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- Algers, Anne, 1961, et al.
(författare)
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Transformative Sustainability-Oriented Open Education
- 2020
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Ingår i: Open(ing) Education. Dianne Conrad; Paul Prinsloo (red.). - Leiden, The Netherlands : Brill/Sense. - 9789004422964 ; , s. 103-120
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How can open education play a role in making academia more responsive and responsible in addressing ill-defined and ambiguous, but ever so urgent, sustainable development challenges? In this chapter, a case study from the field of sustainable development of food systems will provide a narrative that illustrates the possible impact of open education; and the value of a culture of openness to individuals, to a community, and to society. First, we provide a contextual background on the implications of openness in higher education. Second, we introduce the subject of sustainable development (SD) of our global food systems; and third, we discuss the concept of education for sustainable development (ESD). Fourth, by means of thick description (Geertz, 1973), we report a case study on open education which we discuss in light of learning theory, critical pedagogy, and sustainable development. In the end we argue for a radical interpretation of open education which we refer to as transformative sustainability-oriented open education, where ”open” refers to inviting and expressing critique and marginalized perspectives in controversial societal issues, while transformative refers to enabling learners to bring about change.
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- Ameyaw, J., et al.
(författare)
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Does a transdisciplinary approach to forestry education meet students' career aspirations? Lessons from a curriculum innovation in Ghana
- 2017
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Ingår i: International Forestry Review. - 1465-5489. ; 19:4, s. 397-412
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The forestry sector is generally transitioning towards becoming more inclusive, responsive and responsible, thus creating an increasingly dynamic professional environment. Many universities are thus broadening the scope of traditional forestry programmes towards a more transdisciplinary paradigm. This paper assesses the transdisciplinary approach used in a Natural Resource and Environmental Governance programme in Ghana. It identifies students' motivations for choosing this transdisciplinary programme and determines how the programme satisfies their future career aspirations. The study reveals that students prefer transdisciplinarity because they expect it will make them more versatile, thus offering better job prospects. Our study also shows that although the programme exhibits features of transdisciplinarity, its collaborations beyond academia is still rather limited. Despite this, we found that the programme largely satisfies the aspirations of most students, except those with non-academic career aspirations. The paper concludes by arguing that transdisciplinary education requires a supportive institutional environment.
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- Barker, Dean, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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High performance sport and sustainability : a contradiction of terms?
- 2014
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Ingår i: Reflective Practice. - : Routledge. - 1462-3943 .- 1470-1103. ; 15:1, s. 1-11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Success in high performance sport has always been highly valued. Today, lucrative contracts, sponsorship deals and opportunities for celebrity status are balanced against substantial time spent training and high chances of failure. With pressure mounting on athletes to make the most of their athletic 'investment', the temptation to compromise their future well-being by exploiting their bodies for short-term gain and/or by cheating is growing. The aim of this paper is to explore the utility of sustainability science for thinking about these types of issues. Sustainability science is an emerging field which seeks to preserve the well-being of the planet and those on it by exploring the potential of nature and culture without compromising the future resource base. It specializes in developing holistic perspectives, considering multiple time scales, optimizing current systems without compromising the carrying capacity of the Earth, but also questioning the values and principles that dominate current ways of producing and consuming. Sustainability science acknowledges that we live in a rapidly changing world characterized by high levels of complexity and uncertainty. The proposition developed in this paper is that an exploration of sustainability perspectives can be generative in re-thinking and re-orienting the principles of high level competitive sports.
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- Borg, Farhana, 1967-
(författare)
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Caring for people and the planet : preschool children’s knowledge and practices of sustainability
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Children across the globe today are continuously being exposed to and affected by various kinds of real-world complexities and challenges; however, research on their knowledge and practices in terms of sustainability is limited, in particular with regards to how preschool- and home-related factors are associated with their learning for sustainability. Since 1998, different types of eco-certification have been awarded by the Swedish National Agency for Education and Keep Sweden Tidy Foundation to promote education for sustainability (EfS) in all areas of education and learning. Despite certificates having been granted in Sweden since 1998, no studies have been conducted at the national level to investigate whether eco-certification has any role to play in children’s learning for environmental and sustainability issues. This knowledge is important to develop pedagogical activities to engage young children meaningfully in learning for sustainability at preschool. This study was undertaken so as to address this research gap in a Swedish context.The overall aim of this study was to enhance the existing knowledge about preschool children’s learning for sustainability in Sweden. The objectives of this study have been to investigate and compare the knowledge and self-reported practices of sustainability among children attending eco-certified and non-eco-certified preschools, respectively, and to explore the extent to which preschool- and home-related factors are associated with children’s knowledge and practices of sustainability. Further, this study explored children’s perceived sources of such knowledge. The term ‘knowledge’ in this text refers to the descriptions of children’s ideas and thoughts. Similarly, eco-certified preschool refers to a school that work explicitly with EfS.The study was designed from a "child’s perspective": this means that it was designed by adults to understand children’s perceptions and actions. Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory and Bruner’s (1961) iconic (image-based) modes of representation were applied in various stages of the study. A conceptual framework was developed within the three-interlocking-circles model of sustainability that illustrates how environmental, social and economic dimensions are interconnected. The concept of sustainability was operationalized in four themes: economic equality, resource sharing, recycling and transport use.With the use of illustrations and semi-structured questions, final-year preschool children (n=53), aged five to six years, and the directors (n=7) at six eco-certified and six non-eco-certified preschools were interviewed, while guardians (n=89) and teachers (n=74) filled out questionnaires. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed using content analysis and Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), respectively. The quality and complexity of children’s responses were assessed and classified using the SOLO Taxonomy (Biggs & Collis, 1982).The results showed that by the time the children completed preschool, many had acquired some knowledge about how to use money, about the sorting of different recyclable items at home and at preschool, and about the impact of different modes of transport on the environment and people’s lives. They also had ideas about the lives of other children in the world and what it can mean to share resources with other people. There was a positive relationship between children’s declarative (understanding) and functional (practice) knowledge of sustainability issues and the involvement of teachers and guardians in sustainability-related discussions and activities. No statistically significant differences between eco-certified and non-eco-certified preschools in terms of children’s declarative and functional knowledge were found. Parents were reported to be the main sources of children’s knowledge along with the children themselves, teachers and media.The findings offer support for integrating environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability into the daily pedagogical activities of preschools and for giving children opportunities to participate in discussions and practical activities that concern their lives. Further studies are needed to investigate the extent to which different educational activities contribute to developing children’s understanding and behavior when it comes to a sustainable society.
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- Bryant, Jayne
(författare)
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Education for Sustainability Leadership : Supporting and empowering agents for sustainability transformations
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The global challenges of our time are unprecedented and urgent action for transformation is needed of our systems, policies, institutions and ways of thinking. Education of sustainability leaders is one of the key leverage points to achieve this and many claim that learning on an individual, organisational and societal scale is required for society’s successful transitioning towards sustainability. In this relatively new field, practitioners and scholars grapple with what best promotes development of sustainability leadership, and with what competencies, capacities and transformative outcomes educators should be aiming to develop. The aim of this work was therefore to establish an improved understanding of this and to find recommendations for educators with ambitions to create systems change for sustainability by building the capacity of people to be sustainability leaders. As an educator and facilitator of sustainability work for over a decade, working at the crossroads of education for sustainability leadership; organisational and community change, lecturing on leadership for sustainability in Australia and currently being Co-Director of the Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability (MSLS) program in Sweden, I have rested this thesis firmly within an action-oriented transformation research paradigm in which the only way to understand a system is through a comprehensive attempt to change it. Seven cases of sustainability leadership education are presented. Methods include surveys with open questions; workshops; interviews; document analysis; and, ethnographic field work. The thesis provides support for design of sustainability leadership education through the following outcomes: Recommendations and improvements on a Typology for Transformative Learning to guide educators in designing and assessing transformative sustainability leadership education; Eight Intrapersonal Capacities that may provide a map of the Intrapersonal Competence. These are: Hold complexity, Foster a learners mindset, Deeply value others, Let be, Show up as one’s full self, Regulate and manage the self, Persist with lightness and Ensure one’s wellbeing;Suggestions that the integration of the components of community, place, content, pedagogy and disorientation with hope and agency can provide synergistic reinforcement of the sustainability transformation required;Examples of reflection and dialogue as well as creativity and the arts as pedagogies and skills for sustainability leaders;Added evidence that learning can be a key leverage point for sustainability transformations by presenting outcomes and impacts of sustainability education programs where students attempted to make change in their work or world through creativity projects;Outcomes and impacts of an organisation change program within a local government which used education to empower sustainability leaders who then themselves created sustainability outcomes and impacts;Identified challenges of education for sustainability leadership from the perspective of students, learning designers and facilitators of the studied education programs.Challenges within sustainability education more broadly are also presented.With those outcomes, the thesis contributes to the body of knowledge concerned with building capacity of human beings to facilitate strategic sustainable development work.
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