Education for Sustainable Development: A Qualitative Analytical Study on the Impact of the Jordanian Universities’ Role in Supporting Innovation among University Students

Abstract

This study aimed at exploring and theorizing the role of Jordanian Universities in supporting innovation among university students within the context of education for sustainable development from the point of view of Jordanian University students. For that, the researcher adopted the grounded theory methodology by Strauss and Corbin. The study was conducted at two Jordanian Universities: the University of Jordan and Philadelphia University in the academic year (2019-2020), and the study population consisted of students from the two universities. The researcher chose (300) students from both genders from different faculties and academic years. By applying the grounded theory, the study concluded that the key category that emerged after analyzing the student’s responses describing the impact of the Jordanian Universities’ role in supporting innovation among university students for educational sustainable development is the emphasis on the need for developing proper University innovation ecosystems in their educational systems. Also, the respondents- through online interviews - have emphasized this concept of proper University innovation ecosystems. The key category of this study found that positive and negative impacts could result from applying or neglecting to apply this concept, which generated behaviors toward the concept, which could be considered as the phenomena in the current research.