Adopting Sustainability Competencies in Management Education - A Scoping Review of Progress

There is growing urgency to address society’s complex issues, many of which are incorporated within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Higher education has a special role and a responsibility to support and promote these goals and to prepare students for the complex challenges they will face as future leaders. The SDG framework helps students understand SDGs, but special competencies are necessary to address them effectively. Sustainability competencies (SCs) impart the personal/emotional development missing from current programming, but higher education institutions (HEIs) have been reluctant to introduce them into the curricula. Meanwhile, graduating students are ill-prepared for the complex problems, like sustainability, they will face as new managers and leaders. We employed a Scoping Review (SR) to scope out the relevant literature and determine whether consensus could be found among scholars for a credible model for SCs that could kickstart the integration process. Contrary to a commonly expressed theme in the literature, the results revealed that scholarly opinion had converged around a framework proposed by Wiek et al. (2011) and the 2021 update. A thematic analysis identified key barriers preventing integration in HEIs, including the absence of a comprehensive policy to direct the implementation and sustain the change. We discuss these barriers and how they may be addressed. Integrating SCs into ME responds to SDG-4 (quality education) and yields far-reaching impacts. The study serves to increase awareness of the issues and barriers preventing much needed transformation of ME in HEIs and to stimulate discussion and potential action. Further research may involve a systematic review to inform policy and implementation.