Xia, B; Rosly, N; Wu, P; Bridge, A and Pienaar, J (2016) Improving sustainability literacy of future quantity surveyors. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 5(4), pp. 325-339. ISSN 2046-6099
Abstract
Purpose The increasing need for sustainability-literate construction professionals has prompted higher education institutions to incorporate a sustainability agenda education into their construction courses. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sustainability knowledge embedded into a quantity surveying (QS) undergraduate course. Design/methodology/approach Using the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) as a case study, analysis of sustainability knowledge embedded into the QS course is conducted by examining the content of QS course structure, unit aims, learning outcomes, assessment framework and weekly lecture and tutorial materials. Findings The results show that the “incorporation approach”, i.e. the practice of incorporating the sustainability themes into existing relevant subjects, is mainly used in delivering the sustainability knowledge to the QS students. Additionally, it is found that in its QS course, QUT has covered all aspects of sustainability comprehensively from an environmental viewpoint and with regard, to economic, social and governance aspects. Practical implications This research also proposes recommendations for further improvement of the sustainability education in the QUT QS course and beyond. Originality/value This study revealed the current practices and approaches of incorporating sustainability knowledge into QS education programme and addressed the knowledge requirements of future sustainability literate QS professionals.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Australia; construction industry; sustainable development; sustainability education; quantity surveying; sustainability literacy |
| Index terms: | methodology, sustainable development, programme, Queensland, sustainability education, surveying, construction industry, learning outcome, construction professional, undergraduate, sustainability literacy, Australia, quantity surveying, higher education institution, governance, case study |
| Subjects: | professional development, health safety and environment, Geography, research methods, student development, industry analysis, educational institutions, educational innovation, project controls, business, profession, data collection methods, health monitoring assessment and metrics, curriculum development |
| Topics: | Governance, Roles and Professions, Information Management, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Time Control, Education |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here