The Scholarship of Sustainability Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: A Disciplinary Analysis

This study investigates the scholarship of sustainability teaching and learning (SoSTL) in higher education (HE), focusing on the disciplinary integration of Education for Sustainable Development (EfSD) at the module level. Employing a narrative review of 33 case studies published between 2017 and 2023, the research explores disciplinary patterns using Biglan’s classification of academic fields. Results reveal a dominant presence of SoSTL in applied disciplines ( n = 32), particularly in business, education and engineering, with minimal representation in pure disciplines ( n = 1). The case studies exhibit an even distribution between sustainability-focused ( n = 17) and sustainability-inclusive ( n = 16) modules, highlighting diverse pedagogical approaches. General education interventions were fewer ( n = 6) than discipline-specific ones ( n = 27), underscoring the structural challenges of interdisciplinarity in HE. These findings illuminate gaps in disciplinary SoSTL engagement and emphasize the need for expanded scholarship across pure disciplines to foster comprehensive EfSD integration and equip students to address global sustainability challenges effectively.