contributes to the persisting gender-pay gap among academics, among other factors. Five years after graduation, women earn 25% less per hour than men on average, suggesting that SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth)’s aim to ensure ‘equal pay for work of equal value’ is quite far from being achieved.
The data also shows persisting differences due to social origin. Graduates whose parents were not academics are less likely to study abroad. They are also less likely to engage in further higher education and achieve a master’s degree, which is among the reasons for lower earnings of this group of graduates.
On the positive side, higher education contributes to the goal of achieving decent work for all. Close to 70% of higher education graduates are (very) satisfied with their job in general. They report similar levels of satisfaction for many aspects of their jobs, including content, working climate, working conditions and work-life balance. Thus, expanding access to higher education has helped to achieve decent work for a growing share of the population.
Evidence suggests that the higher education sector contributes to progress towards the green transition and the Sustainable Development Goals. This momentum has to be kept up, so we do not lose what has been achieved to date and continue to close the remaining gaps.
While higher education institutions are crucial to achieving the SDGs related to education, they cannot achieve them alone. Policy makers need to provide beneficial framework conditions and support the sector’s efforts. Against the background of the manifold challenges Europe is facing today, it is important to remember that the green transition, in the sense of the European Green Deal, is also an important means to foster European economic growth and sovereignty.
