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Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 August 2021) | Viewed by 39539

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Prof. Dr. Naomi T. Krogman

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Faculty of Environment, Technology and Science Complex, 2-8810, 8888 University Drive, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
Interests: the future of sustainability scholarship in higher education; natural resource management
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability Education is available at most higher educational institutions, being integrated within all disciplines, and offered through a multitude of interdisciplinary programs. Sustainability scholarship has grown enormously as well, become more interdisciplinary and increasingly written in partnership with government, indigenous nations, industry, the nonprofit sector, and with practitioner communities. This Special Issue will address recent changes to sustainability education and/or scholarship in higher education and provide provocative ideas about how these areas should change to better address climate change, indigenous people’s rights, knowledge or well-being, the circular economy, and social justice. What are the approaches to teaching, both in content and pedagogy, that better address these topics? What are the theoretical, methodological or substantive advances in knowledge, and emerging partnership approaches to doing scholarship in these areas?

References:

Almers, Ellen. 2013. "Pathways to Action Competence for Sustainability - Six Themes." The Journal of Environmental Education 44 (2): 116-127. http://0-dx-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1080/00958964.2012.719939.

Armstrong, Cosette Marie. 2011. "Implementing Education for Sustainable Development: The Potential use of Time-Honored Pedagogical Practice from the Progressive Era of Education." Journal of Sustainability Education 2. http://www.susted.com/wordpress/content/implementing-education-for-sustainable-development-the-potential-use-of-time-honored-pedagogical-practice-from-the-progressive-era-of-education_2011_03/.

Barth, Matthias. 2015. Implementing Sustainability in Higher Education: Learning in an Age of Transformation. Routledge Studies in Sustainable Development. Abingdon and New York: Routledge.

Barth, Matthias, Jasmin Godemann, Marco Rieckmann, and Ute Stoltenberg. 2007. "Developing Key Competencies for Sustainable Development in Higher Education." International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 8 (4): 416-430.

Barth, Matthias and Marco Rieckmann. 2015. "State of the Art in Research on Higher Education for Sustainable Development." Chap. 7, In Routledge Handbook of Higher Education for Sustainable Development, edited by Matthias Barth, Gerd Michelsen, Marco Rieckmann and Ian Thomas, 100-113. London: Routledge. https://www-routledgehandbooks-com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/doi/10.4324/9781315852249.ch7.

Blake, Joanna, Stephen Sterling, and Ivor Goodson. 2013. "Transformative Learning for a Sustainable Future: An Exploration of Pedagogies for Change at an Alternative College." Sustainability 5 (12): 5347-5372. doi:10.3390/su5125347.

Bullock, Clair and Gregory Hitzhusen. 2015. "Participatory Development of Key Sustainability Concepts for Dialogue and Curricula at the Ohio State University." Sustainability 7 (10): 14063-14091. doi:10.3390/su71014063.

Burns, Heather. 2013. "Meaningful Sustainability Learning: A Study of Sustainability Pedagogy in Two University Courses." International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 25 (2): 166-175. http://login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login?url=http://0-search-ebscohost-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1016542&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Burns, Heather. 2011. "Teaching for Transformation: (Re)Designing Sustainability Courses Based on Ecological Principles." Journal of Sustainability Education 2. http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/elp_fac.

Cajete, Gregory. 2000. Native Science : Natural Laws of Interdependence. First ed. Santa Fe, N.M.: Clear Light Publishers.

Capra, Fritjof. 1999. Ecoliteracy: The Challenge for Education in the Next Century. Berkeley, CA: Center for Ecoliteracy. https://www.scribd.com/document/26141329/Fritjof-Capra-Ecoliteracy.

Clark, Susan G., Murray B. Rutherford, Matthew R. Auer, David N. Cherney, Richard L. Wallace, David J. Mattson, Douglas A. Clark, et al. 2011. "College and University Environmental Programs as a Policy Problem (Part 2): Strategies for Improvement." Environmental Management 47 (5): 716-726. https://0-link-springer-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/article/10.1007%2Fs00267-011-9635-2.

Cotton, Deborah R. E. 2006. "Teaching Controversial Environmental Issues: Neutrality and Balance in the Reality of the Classroom." Educational Research 48 (2): 223-241. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1080/00131880600732306.

Cotton, Deborah R. E., Martyn F. Warren, Olga Maiboroda, and Ian Bailey. 2007. "Sustainable Development, Higher Education and Pedagogy: A Study of Lecturers' Beliefs and Attitudes." Environmental Education Research 13 (5): 579-597. http://0-dx-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1080/13504620701659061.

Cotton, Deborah R. E. and Jennie Winter. 2010. "It’s Not just Bits of Paper and Light Bulbs’: A Review of Sustainability Pedagogies and their Potential for use in Higher Education." Chap. 3, In Sustainability Education: Perspectives and Practice Across Higher Education, edited by Paula Jones, David Selby and Stephen Sterling, 39-54. London: Earthscan.

Dale, Ann and Lenore Newman. 2005. "Sustainable Development, Education and Literacy." International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 6 (4): 351-362. http://0-dx-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1108/14676370510623847.

Davies, Kate. 2009. "A Learning Society." Chap. 32, In The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy: Skills for a Changing World, edited by Arran Stibbe, 215-220. Totnes, UK: Green Books.

Domask, Joseph J. 2007. "Achieving Goals in Higher Education: An Experiential Approach to Sustainability Studies." International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 8 (1): 53-68.

DuPuis, E. Melanie and Tamara Ball. 2013. "How Not what: Teaching Sustainability as Process." Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy 9 (1): 64-75.

Evans, Tina Lynn. 2015a. "Finding Heart: Generating and Maintaining Hope and Agency through Sustainability Education." Journal of Sustainability Education 10: 1-38.

Evans, Tina Lynn. 2015b. "Transdisciplinary Collaborations for Sustainability Education: Institutional and Intragroup Challenges and Opportunities." Policy Futures in Education 13 (1): 70-96. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1177/1478210314566731.

Fagan, Geoff. 2009. "Citizen Engagement." Chap. 29, In The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy: Skills for a Changing World, edited by Arran Stibbe, 199-203. Totnes, UK: Green Books.

Fisher, P. Brian and Erin McAdams. 2015. "Gaps in Sustainability Education: The Impact of Higher Education Coursework on Perceptions of Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 16 (4): 407-423. doi:10.1108/IJSHE-08-2013-0106.

Frisk, Erin and Kelli L. Larson. 2011. "Educating for Sustainability: Competencies & Practices for Transformative Action." Journal of Sustainability Education 2 (March): 20 pp.

Glasser, Harold and Jamie Hirsh. 2016. "Toward the Development of Robust Learning for Sustainability Core Competencies." Sustainability: The Journal of Record 9 (3): 121-134.

Godemann, Jasmin and Gerd Michelsen. 2011. "Sustainability Communication - an Introduction." Chap. 1, In Sustainability Communication: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Theoretical Foundations, edited by Jasmin Godemann and Gerd Michelsen, 3-11. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

Goekler, John. 2003. "Teaching for the Future: Systems Thinking and Sustainability." Green Teacher (70): 8-14.

Green, Tom L. 2013. "Teaching (Un)Sustainability? University Sustainability Commitments and Student Experiences of Introductory Economics." Ecological Economics 94: 135-142. https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.08.003.

Gruenewald, David A. 2003. "Foundations of Place: A Multidisciplinary Framework for Place-Conscious Education." American Educational Research Journal 40 (3): 619-654.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Education Sciences.

Prof. Dr. Naomi T. Krogman
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Sustainability scholarship
Sustainability education
Pedagogy
Experiential learning
Indigenizing curriculum
Climate change
Circular economy
Social justice

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1001 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

A Core Curriculum for Sustainability Leadership

by Julia Wells Novy, Banny Banerjee and Pamela Matson

Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10557; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131910557 - 23 Sep 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4299

Abstract

In response to the scale, complexity, and urgency of the sustainability challenges societies face, there has been both rapid growth in the broad field of sustainability science and technology, as well as sustainability education globally. Yet, demand for sustainability education still far outstrips supply, and the gap between current reality and achieving the goal of intergenerational well-being is widening. There is a need for greater understanding, innovation, and alignment in sustainability education to ensure programs are effective in cultivating agents of change with capabilities pertinent to and commensurate with the nature of the challenge. Through a highly consultative, multi-year process, we used systems design, combining a systems perspective with the iterative design and inquiry process from design thinking, as well as grounded theory to develop a model of a “New Leader”, and an associated curriculum and pedagogy to cultivate these change agents. The resulting Change Leadership for Sustainability Program at Stanford University offers a set of perspectives, frameworks, and tools and a pedagogical approach that prepares students to study and lead change effectively in any social-environmental system, no matter the sector or topic of interest, with an explicit normative goal of intergenerational well-being. After testing and evaluating the Program’s curriculum and pedagogy over the past five years through both master’s and executive programs, we have found that the development of specific competencies is an essential element of sustainability education, yet it is also crucial to focus on cultivating the identity, perspectives, and agency of these New Leaders in order to prepare them for maximum impact. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

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15 pages, 228 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing the Learning Effectiveness of University of Science and Technology Students through Flipped Teaching in Chinese-Language Curriculum

by Cheng-Chih Huang, Yen-Ling Lin and Ching-Yen Ho

Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9743; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13179743 - 30 Aug 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1637

Abstract

Chinese is one of the most important global languages, but at some universities of science and technology, Chinese-language learning is unfortunately not valued by students. According to the results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), organized by the United Nations every three years, although Taiwanese students’ performance in reading improved from 2015 to 2018, many problems remain in the teaching field that lead to a lack of student interest in Chinese-language learning. We attempted to use flipped teaching to intervene in the Chinese-language curriculum at the university of science and technology at which we teach. This methodological process and procedure was used to plan teaching materials, and 36 weeks of teaching with a Chinese-language curriculum were offered to freshman students in one academic year. We then evaluated teaching effectiveness through the pre- and post-tests of students’ language proficiency, obtained feedback from students through school-wide teaching evaluation questions, reviewed the teaching effectiveness of the Chinese-language curriculum for the academic year, and achieved significant improvements in students’ reading skills with regard to language learning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

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13 pages, 958 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Air Temperature on School Teachers’ Mood and the Perception of Students’ Behavior

by Salvador Boix-Vilella, Elena Saiz-Clar, Eva León-Zarceño and Miguel Angel Serrano

Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9707; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13179707 - 30 Aug 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4075

Abstract

This study investigates how temperature, inside and outside the classroom, influence teachers’ mood and mental fatigue as well as the perceived students’ behavior. Two daily random measurements of the temperature inside various classrooms were taken for 7 months. Mood, mental fatigue, and perception of students’ behavior were evaluated for the teachers. Daily external temperature data were obtained from the State Agency of Meteorology. Results showed that indoor temperature, indoor humidity, and the difference between outdoor/indoor temperature significantly explain a worse perception of mood of the teachers and a worse perception of students’ behavior that influences perception of students’ behavior. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

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14 pages, 1459 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Setting Up a Flipped Classroom Design to Reduce Student Academic Procrastination

by Dalibor Gonda, Gabriela Pavlovičová, Anna Tirpáková and Viliam Ďuriš

Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8668; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13158668 - 03 Aug 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4323

Abstract

The transfer of educational activities to the online environment within blended learning, which was also accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, increases the risk of growing student procrastination. This article describes the design of the flipped class, which is designed so that students are supported and motivated to continuously perform individual tasks. Great emphasis in the described design of the flipped classroom is placed on supporting students in their activities outside the classroom. It is in this part of blended learning that procrastination is a frequent cause of students’ failure, not just in mathematics. The effectiveness of our proposed inverted class design has been experimentally verified. Statistical analysis of the data showed that students had a statistically significant reduction in procrastination behavior during the course of the experiment. The proposed flipped classroom design has the potential to increase students’ self-regulatory skills, which has been reflected in a change in their approach to learning responsibilities. Students’ approach to online learning outside the classroom has changed, and thus their probability of successfully completing the combinatorics course has increased statistically significantly. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

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16 pages, 1020 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Teacher Training via Distance Education: The Effect of Study Centers, Gender and Economic Demographics on Academic Performance

by Hong Zhang, Wilson Osafo Apeanti, Paul Georgescu, Prince Harvim, Dianchen Lu, Tan Li and Bing Zhang

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7965; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13147965 - 16 Jul 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1889

Abstract

We examine the effectiveness and sustainability of the distance teacher education program established by the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana, by investigating the differences in the academic performance of students who are trained in the teacher education program via traditional and distance education modes, respectively, from 2011 to 2015. Close attention is paid to the factors that affect the academic performance of students in the distance mode. Our findings confirm that traditional mode students perform better than their distance mode counterparts in terms of cumulative GPAs. Gender and economic demographics of distance study centers are found to affect the academic performance of distance education students significantly. The policy implications of these findings are discussed and directions of further action are outlined. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

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17 pages, 322 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding Economic, Social, and Environmental Sustainability Challenges in the Global South

by Javier Sierra and Ángela Suárez-Collado

Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7201; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13137201 - 27 Jun 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4862

Abstract

In an increasingly complex world, students of economics, business, and management must learn how to combine financial objectives with social and environmental aims. To that end, institutions, teachers, and curricula have a growing need for multidisciplinary approaches to reinforce education for sustainable development. This study presents a pilot project consisting of an innovative online simulation designed to help students understand the challenges that countries and companies from the Global South are facing to balance economic, social, and environmental objectives under sustainability criteria. This research uses quantitative and qualitative data provided by the students to assess the effectiveness of the methodology. The results indicate the usefulness of the methodology in helping students comprehend economic complexities in the Global South, as well as to assist them in acquiring key cognitive, skill-based, and affective educational outcomes. The combination of three active-learning methodologies (role-play, collaborative-learning, and inquiry-based learning) proved to be of high value to address sustainability-related issues in higher education and help students develop 21st-century skills. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

18 pages, 252 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Teaching Competencies of Language Teachers in Research Universities in Beijing: Perspectives from SoTL and Institutional Theory

by Yi Zhang, Fugui Ye and Xiumei Liu

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 4943; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13094943 - 28 Apr 2021

Viewed by 1895

Abstract

Though professional development of language teachers has received increasing attention over the past decade, there is a lack of research on development of language teachers’ teaching competencies in research universities. Informed by the institutional perspective and the framework of Scholarship of Teaching, this study investigates the development of 16 language teachers’ teaching competencies in Beijing research universities. The findings show that language teachers’ teaching competencies include English proficiency, professional ethics, pedagogical content knowledge, reflective thinking, and research-informed teaching. Factors influencing language teachers’ teaching competencies range from the department level to the university level and the academia level. Pathways are proposed from the cultural-cognitive perspective, the normative perspective, and the regulative perspective to develop teaching competencies of language teachers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

15 pages, 4496 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Project-Based Learning as a Method for Interdisciplinary Adaptation to Climate Change—Reda Valley Case Study

by Dominika Wróblewska and Romanika Okraszewska

Sustainability 2020, 12(11), 4360; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12114360 - 26 May 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3809

Abstract

The challenges of the global labour market require university authorities to extend traditional forms of education into more innovative and effective solutions. Project-based learning (PjBL) is one of highly effective methods for acquiring knowledge and teaching “soft” skills to future employees. This article describes an experimental use of PjBL at a university with a long history of teaching based on traditional methods—the Gdansk University of Technology. The experiment was conducted in the academic year 2017–2018, in collaboration with the city of Wejherowo. The project’s main goal was to solve the city’s real problems related to climate change, land development and water management. The project was implemented experimentally as part of two subjects: spatial planning, and monitoring and environmental management to ensure an interdisciplinary approach and cover the scope of the project fully. The results of the experiment confirmed the evidence-based advantages of PjBL. However, several methodological, organisational and technical problems, which need to be resolved before a new edition starts, were encountered during the experimental implementation of the method. The experiment was positively received by students, clients, and tutors. To evaluate the impact of PjBL on spatial planning education, the new edition must include a methodological framework for evaluation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

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21 pages, 304 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Sustainability and Transformation in Higher Educational Settings: A Utopia or Possibility?

by Lili-Ann Wolff and Peter Ehrström

Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4176; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12104176 - 20 May 2020

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 6532

Abstract

Social sustainability is a dimension of sustainability that has received little attention. Our aims in this article are to create a definition of social sustainability based on a comprehensive literature study, and to discuss the implementation of the concept in higher education settings at theoretical and practical levels. We also aim to answer the question of whether it is possible to achieve a socially sustainable and transformative practice in educational contexts. Our approach in the study is critical and reflective and, firstly, built on a literature review including policy documents, research articles and books on sustainability from the perspectives of education and social studies. Secondly, we provide examples of practice from four university sustainability courses. In these courses, social sustainability appears in an interdisciplinary and a sustainable leadership framework. The conclusion from this study is that it is possible to implement social sustainability in various ways at the course level. We identify elementary features at basic, personal and educational levels that facilitate the implementation. However, we see the inclusion of social sustainability as the only way to reshape education and rethink the role of educational institutions. In this reshaping, ethics is the core. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

9 pages, 509 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainability: Nutrition and Dietetic Students’ Perceptions

by Sarah Burkhart, Michele Verdonck, Theresa Ashford and Judith Maher

Sustainability 2020, 12(3), 1072; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12031072 - 03 Feb 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4271

Abstract

Opportunities exist for nutrition and dietetic (N&D) professionals to contribute to sustainable development and support actions towards the attainment of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SGD’s). Students undertaking higher education are well-placed to develop skills and capabilities in creative and critical problem solving for sustainability. However, there is limited literature exploring nutrition and dietetic students’ perceptions of sustainability that would help to inform an effective and constructively aligned embedding of sustainability content and active learning opportunities into curriculum. This descriptive cohort study design utilised a 17-question online survey to explore 95 Australian N&D undergraduate students’ self-reported familiarity with and perceived importance of sustainability and related concepts, and view of sustainability for future practice. Participants reported being more familiar with the term environmental sustainability and related concepts than economic or social sustainability. Varying levels of familiarity of 42 sustainability related concepts within economic resilience, environmental integrity, social development and cross-cutting issues were reported. Most participants (82%, n = 78) reported sustainability was very important in general (82%, n = 78), and for professional practice (63%, n = 60). Over half of the participants identified government led initiatives to address the future of society (65%, n = 71). Our study highlights the complexity of sustainability in a discipline specific context and the need for understanding students’ perceptions of sustainability to inform N&D curriculum design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Education and Scholarship in Higher Education)

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