Innovative approaches to sustainability skills development

International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2006

While pressing sustainability issues climb international and national agendas, most Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have yet to respond in a systematic and coherent way in terms of embedding sustainability concepts, values and skills into the student learning experience. The paper reviews some schemas and views in the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) debate regarding what constitutes 'capability' in this area, and finds an emerging pattern of broad consensus. Whilst some see sustainability as implying a major challenge for the purposes and nature of university education as a whole, it is still necessary to indicate curriculum ideas that any HEI can begin to implement, ideally as a precursor to deeper change. Between the undesirable extremes of curriculum prescription and emergence, the authors suggest some indicative schemas that might help academics design curricula for ESD. Further, a model of staged learning and change linking institutional change with deepening student experience is suggested, based on current work at RMIT and the University of Plymouth.

Journal of Transformative Education, 2018

Mainstream westernised educational policy and practice continue to be firmly rooted in ontological and epistemological traditions that reflect what Gregory Bateson referred to as the illusion of our separation from the living world. In response, there has been a flourishing of innovation at the levels of educational philosophy, curriculum, and pedagogy, drawing upon various indigenous and countercultural trends. For the most part, these are being fully expressed only outside of the formally accredited educational system. There are, however, a small number of pioneering centres of holistic educational innovation that are straddling this divide, operating within conventionally accredited systems. This article seeks to profile one such institution, Schumacher College in Devon, England. This article describes its principles; innovations in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment; and its approach to supporting transformative learning. Possible strategies are outlined for such institutions ...

Jennie Winter, Graham Barton, Joseph Allison, Debby Cotton (2015) Learning Development (LD) is an emerging discipline developing a unique disciplinary identity. In common with many other new fields, it is considering its position and relevance to other disciplines and bodies of thought, for example, educational development and the sociology and philosophy of education. This paper considers one such area of debate: the link between Learning Development and Education for Sustainability (EfS). EfS is a topic of considerable and growing importance in Higher Education (HE) and universities. Its underpinning systemic and epistemic philosophies suggest the need for integration across all facets of university activity, including LD. In this paper, we argue that there are identifiable links between LD and EfS characterised by the following: 1) commonalities surrounding the foci of their pedagogic practices, 2) shared methodologies for undertaking their practices, and 3) ways in which these methodologies are helping to situate both professions and disciplines within organisational contexts. The commonalities and possible distinctions between LD and EfS form a starting point for discussion, and raise the possibility that explicit identification of the links may encourage the development of new ideas and innovative practices.

As we fast approach the end of the Decade for Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), a United Nations initiative whose goal was to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning (ARIES 2009,2), a review of the state of the planet’s health suggests that goal has either been ineffective or unrealised. This paper argues that substantive changes are required in both curricula and pedagogical practice in higher educational institutions to challenge the dominant epistemologies and discourses of our time in order to unsettle the current ways of thinking about the environmental problem. This paper presents a review of a first year interdisciplinary social science course designed to develop critical reflective thinkers. It presents a variety of evidence to support the efficacy of this approach to environmental education in higher educational institutions.

Futures of Education, Culture and Nature - Learning to Become, 2022

This paper proposes an approach to teaching and learning that reflects the idea that to undergo systemic change we need to learn from and with living systems. I reflect on two projects that illustrate small steps towards this emergent practice and draw upon theories that may help to frame this ecological approach. Drawing these frameworks and design education projects together helps to understand education for sustainability as embedded in productive learning relationships, involving thinking reflectively on our messages and actions. According to the UNESCO Policy Brief (2018) Education is a crucial element of a sustainable development agenda and needs to be holistic and transformational. These practices of taking education outside of the classroom are illustrated through examples of project-based learning in a Communication Design degree at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin New Zealand in partnership with local environmental groups, and aim to be both holistic and potentially transforma...

2019

Although sustainability has become a key focus in higher education, developing a better understanding of how sustainability competencies can be cultivated in college and university courses and programs is still needed. This article argues that learners who are to become capable of affecting holistic sustainable change, transforming values and culture, healing the earth and human communities, and designing creative solutions, must have the opportunity to engage in learning processes that reflect these learning outcomes. We outline key elements of sustainability pedagogy and suggest best pedagogical practices for designing engaging and holistic sustainability learning, and highlight these practices through a sustainability course offered at our institution.

Climate Change Management, 2019

Issues in the environment drive societal change (Brown, 2018); and hence challenge the purpose of education. Participants on a Masters course, representing informal and formal education for children aged 4-19, discussed the question "How should the purpose of education change in the light of environmental change?" The course introduces education in the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UNESCO range of competences for children forming the next generation. Participants were challenged to characterise the knowledge and skills needed by children to evaluate evidence on climate change, as well as identify and respond to local environmental issues. They also reflected on the most challenging aspects of putting Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) into practice and gave examples of integrating sustainability into educational practice. This paper reports an analysis of the responses of students who wanted to contribute, according to six dimensions of ESD (biosphere; spatial; temporal; critical; creative and active). Findings suggest that students are clear that pedagogic changes are needed and they embrace a holistic view of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, but need support if they are to show the agency they want to support children's understanding of the impact of environmental change and how to find solutions.

The need to embed Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in the higher education curriculum is well recognised in international sustainable development dialogues. However, early pioneers in this area have met with substantial obstacles and now face the prospect of attempting systemic education change in a new and difficult sector climate. This article explores the potential for engagement with the higher education curriculum by bringing ESD into its quality assurance and quality enhancement system. It builds on insights gained from a national project funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which worked in collaboration with the UK Quality Assurance Agency and a consortium of five universities. It considers the ways that ESD has entered the UK higher education sector and the potential connectivity that exists between ESD and quality. Key findings are shared from the development projects carried out in these universities, including their identification of specific quality-led pathways for embedding ESD, the differences of perspective uncovered amongst stakeholders and challenges for institutional strategy and implementation. It concludes in reflection on the need to access deeper currents of teaching and learning to make ESD a viable education proposition, as well as the potential transfer to other parts of the education and skills sector.

Sustainability, 2017

Research into and practice of Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD) have been increasing during the last two decades. These have focused on providing sustainability education to future generations of professionals. In this context, there has been considerable progress in the incorporation of SD in universities' curricula. Most of these efforts have focussed on the design and delivery of sustainability-oriented competences. Some peer-reviewed articles have proposed different pedagogical approaches to better deliver SD in these courses; however, there has been limited research on the connection between how courses are delivered (pedagogical approaches) and how they may affect sustainability competences. This paper analyses competences and pedagogical approaches, using hermeneutics to connect these in a framework based on twelve competences and twelve pedagogical approaches found in the literature. The framework connects the course aims to delivery in HESD by highlighting the connections between pedagogical approaches and competences in a matrix structure. The framework is aimed at helping educators in creating and updating their courses to provide a more complete, holistic, and systemic sustainability education to future leaders, decision makers, educators, and change agents. To better develop mind-sets and actions of future generations, we must provide students with a complete set of sustainability competences.

A Decade of Progress on Education for Sustainable Development Reflections from the UNESCO Chairs Programme, 2017