International Competences for Undergraduate Psychology: Relevance to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Susan A. Nolan - , Seton Hall University (Author)
  • Jacquelyn Cranney - , University of New South Wales (Author)
  • Susanne Narciss - , Chair of Psychology of Learning and Instruction (Author)
  • Sonja Goedeke - , Auckland University of Technology (Author)
  • Luciana Karine de Souza - , Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Author)
  • Fanli Jia - , Seton Hall University (Author)
  • Aneesh Kumar - , Christ University, Bangalore (Author)
  • Dragos Iliescu - , University of Bucharest (Author)
  • Lori Foster - , North Carolina State University, University of Cape Town (Author)
  • Therese Mungah Shalo Tchombe - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Author)
  • Sue Morris - , University of New South Wales (Author)
  • Kelly Tabe Takang - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Author)

Abstract

The 17 global goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a call to action for governments and organizations around the world to work towards a sustainable future for all people and the planet. Human behaviour is directly or indirectly tied to all of the SDGs; therefore, psychology as a discipline is critical to their achievement. In this article, we-a team of 12 psychology educators from eight countries (three from the Global South) representing six continents-outline connections between psychology and the SDGs. We argue that psychology education at the foundational undergraduate level should integrate the SDGs into curricula. We describe the framework of psychological literacy that we believe is central to a strong undergraduate education in psychology and outline its conceptual relationship to the SDGs. We then describe the International Competences for Undergraduate Psychology, which explicitly mention the SDGs, but are also closely linked to them across all seven International Competences for Undergraduate Psychology competence categories (psychological knowledge, psychological research methodologies and methods, and the five psychology-relevant areas: values and ethics; cultural responsiveness and diversity; critical thinking and problem-solving; communication and interpersonal skills; and personal and professional development). Finally, psychology educators from six countries (Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, India, and the United States) describe teaching and assessment strategies that harness both the International Competences for Undergraduate Psychology and the SDGs. These strategies offer examples to spur psychology educators to consider how they might make these connections in their own classes and curricula and in their own culture and context.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)285-295
Number of pages11
JournalCanadian Psychology / Psychologie Canadienne
Volume66
Issue number4
Early online dateJun 2025
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

Scopus 105008527091
ORCID /0000-0002-4280-6534/work/204616271

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Foundational psychology competences, Psychological literacy, Psychology education, Sustainable Development Goals, Undergraduate, foundational psychology competences, psychological literacy, compétences fondamentales en psychologie, enseignement de la psychologie, Objectifs de développement durable, littératie psychologique, programmes de premier cycle, undergraduate, psychology education