Credit: Svetlana Kijevčanin

In the United States, increasing numbers of inbound and outbound students have gained interest in global issues like climate change and higher education’s response to it. For the U.S. international education sector, this response has manifested in the inclusion of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in international education programs. The UN SDGs are “an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership” to tackle the wicked problems impacting societies across the globe, which, in addition to climate change, also include issues like hunger, poverty, and social inequality.

Interest in the UN SDGs has grown in recent years for students, higher education institutions, and international education organizations. In response, the Forum for Education Abroad (FEA), for example, now provides guidance to and resources for international education practitioners in using education abroad to advance the UN SDGs. Additionally, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has aligned their study abroad programs with the UN SDGs. Using available program information to match each study abroad program to one or more SDGs, IUPUI allows students to select which programs to participate in based on which UN SDGs they’re interested in. 

FEA provides two definitions for international education, one for the field, and another for participants. FEA defines the international education field as “a field involved in facilitating and supporting the migration of students and scholars across geopolitical borders. Professionals…may be employees of educational institutions, government agencies, or independent program and service providers.” For participants, international education is defined as “the knowledge and skills resulting from conducting a portion of one’s education in another country. As a more general term, this definition applies to international activity that occurs at any level of education (K-12, undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate)”. As such, not only can education abroad support sustainable development in the U.S., it can also be used to support sustainable development abroad. While education abroad programming can support sustainable development by targeting multiple UN SDGs, all programs, whether through their structure or through participants who leverage their education abroad experiences in their future work, achieve this through UN SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals. More specifically, education abroad programs achieve sustainable development through UN SDG 17.17, which seeks to “encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships”. 

Education abroad, where participants cross national borders to engage in a learning experience through a program offered by a higher education institution, governmental, or provider organization, is just one facet of international education. Evidence suggests that there is a positive relationship between the inclusion of the UN SDGs and education abroad program outcomes. For example, a recent study published by Zhang and Gibson (2021) investigating the long-term impact of study abroad on attitudes and behaviors regarding sustainability uncovered that participants had still maintained a mindset that prioritized sustainability, engaged in behaviors promoting low-waste and responsible consumption, and that the program had impacted their career trajectories towards work with a focus on sustainability. This aligns with UN SDG Goal 12 on responsible consumption and production, although on an individual level. Despite the benefits of education abroad for promoting individual-level sustainable practices and mindsets, participants must also grapple with the environmental costs associated with education abroad, an idea explored by recent research from Campbell, Nguyen, and Stewart (2022). Other education abroad programs that can be used to target other SDGs, such as SDG 15 (life on land) and SDG 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions) include the University of Wyoming’s Silk Road and Beyond: Historical and Environmental Treasures program in Uzbekistan and Middlebury Institute of International Studies’ experiential learning programs like Peace and Reconciliation in the Balkans and Exploring Sustainable Agriculture Transitions in Rural Colombia.

Education abroad can also support progress towards the UN SDGs through programs designed for participants to come to the United States. Evidence suggests that investing in community leaders through education abroad and international education scholarship programs can lead to improvements in leadership effectiveness and other knowledge, skills, and attributes (KSAs) that can benefit both the public and private sectors as well as local communities. One education abroad program focusing on this is the International Research and Exchanges Board’s (IREX) Community Solutions Program (CSP). Since 2010, CSP has supported 739 fellows from 83 countries that have impacted more than 600,000 people through follow-on community development initiatives as a result of program partnerships with 419 host organizations in 40 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The U.S. practicum and follow-on initiatives that program alumni engage in can – and have – targeted a number of UN SDGs, like UN SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 3 (good health and well-being). For example, CSP 22’ recipient Bogatoz Kozhakhmetova plans to support rural women’s economic empowerment through social entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan. CSP 18’ recipient Daren Paul Katigbak supported education and outreach initiatives related to HIV and sexual health in the U.S., and continued this work in the Philippines. Other programs that could be aligned with the UN SDGs include the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) and the Fulbright Program. 

The UN SDGs present an opportunity for the U.S. international education sector to consider including the SDGs in education abroad programming not only for recruitment purposes but also in solidifying education abroad as a vehicle for supporting local, national, and international efforts to address issues impacting governments, societies, and individuals. However, the inclusion of the UN SDGs does not have to stop at education abroad programming. The UN SDGs, as Cordell states, also present an opportunity to “revisit strategic investments…in scholarships and exchanges…[and] training and workforce programs, national-level university systems, and youth empowerment programs”. Thus, the applicability of the UN SDGs can extend beyond U.S. education abroad programs to include various other programs benefiting individuals at both the domestic and international levels. 

References

Botagoz Kozhakhmetova | IREX. (n.d.). Www.irex.org; IREX. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://www.irex.org/people/botagoz-kozhakhmetova

Campbell, A. C., Nguyen, T., & Stewart, M. (2022). Promoting International Student Mobility for Sustainability? Navigating Conflicting Realities and Emotions of International Educators. Journal of Studies in International Education, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153221121386

Community Solutions | IREX. (n.d.). Www.irex.org; IREX. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://www.irex.org/project/community-solutions

Cordell, K. (2021, September 24). The Sustainable Development Goals: A Playbook for Reengagement. Www.csis.org; Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://www.csis.org/analysis/sustainable-development-goals-playbook-reengagement

Daren Paul Katigbak | IREX. (n.d.). Www.irex.org; IREX. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://www.irex.org/people/daren-paul-katigbak

Forum for Education Abroad. (2021). Advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals through Education Abroad. https://doi.org/10.36366/g.978-1-952376-09-2

Hellman, K. (2022, October 6). International Education: A Catalyst for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Network.nafsa.org; NAFSA. https://network.nafsa.org/blogs/dale-lafleur1/2022/10/06/international-education-a-catalyst-for-the-unsdgs

Kendall, N., Kaunda, Z. & Friedson-Rideneur, S. (2015). Community participation in international development education quality improvement efforts: current paradoxes and opportunities. Educ Asse Eval Acc 27, 65–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-015-9210-0

Marschner, D. (2022, May 14). When it comes to studying abroad, SDGs matter to students. University World News: The Global Window on Higher Education; University World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20220510135024393

Martel, M. (2019). Leveraging Higher Education to Promote Social Justice: Evidence from the IFP Alumni Tracking Study. Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program Alumni Tracking Study, Report No. 5 New York, NY: Institute of International Education

Musa, E. (2012). Impact of ford foundation international fellowships program (IFP) on leadership effectiveness in kenya [Thesis]. http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/96697

O’Malley, B. (2023, February 11). Survey shows universities accelerating action for SDGs. University World News; University World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20230211062743570

Study abroad and the sdgs: apply to a program: study abroad: indiana university-purdue university indianapolis. (n.d.). Abroad.iupui.edu; Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://abroad.iupui.edu/apply-program/sa-sdgs/index.html

United Nations. (2015). The 17 Sustainable Development Goals. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/goals

Winter, Spring, and Summer Experiential Learning Courses | Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. (n.d.). Www.middlebury.edu. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/academics/immersive-learning-study-abroad/semester-practica

WyoGlobal Alumni | Global Engagement Office | University of Wyoming. (n.d.). Www.uwyo.edu; University of Wyoming. Retrieved February 27, 2023, from https://www.uwyo.edu/global/get-involved/wyoglobal-alumni.html

Zhang, H., and Gibson, J. (2021). “Long-Term Impact of Study Abroad on Sustainability-Related Attitudes and Behaviors” Sustainability 13, No. 4: 1953. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041953