Cross-cultural education for sustainability: development of an introduction to sustainability course (original) (raw)
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A Global Classroom for International Sustainability Education
Creative Education, 2013
Sustainability studies put emphasis on social-environmental-technical problems with local manifestations and global impacts. This makes especially poignant the need for educational experiences in which students confront the challenges of crossing cultural, national, and geographical boundaries in a globalized world and understand the historical, epistemological and ethical underpinnings of these diverse cultural conditions. The success criteria to evaluate the educational experiences demanded by the globalization of education, however, are yet to be specified and used in novel educational opportunities. A brief review of international sustainability education options currently available to students reveals a gap between the knowledge students may need to succeed in a globalized world and the opportunities available. Into this landscape, we introduce The Global Classroom, an international collaboration between Leuphana University of Lüneburg in Germany and Arizona State University in the US. The project strives for an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach to equipping students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to take on sustainability challenges in international settings. We discuss the structure and organization of the Global Classroom model and share preliminary experiences. The article concludes with a reflection on institutional structures conducive to providing students with the international learning opportunities they may need to tackle sustainability problems in a globalized world.
Book Review: Curricula for sustainability in higher education
Sustainability is a complex subject in which there is no universally agreed upon definition of what it means to be sustainable. Many view sustainability from the lens of sustainable development which was coined in the Brundtland Report as " development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs " (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). 2005 to 2014 was established as the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development with the goal of incorporating sustainable development values, standards, and practices into all facets of education (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 1992). As the field of sustainability and sustainability education continues to evolve there is an ongoing need for literature to equip teachers and educators with strategies to implement sustainability curriculum into their courses. The purpose of Curricula for Sustainability in Higher Education was to provide administrators, teachers and students an introduction to the diversity and interdisciplinary nature of sustainability education by presenting research and curriculum advances in the field. Sustainability in higher education is a complex and interdisciplinary phenomenon (Viegas et al., 2016). The editor and authors of this book presented a collection of sustainability curricula for higher education as examples of relevant approaches. The effective utilization of multiple authors and perspectives, various research, and different approaches to address the question of how to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum throughout this book helped to validate the idea that curriculum for sustainability in higher education is an interdisciplinary and diverse subject. With over 30 years of research and teaching experiences in manufacturing, materials and mechanical engineering, management/industrial engineering and higher education for Sustainability/Engineering Education the editor, Davim is a good example of the diversity of knowledge and experience within the field of sustainability. Davim (2017) organized the book thematically, using six themes or parts to explore and highlight the diversity and interdisiplinarity of sustainability in higher education. Each part, or what this review will refer to as chapters, presented diverse examples that illustrated various aspects of curriculum for sustainability in higher education. Chapter 1, Education for Sustainable Development and Its Role in the Promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals (Garcia, da Silva, Simas Carvalho, & de Andrade Guerra) explored education for sustainable development and how it can contribute in the attainment of the sustainable development goals that were conceived at the Rio +20 Summit (United Nations, 2012). The reviewed literature and discussions utilized throughout this chapter did a good job of demonstrating of how education could be utilized as a tool in the achievement of each of the 17 sustainable development goals. According to de Haan (2006), education and sustainable development are interdependent with one another. The authors of this chapter also argued that educational institutions should be utilized as platforms to explore, debate and assess sustainability challenges that deal with societal, environmental and economic disparities. Umoh (2010) also emphasized the importance of education in the process of balancing these sustainability pillars. Chapter 2, Explicit Economics: Addressing Conscious Consumption for Sustainability (Venkatesan) illustrated how our current market and economy allows the consumer to disregard the impact their consumptive habitats are having on the welfare of others. The author affirmed that this approach " promotes the perception that price alone is indicative of the true cost of a good " (p. 30). Brown (2009) compared this market behavior of providing incomplete information on the actual cost of products to a Ponzi scheme where we are meeting current demands in part by overconsuming the earth's natural capital and setting ourselves up for an eventual collapse when these assets are depleted. This chapter was concluded with a motivational argument that the best way to achieve economic sustainability is to empower conscious consumption at the individual level through education and the development of sustainable social norms. Chapter 3, Greening Networks: Mapping Sustainability Beyond Institutional Boundaries (Vellani & Nanjee) effectively highlighted the importance of partnerships and collaboration when attempting to expand sustainability. Three case studies focusing on researchers and non-government organizations, professional associations, and students and staff collaborations were presented within this chapter. The authors of this chapter used these efforts as examples of how silos between disciplines and professions can be seen as barriers to sustainability and should be broken down.
A Critical Reflection on Online Teaching for Sustainability
Sustainability
By practicing the scholarship of teaching the authors examine their own practices in teaching online applied to in-service teacher education and education for sustainable development as part of ongoing quality improvement effort and annual course revision. This study focuses on “Planetary Perspectives: Toward a Culture of Peace, Sustainability, and Well-Being” which is the first in a four-course Online Certificate in Education for Sustainable Development organized by the Earth Charter Education Center and the University for Peace. The course explores principles of sustainability and the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals and then goes deeper into the environmental, social, and economic spheres of sustainability. The course emphasizes pedagogical practices, such as systems thinking and developing a sustainability worldview. The course also invites students to be involved in their communities, talking to neighbors and colleagues about sustainability issues like climate change and...
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2014
Sustainability is an issue of increasing importance in today's world. Institutions of higher education are undergoing change towards incorporating sustainable development principles within their teaching, research, service, and community outreach efforts. This article presents a case study of the development and implementation of one such initiative: a university-wide freshman course centered on the topic of sustainability. The objective of the course was to expose freshman students to important sustainability issues in a common course team-taught by faculty from various disciplines. The article presents experiences and recommendations as a guide to administrators, faculty and researchers at other institutions of higher education that plan to undertake similar endeavors. Based on experiences with the course, it is recommended that institutions that attempt a similar course should allocate significant time to develop the course, ideally a year in advance. The course concept was predicated on faculty members from widely differing disciplines coming together to teach a cluster topic. While this led to an interesting diversity in perspective, and introduced students to the multi-dimensional aspects of sustainability issues, it also resulted in divergent expectations among faculty and a lack of coherence in achieving the goals of the course initially set forth. A mechanism needs to be in place to coordinate faculty and their lectures within a cluster, and to prevent divergent expectations. An additional challenge that should be taken into consideration is the level of preparedness of freshman students to participate in a course that required high levels of critical thinking and analysis. In conclusion, the course has much potential to create a culture of caring for sustainability issues at an institution, as well as being a bonding experience for incoming freshmen. However, some restructuring is necessary to nurture the students to the point where they can engage in meaningful discussion of sustainability issues.
Sustainability 101: Guiding Students on a Sustainability Journey
2019
There have been many rigorous discussions about the purpose of sustainability education and the sets of learning objectives, learning outcomes or competencies that will best serve this purpose. Some scholars contend that sustainability education should raise awareness and disseminate knowledge to encourage students to change their attitudes and behaviours, which reflects instrumental goals and a behaviourist learning approach. Contending that education is not about filling empty minds, however, critics of this approach call for emancipatory goals and a more constructivist learning approach that emphasizes capacity development. In common with education in other disciplines, this includes the development of critical thinking. Pointing to the distinct nature of sustainability, many scholars also contend that sustainability education should develop special competencies, such as systems thinking, values and strategic thinking. As a result of these and other discussions, many different learning objectives have been proposed for sustainability education. Since a single program or course cannot include all of these learning objectives, curriculum planners and educators need to choose them carefully. This choice is important because it influences what is taught, how it is taught, and what kinds of knowledge, capacities and dispositions students may develop as a result of their education. In turn, this can impact how well-prepared students will be for sustainability challenges. The purpose of this research was to look at the selection of learning objectives in a sample of introductory sustainability undergraduate courses in higher education institutions in the United States and Canada. Qualitative research methods were used to explore what this choice indicates about the broader educational goals of these courses. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with 20 instructors of introductory sustainability undergraduate iii courses. Interview transcripts and course syllabi were iteratively coded and thematically analyzed to develop categories of learning objectives and identify themes. Key findings indicate that these courses aimed to do more than raise awareness or disseminate information about sustainability. They were also concerned with developing students' capacities and dispositions to think, to understand the nature and root causes of sustainability problems, to reflect on their roles in addressing problems, and to apply their knowledge in their own lives. Common learning objectives included the development of critical thinking, systems thinking, values thinking, strategic thinking and interpersonal competence. Student engagement and empowerment were also important objectives. Three themes emerged in the analysis of learning objectives: fostering a different way of thinking, fostering the vision and drive to engage in sustainability, and putting theory into practice. Some interview comments suggested that transformative learning could also be an aspirational goal in some courses. Overall, these results suggest that introductory sustainability courses have the potential to provide an initial orientation on sustainability that may help guide students on a personal sustainability journey.
Successes and snags of a sustainability course in higher education
International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 2015
By means of an action-research methodological approach, this article analyses the accomplishments and challenges of a university-wide course that offers sustainability theory and practice to help students adopt pro-sustainability behaviours and analyse public policies that seek to transform urban areas into truly sustainable places. Through the lens of the four pillars of sustainability-environmental, social, economic, and cultural-the course explores various topics related to sustainability (e.g., energy and water conservation; housing design and construction; transportation; social and biological diversity; and war and peace) but pays particular attention to the themes of education; food production; and intentional communities. Despite the popularity of the course, it has encountered various ideological and logistical challenges that at times have imposed significant constraints on the course's trajectory. The article examines ways of overcoming these obstacles.
Postface: Why Environmental and Sustainability Learning Matters (Now More Than Ever)
New Directions for Teaching and Learning
When I was the President of Unity College in Maine from 2006 to 2011, we developed an integrated campus approach to sustainability curriculum. I wrote about these efforts and linked them to the national higher education sustainability movement in my book The Nine Elements of a Sustainable Campus (The MIT Press 2013). 1 Indeed, Unity College was one of hundreds of colleges and universities that made great strides in building sustainability awareness. Over a roughly 10-year period (2006-2016), a great deal was accomplished, not only in higher education, but in the business community and in global cities. Think about the position of sustainability manager. Only the most forward thinking institutions employed such people prior to 2006. Now there are thousands of such positions in schools, colleges, businesses, and city governments. The essays in this special issue of New Directions of Teaching and Learning discuss the outstanding efforts that are now taking place in higher education, particularly in teaching and learning about sustainability. They describe the necessary and important research that supports these efforts. Still, we are daunted by our task. Anyone who is involved in sustainabilityrelated efforts feels a sense of urgency that is not always shared by her or his colleagues. Additionally, higher education itself is under siege, as questions of cost, accountability, and the changing demographics of work and study, are dramatically impacting how we think about the meaning and value of a college education. In this vein, whenever I am engaged in sustainability-related work I always remind people why we are so passionate. The sustainability conversation is ultimately informed by nothing less than a planetary emergencyand that requires the deepest, most urgent effort to enhance environmental
Creating an Interdisciplinary Introduction to Sustainability Studies Course
The general consensus among institutions of higher education is that for a course in Sustainability Studies to be successful it must treat the subject in a transdisciplinary manner. The authors (an Engineer, Ecologist, and Anthropologist) have collaborated to create and deliver a course titled "Introduction to Sustainability Studies." It will become the introductory course in the minor in sustainability studies at Roger Williams University. The students in the course were from many different majors (for example: Criminal Justice, Architecture, Biology, although no Engineering majors were enrolled), and ranged from freshman to seniors. The content of the paper will describe the genesis of the course and the manner in which it was delivered in a transdisciplinary way to such a diverse audience. It will also describe the engineering content, and the attempts made to deliver it to a non-engineering audience. Finally, some lessons learned from teaching this course will be offered that might be of use to others attempting such a course.
Sustainability Science, 2014
Sustainability degree programs in higher education have proliferated with the emergence of sustainability as a recognized academic field. This study evaluated the curricula of English-language programs granting degrees in sustainability by analyzing 27 bachelor's and 27 master's sustainability programs based on their (1) curricular structure, in terms of the proportion of core versus elective courses, (2) breadth of the core courses, which were classified into one of ten disciplinary categories, and (3) specific disciplinary content of core course subjects. We found that core courses made up the majority of both curricula, although bachelor's programs were more flexible than master's. Within these core courses, sustainability and social sciences were found in more than 85 % of both bachelor's and master's programs, as were natural sciences at the bachelor's level. Less than half of sustainability master's programs required a natural science course, which on average made up just 2 % of required course credits. No text was widely used in core sustainability courses. Our findings demonstrate that there is a wide divergence between the content of programs granting degrees in sustainability; many do not appear to be achieving the integration of natural and social sciences proposed in the literature. We believe that some shared foundations between programs is necessary for sustainability to develop into a mature scientific program that is recognizable across universities and understood by academics, employers, and civil society, and is effective in training the next generation of sustainability scholars and scientists.