Sustainable Development-Based Education in Higher Education with Emphasis on Sustainability Competencies of the Graduates (Case Study: Bachelor course of Handicrafts)

This research aims to identify the basic changes and requirements in the structure of higher education of handicrafts to acquire the graduateschr('39') sustainability qualifications. Since higher educationchr('39')s philosophy and goal is to educate sustainable human beings, a successful graduate has acquired all the sustainability qualifications and can integrate them into his knowledge and actions. The main question of this research is as follows: What measures should be taken in the educational structure of the bachelor course of handicrafts in order for the graduates to acquire sustainable qualifications in the field? The method of this research is qualitative and exploratory. The initial data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 30 experts in the fields of handicrafts Education and the education for sustainable development, who were selected purposefully through the snowball method. The collected data were analyzed through the content analysis method. Findings showed that to obtain sustainability qualifications, a series of research actions should be performed in the first place, which is to recreate the content of sustainability literacy in the field of handicrafts (theoretical foundations, principles and methods of education, ethical principles and insights). Then executive-educational measures, including empowering teachers, Expanding extracurricular interactions, curriculum revisions, changing teaching methods to active and participatory learning, and emphasizing the essential skills of sustainability, should be taken. It was concluded that although handicrafts have good capacities in the face of sustainable development, to get the desired result, it is necessary for higher education to pay more attention to this field to gain the required competencies and capabilities for graduateschr('39') sustainability.