As
shown in the previous post, the contemporary literature indicated six pathways
to a sustainable university, namely Education, Research, Outreach, Operations,
Culture and Institution.
Today,
let’s consider the first pathway, i.e. Education. Education Pathway has two
posts and this post is Part 1. Part 2, the next post, will explore the opportunities
available in universities for integrating sustainability across their curricula,
considering both content and pedagogy.
In
the context of a sustainable university, education aims to produce
sustainability-oriented graduates empowered with sustainability competencies.
What
are sustainability competencies? Raivio (2011) indicates four types of sustainability
competencies:
§ Subject competencies
(e.g. knowledge, concepts, systems)
§ Methodological
competencies (e.g. skills, problem-solving)
§ Social competencies
(e.g. communicating, interaction, citizenship)
§ Personal competencies
(e.g. attitudes, values, ethics)
When
it comes to key sustainability competencies, much disagreement is evident. Rieckmann
(2012) has identified a comprehensive list following a study among ESD experts
from Europe and Latin America: competency for systemic thinking and handling of
complexity; anticipatory thinking; critical thinking; acting fairly and
ecologically; cooperation in (heterogeneous) groups; participation; empathy and
change of perspective; interdisciplinary work; communication and use of media;
planning and realising innovative projects; evaluation; and ambiguity and
frustration tolerance. These could also be added to this list: creative
thinking (Blake and Sterling 2011); and self-awareness of personal values and a
willingness to revise them (Sibbel 2009).
Do
universities empower their students with sustainability competencies? In the
context of education for sustainability in universities, there are two factors
to be concerned with: What is taught and how it is taught (Jones et al 2008; Scott
and Gough 2007). That is, the curriculum content and its delivery (or
pedagogy).
Let’s
take the curriculum content first. It is widely agreed that sustainability is
complex and sustainability issues are interlinked and interdependent. However,
the knowledge that universities impart on their students tends traditionally to
be fragmented, partial and compartmentalised (Minguet et al 2011). The reason
behind is the strong disciplinary specialisation in university curricula (Clark
and Button 2011, Ferrer-Balas et al 2010, Lipscombe 2008), which as Lozano
(2010: 637) puts, produces ‘unbalanced, over-specialised, and mono-disciplinary
graduates’. When such mono-disciplinary graduates apply such fragmented
knowledge in a joined-up world, results tend to be disastrous and such
knowledge is partly responsible for un-sustainability too (Parker, 2010).
Sustainability
is complex and addressing sustainability issues require holistic thinking and
learning across discipline boundaries (Yarime et al 2012). Therefore, there is
a growing belief that university curricula should be holistic and
interdisciplinary in order to produce sustainability-oriented graduates (e.g.
Hopkinson and James 2010, Jones et al 2008, Lozano 2010).
Having
considered the curriculum content, let’s move onto its delivery, i.e. the
second factor. Conventional instructional approaches focus on individual
learning and treat knowledge as information and students as passive recipients
(Bacon et al. 2011). However, sustainability requires a different type of
education ‘that develops critical thinking skills, broad and integrated
contextual knowledge and the desire and capacity to apply that knowledge’
(Sherren 2008: 251). Therefore, there is a need for pedagogic innovation, which
tends to receive inadequate attention (Sterling and Scott 2008).
Falling
in line with these two factors, the literature indicates two broad strategies to
develop sustainability competencies among students:
§ Integrating curricula
content across disciplines
§ Pedagogic innovation
The
first strategy in education is integrating curricula content across disciplines.
In higher education, there exists a tension between two sides; one is the
complexity and interdependence of sustainability issues and the other is the
fragmented, partial and compartmentalised knowledge (Minguet et al 2011). Such
knowledge is inadequate to address complex issues. Therefore, sustainability
problems require holistic thinking and should be addressed across disciplines
(Yarime et al 2012). Consequently, a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to
curricula is important for producing sustainability-oriented graduates
(Hopkinson and James 2010, Jones et al 2008, Lozano 2010). Therefore, the first
strategy could be summed up as interdisciplinarity, which enables education to
address the complexity of sustainability by cutting across the disciplinary
boundaries.
The
second strategy in education is pedagogical innovation. Pedagogy is increasingly
considered as a key issue in embedding sustainability in curricula (Djordjevic
and Cotton 2011, Jones et al 2008, UNESCO 2012). For example, ESD literature in
the past three decades indicates that the focus has been on teaching and
learning methodologies and engendering of values rather than on imparting
specific content (Sherren 2008). The literature identifies a range of
innovative pedagogical elements for ESD, including:
§ Participatory
(Rieckmann 2012, Savelyeva and McKenna 2011)
§ Problem/project-based
learning (Bacon et al 2011, Hopkinson and James 2010, Lukman et al 2009, Parker
2010, Rieckmann 2012 and Sibbel 2009)
§ Praxis (i.e.
theory-practice integration) and practical (Bacon et al 2011, Hopkinson and
James 2010)
§ Collaborative/
interactive/ group learning (Bacon et al 2011, Hopkinson and James 2010, Lukman
et al 2009, Parker 2010)
§ Reflexive (Bacon et
al 2011)
Moreover,
pedagogical innovation has the potential to link education and outreach (e.g.
through informal curriculum) and education and operations (e.g. through campus
curriculum) to impart sustainability competencies to students. More on this in
the next post.
The
next post will explore the opportunities available in universities to embed
sustainability in curricula, covering both interdisciplinarity and pedagogical innovation.
Useful Resources
BOOK: Higher Education and Sustainable Development: A model for curriculum renewal, by Desha, C. and Hargroves, K.
2013
BOOK: The Sustainable University: Progress and prospects, by Sterling, S., Maxey, L. and Luna, H. (editors)
BOOK: Higher Education for Sustainability: Cases, Challenges, and Opportunities from Across the Curriculum,
by Johnston, L.F. (editor)
2009
BOOK: The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy:skills for a changing world,
by Stibbe, A. (editor)
2008
BOOK:
Journeys around Education for Sustainability, by Parker, J. and Wade, R. (editors)
2005
BOOK: Values in Higher Education, by Robinson, S. and Katulushi, C. (editors)
2004
BOOK: The Sustainability Curriculum: The Challenge for Higher Education,
by Blewitt, J. and Cullingford, C. (editors)
2003
BOOK: Key Issues in Sustainable Development Learning: A Critical Review,
by Gough, S. and Scott, W. (editors)
BOOK: Sustainable Development and Learning. Framingthe Issues, by Scott, W. and
Gough, S.
2001
BOOK: Sustainable Education – Re-visioning Learningand Change (Schumacher
Briefing No 6), by Sterling, S.
1996
BOOK: Education for Sustainability, by Huckle, J. and Sterling, S. (editors)
Websites, web pages &
blogs
Education
for sustainable development (HEA)
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/education-for-sustainable-development
Sustainability Education - The University of
Gloucestershire
Guide to Quality and Education for Sustainability in
Higher Education - Leading Curriculum
Change for Sustainability: Strategic Approaches to Quality Enhancement project
Education
for sustainable development (ESD) – The Higher Education Academy
Greener Curriculum: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) – National Union of Students
(NUS)
Embedding Sustainability into
Teaching, Learning and Curriculum in the learning and skills sector - Learning
and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)
Embedding sustainable development in the curriculum
- EAUC
A
Pedagogy for ESD? - Bill Scott's blog
Sustainability
and Pedagogy – Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University, US
Effective pedagogy in education for sustainability - Te Kete Ipurangi (TKI), New Zealand
Resources on Sustainability Curriculum - Association for
the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
International Journal of
Sustainability in Higher Education
References &
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