Capacity Building of University Faculty Members to Promote the Sustainable Self in Cambodian Higher Education

Abstract

The capacity of university faculty members for the Education for Sustainable Development is essential to enhance the teaching quality in higher education. This paper aims to discuss the needed capacity and the capacity building of faculty members to cultivate the sustainable self in Cambodian higher education. The study employed (1) the document study of faculty capacity in Cambodia; (2) the survey with 83 university
leaders and 176 faculty members from 24 higher education institutions and (3) the interviews with 15 university leaders, and four key experts. The fi ndings suggested that Cambodian higher education needed more faculty members with higher qualification and sustainability literacy. The PhD academics shared only 7.36 percent. Most faculty members were absent from capacity building activities. Eighty-three percent of both
university leaders and faculty members revealed the need of sustainability-related knowledge although some higher education institutions organized academic meetings related to the environment and development issues. Higher education institutions in Cambodia need to increase more capacity building activities concerning sustainability
and ecopedagogy.