DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18595680
title: Dataset and Survey Instrument on Structural Capacity for Climate and Environmental Education in Mediterranean Universities

description: The materials comprise two complementary resources that underpin the empirical analysis presented in the manuscript entitled Structural barriers to climate and environmental education in Mediterranean universities, under review in the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. Together, they provide transparency on the data collection process and enable reuse, verification, and comparative extension of the study by other scholars and institutional actors.

The file Data.xlsx contains the anonymized institutional-level dataset derived from a harmonized survey administered to Mediterranean universities within the framework of the UNIMED Subnetwork on Climate and Environmental Change. The dataset aggregates responses from 47 higher education institutions located in Europe, the Maghreb, and the Middle East. Each row corresponds to a single institution, while columns represent standardized variables capturing structural characteristics, curricular configurations, faculty specialization, interdisciplinary engagement, and institutional perceptions related to climate and environmental change education. The dataset includes both raw indicators and derived variables that were subsequently used to construct composite indices, such as the Institutional Commitment Index and the Structural Engagement Index, as well as measures of disciplinary diversity and programme maturity. No personal or identifiable information is included. Institutional names have been removed to ensure anonymity, and the data are suitable for secondary quantitative analysis, cross-regional comparison, and methodological replication.

The file Questionnaire.pdf contains the full survey instrument used for data collection. The questionnaire was collaboratively designed by members of the UNIMED Subnetwork and refined through a pilot phase to ensure clarity, internal consistency, and cross-context applicability. It includes closed-ended questions based on categorical and Likert-type scales, as well as open-ended questions aimed at capturing qualitative insights into institutional strategies and perceived barriers to climate and environmental education. The instrument is structured around five thematic domains: institutional profile, curricular characteristics, faculty expertise and interdisciplinarity, institutional perceptions and priorities, and qualitative reflections on implementation challenges and opportunities. The questionnaire was addressed to senior university representatives with knowledge of institutional planning and curriculum development, and it constitutes a reusable methodological tool for future diagnostic assessments of climate education capacity in higher education systems.

These resources are intended to support openness, reproducibility, and cumulative knowledge building in the field of higher education studies and climate education research. The dataset and questionnaire may be reused for non-commercial research purposes, including comparative analyses across regions, longitudinal follow-up studies, and the adaptation of the survey framework to other geographic or institutional contexts, provided appropriate citation of the original source is ensured.