This master’s thesis delves into the inner dimension of Sustainability, aspiring to highlight the vitality of Human Values (HV) in creating durable societal change. Its purpose is to identify particular (individual and communal) values that can be vital in transformations, as well as to underline the role of Education in reinforcing them. Guiding questions for the research were the following: i) what sorts of character qualities are beneficial to be stimulated in individuals through pedagogical practices to facilitate Sustainability changes, and ii) how Education for Sustainability can contribute to achieving that mission? To answer the questions, both theoretical literature and a pedagogical application were examined. Firstly, through reviewing relevant texts focused on Human Values (HV), Environmental Ethics (EE) and Sustainability Ethics (SE). Secondly, a two–week ethnographical based research in ‘‘Arillas’’ outdoor pedagogical project on Corfu - Greece, to explore their pedagogical ethos and praxis. Aiming to frame a holistic view of the project’s pedagogical approaches, the ethnographic research was conducted with field–observations, dialogues, a video–stimulated recall with the teacher and official document investigation. Based on the ethnographic findings and the theory of Human Values developed by Shalom S. Schwartz, this study synthesizes and proposes the value framework of Eutopía, consisted by three core egoistic, altruistic and biospheric values: Autenérgeia, Synérgia and Symbíosis.

This study aims to investigate current attitudes towards Sustainable Development among students and evaluate their correlation with two theories of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Namely, the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) theory, that emphasises the intersection of three pillars: Profit, People, and Planet; and the Four Components theory, which integrates Socio-economic, Environmental, Legal, and Moral & Ethical dimensions.   The Four Component theory is a recently developed approach that builds upon similar concepts from the TBL model but also incorporates additional critical factors. The research seeks to explore the extent to which these theories influence students' attitudes towards Sustainable Development.   This study intends to provide insights into the role of educational theories in shaping students' attitudes towards Sustainable Development, highlighting potential gaps in current educational practices and the need for more comprehensive approaches to education for sustainable development, ESD. By performing a quantitative study using a self-completion questionnaire, data were collected and analysed with the programme IBM SPSS. The results showed a significant impact on the attitudes towards sustainable development among students from the factors of: People, Socio-economic, Environmental and Legal. The Legal factor yielded a negative impact on the attitudes towards sustainable development whereas the others yielded a positive impact.    The study concluded that neither one of the frameworks, Triple Bottom Line or The Components, offered a complete structure for education for sustainable development on their own. A discussion was brought up imploring the potential of a new framework incorporating the People dimension from Triple Bottom Line together with the Socio-economic-, and Environmental components from the Four Components theory. This framework shows a potential way forward for education for sustainable development and the need for it based on the positive attitudes attained during the study.

Yes / Universities are increasingly being seen as key sites for transformation around sustainability. However, much of the literature in this area uses the terms transformation and transformative learning rather uncritically. Moreover, there is little extant research which has investigated the links between transformative learning theories and Education for Sustainability (EfS). This paper reports on a research project which explored academic and student perceptions of the opportunities for transformation around sustainability in two UK universities. The findings suggest that, despite shared understanding about the nature of pedagogic approaches that promote deep learning, academics are wary about promoting transformation beyond the professional sphere and students are more likely to have transformative experiences outside the formal curriculum. There are indications that although universities have significant potential as sites for transformation around sustainability, at present, this is not being achieved.

The provision of environmental education towards sustainability with reference to the Inner City Enviro Centre in Tshwane is a comprehensive research project that describes the establishment and development of the Inner City Environmental Centre over a six-year period. This research focuses on the informal education sector and the methods used by centres, both locally and internationally to provide environmental education and / or education for sustainability. The Inner City Enviro Centre is used as a case study. The development of the ICEC is investigated in terms of the objectives it was to fulfil. The achievements and difficulties that the ICEC experienced are examined. This was done using document analysis and by interviewing those involved. This information was then assimilated and helped the researcher to make informed, objective judgements concerning the ICEC. Educators working on a project with the ICEC were given questionnaires which asked questions relating to environmental education and excursions. The data collected from findings is used to provide guidelines for future development of the ICEC and for others who might want to embark on similar projects. / Further Teacher Education / M.Ed. (Environmental Education)

Nationwide, higher education institutions are increasingly interested in infusing sustainability content into their curricula. The world is facing complex and interconnected problems creating a need for college graduates with an understanding of the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability. There is a shortage of research studying sustainability-related teaching practices, particularly in higher education contexts. The University of Vermont (UVM) recently established Sustainability Learning Outcomes (SLOs) as a general education requirement. As a result of this initiative, sustainability-designated courses are offered across the university that fulfill the requirement, creating a unique opportunity to explore related teaching practices. The purpose of this study was to explore how instructors structured and taught the SLOs, how students learned UVM's SLOs, and which teaching practices students found helpful to their learning, within courses designed to meet this general education requirement. To systematically gather people's perceptions of and experiences with the new general education requirement, this study used the following methods: 1) instructor interviews; 2) course document reviews; 3) classroom observations; 4) student focus groups; and 5) an online student survey. Data were collected from eight sustainability-designated courses. The variety of data collection methods enabled identification and triangulation of strong themes. Instructors used class discussions, papers, readings, projects, guest speakers, case studies, and reflective activities to teach sustainability content and skills. Students reported the following teaching practices as particularly helpful: experiencing a real world application, discussing sustainability issues in class, exploring different perspectives, and hosting guest speakers. Moreover, certain instructional methods may be better received with students with prior exposure to sustainability content. Findings suggest that learning from case studies, guest speakers, and written papers may be more helpful to students with higher levels of prior exposure to sustainability courses. This study's findings add to what we know about how instructors teach sustainability content and students' experiences of their teaching practices. They also suggest a number of implications for policy and practice around supporting professional development opportunities in teaching practices and assessment strategies, creating a teaching culture of experimentation and reflection, and using a variety of methods to assess teaching and learning.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Claudine Brunnquell.pdf: 1435362 bytes, checksum: b2f6a5318afde1a1aa27da0111ad9002 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The discussion of sustainability has been gradually incorporated into the teaching agenda of business schools from around the country, which requires changes to the content traditionally taught in business schools agenda. In this way, the teaching of sustainability, facing a critical and transformative learning, are intended to guide students in reflection and action as people engaged in sustainability discourse, seeking to empower them to act as changing-agents within organizations and society . This dissertation sought to make a contribution by proposing a study that sought to describe and analyze the proposals to incorporate sustainability in different disciplines of Administration courses at Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in Brazil, according to the concepts of critical reflection and transformative learning. The intention was to observe in the experiments reported, the extent to which teaching strategies used in the classroom represented assumptions of critical and transformative way. To this end, we conducted a basic interpretive qualitative study from the documentary analysis of 32 cases qualified for the second stage of an entrepreneurial contest that awarded education initiatives for sustainability in business and economics. Interviews with 10 teachers participating in the contest were conduct from different higher education institutions in the country. The theoretical framework was supported by discussions of Education for Sustainability, bringing the assumptions of critical reflection, discussed mainly by Springett (2005) and Tilbury and Wortman (2004), and transformative learning, based on Mezirow (2003) and Taylor (2010). To analyze the relevant actors to the teaching of sustainability, this study relied on Cortese (2003), Wright (2002, 2004) and Grennspoon (2008) researchs, as well as Kearins and Springett (2003), Gonçalves-Dias, Belloque and Herrera (2011), Melo (2012), Welsh and Murray (2003) and Stubbs and Cocklin (2008) to discuss the experiences in the classroom. With regard to interdisciplinaries approaches, this study was based on Fazenda (2011), Barbieri and Silva (2011) and Demajorovic and Silva (2012). As a result, the experiments revealed both positive and innovative initiatives of teachers, but also clear limitations. On the one hand, the contest instigated meaningful experiences and promoted the debate of sustainability into the classroom. As limitations, most of education proposals presented an instrumental character, with objectives that are not allowed to establish a discussion that evoke some aspect of critical reflection and transformative learning. Even so, many proposals were not only limited by pragmatic aspects of sustainability debate, since these goals were intended to promote a reflection of a role about business organizations in a society that should be sustainable, as well as values, culture, ethics, corporate social responsibility, with the clear purpose of involving students in discussion and their responsabilities as a transforming agent of unsustainable reality that we live. The experience clarified sometimes the lack of support from colleagues and the HEI itself in the conduct of the proposal. Furthermore, the inclusion of the theme was not institutionalized nor remained in the curricula after the contest in all cases. Finally, the study showed a picture of a set of educational actions for sustainability in different disciplines of Administration, which may serve for future studies aiming to discuss the issue in the light of the ideals of critical reflection and transformative. / A discussão sobre sustentabilidade vem sendo paulatinamente incorporada na agenda de ensino de escolas de Administração de todo país, o que impõe mudanças no conteúdo tradicionalmente ensinado em escolas de negócios. Nesse sentido, o ensino da sustentabilidade voltado para uma aprendizagem crítica e transformadora se propõe a guiar os estudantes na reflexão e na ação como pessoas engajadas no discurso da sustentabilidade, buscando capacitá-los para agir como agentes de mudança dentro das organizações e na sociedade. Esta dissertação pretendeu dar sua contribuição ao propor um estudo que buscasse descrever e analisar as propostas de incorporação da sustentabilidade em distintas disciplinas dos cursos de Administração em Instituições de Ensino Superior no Brasil, à luz dos conceitos de reflexão crítica e aprendizagem transformadora. A intenção foi observar, nas experiências relatadas, até que ponto as estratégias de ensino utilizadas em sala de aula representavam pressupostos de natureza crítica e transformadora. Para tanto, conduziu-se um estudo qualitativo interpretativo básico, a partir da análise documental dos 32 casos práticos classificados para a segunda etapa de um Concurso empresarial que premiou iniciativas de educação para sustentabilidade em Administração e Economia. Além disso, foram conduzidas entrevistas com 10 docentes participantes do Concurso de diferentes instituições de ensino superior do país. O referencial teórico se sustentou pelas discussões de Educação para Sustentabilidade, trazendo os pressupostos de reflexão crítica, discutidos principalmente por Springett (2005) e Tilbury e Wortman (2004), e aprendizagem transformadora, baseado em Mezirow (2003) e Taylor (2010). Para analisar os atores relevantes ao ensino da sustentabilidade, esta investigação se apoiou nas pesquisas de Cortese (2003), Wright (2002; 2004) e Grennspoon (2008), bem como em Kearins e Springett (2003), Gonçalves-Dias, Belloque, Herrera (2011), Melo (2012), Welsh e Murray (2003) e Stubbs e Cocklin (2008) para discutir as experiências em sala de aula. No que se refere às abordagens interdisciplinares, esta pesquisa apoiou-se em Fazenda (2011), Fazenda (2011), Fazenda (2011), Fazenda (2011), Fazenda (2011), Fazenda (2011), Fazenda (2011), Fazenda (2011), Fazenda (2011), Fazenda (2011), Barbieri e Silva (2011) e Demajorovic e Silva (2012). As experiências revelaram tanto aspectos positivos e inovadores das iniciativas docentes como também claras limitações: o Concurso fomentou experiências significativas e impulsionou o debate da sustentabilidade para dentro das salas de aula, porém, a maioria das propostas de ensino apresentou um caráter instrumental, com objetivos que não permitiam estabelecer uma discussão que evocasse algum aspecto da reflexão crítica e da aprendizagem transformadora. Muitas propostas não se limitaram a aspectos pragmáticos do debate da sustentabilidade, uma vez que os objetivos se pretendiam promotores de uma reflexão sobre o papel das organizações empresariais em uma sociedade que se pretende sustentável, bem como valores, cultura, ética, responsabilidade social corporativa. As experiências deixaram transparecer, por vezes, a falta de apoio de colegas e da própria IES na condução da proposta. A inserção do tema não foi institucionalizada nem permaneceu nos currículos após o concurso em todos os casos. O estudo apresentou um retrato de um conjunto de ações educacionais voltadas para sustentabilidade em distintas disciplinas de Administração, que podem servir para estudos futuros que pretendam debater o tema à luz do ideário da reflexão crítica e da aprendizagem transformadora.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:25:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sandra Lays Gathas Carvalho.pdf: 1404380 bytes, checksum: 09fd8b5ca603f1b1fd6d63b59c626fd7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / One of the reasons for the rising interest in education for sustainability among business schools is the belief that it has a central role in the education of a new generation capable of thinking and acting by principles that go beyond the economic reasons. In the international academic sphere studies have grown in number as well as in diversity of approaches. Despite the global scenario, the discussion of sustainability in higher education in Brazil is still under disseminated in practices that integrate education, environment and society as well as in the literature supporting the academic debate. Thus, the present study objective was to discuss the meanings of education for sustainability in higher education and the consequences for the education of the future generation of business administrators. The intention was to reflect upon the experiences of the directors and deans of undergraduate courses on the integration of sustainability in business education in the context of Brazilian universities, promoting a debate on its specificities, difficulties and advances in contrast to the international context. To achieve its objective, a basic qualitative study was conducted with 17 business schools in the north, south and southeast of Brazil. The data collection strategy included interviews and document analysis. It starts with a discussion of sustainability, based on the works of Sachs (1995), Wright (2004) and Shriberg (2002). After that a discussion of the international literature on education for sustainability reviews European, North and Latin American, South-Pacific, African and Brazilian researchers. At the end the works of Down (2006), Beringer (2007), Beringer, Wright e Malone (2008), Lozano-García, Huisingh and Fabián (2009) are explored to present the experiences of integrating sustainability into higher education. The results indicate that at one side the insertion of sustainability in the business schools curricula has shown advances in the last years. Experiences are being conducted in most of the studied schools in terms of curricula, research, community extension, student opportunities, academic staff development, inclusion of sustainable goals in the vision and mission declarations and even in the university governance and administration. At the other side, the experiences show there is still a distance from meaningful changes that may affect the presuppositions of the business education. It is important to mention this scenario is not a prerogative of the Brazilian context, as studies of Calder e Clugston (2003), Tauchen and Brandli (2006) and others indicate this is an international issue. Nonetheless, this does not minimize the need for a significant effort from the Brazilian schools for the advancement of alternative models towards an education for sustainability. / Entre as razões do crescente interesse pelo tema educação para sustentabilidade nas escolas de administração, está a crença de que esta tem um papel central na formação de uma nova geração capaz de pensar e agir por princípios que vão muito além das preocupações de cunho econômico. Na esfera acadêmica internacional, estudos se multiplicaram nas últimas duas décadas, tanto em número quanto em diversidade de abordagens. Apesar de um cenário global promissor, no Brasil, por sua vez, a discussão da educação para sustentabilidade no ensino superior ainda é pouco disseminada, tanto nas práticas que relacionam educação, meio ambiente e sociedade nos cursos de educação superior, quanto na literatura que sustenta as discussões acadêmicas a respeito do tema. Assim, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo discutir os significados de educação para sustentabilidade nas instituições de ensino superior e suas implicações para a formação da nova geração de administradores. A intenção foi refletir sobre as experiências dos responsáveis pela direção e coordenação dos cursos de graduação na inserção da sustentabilidade no currículo de administração de empresas, no contexto brasileiro, promovendo um debate sobre suas especificidades, dificuldades e avanços em relação às tendências mundiais nesse campo. Para tanto, um estudo qualitativo foi conduzido com diretores e coordenadores de 17 cursos de graduação nas regiões nordeste, sul e sudeste do país. As principais estratégias de coleta de dados foram entrevistas em profundidade e análise documental. Parte o estudo de uma discussão sobre sustentabilidade, suportada por autores como Sachs (1995), Wright (2004) e Shriberg (2002). Em seguida procede-se a uma análise da literatura internacional sobre educação para sustentabilidade, revisando autores europeus, norte-americanos, africanos, latino-americanos e outros. Por fim, recorre-se a Down (2006), Beringer (2007), Lozano-García, Huisingh e Fabián (2009), para discutir experiências de inserção da educação para sustentabilidade. Os resultados indicam que, por um lado, a inserção da sustentabilidade no currículo das escolas de administração e negócios brasileiras têm demonstrado avanços nos últimos anos. Experiências já estão sendo conduzidas como as que se observou na maior parte das escolas participantes do estudo em termos de currículo, pesquisa e extensão, participação de alunos, capacitação de docentes, inclusão de metas sustentáveis nas declarações de visão e missão e, até mesmo na gestão universitária. Por outro lado, as experiências também indicam a distância que se tem de qualquer iniciativa nos cursos de administração que sinalize um rompimento ou uma revisão dos pressupostos que há anos vêm fundamentando a formação do administrador. É importante que se diga, contudo, que este cenário também não é prerrogativa do contexto brasileiro, as pesquisas de Calder e Clugston, (2003), de Tauchen e Brandli (2006), entre outros, indicam uma preocupação mundial nesse sentido, que não minimiza, em nada, a necessidade de um empenho significativo de nossas escolas de administração em fazer avançar modelos alternativos que respondam ao que se espera de uma formação para a sustentabilidade.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:25:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sandra Lays Gathas Carvalho.pdf: 1395555 bytes, checksum: 8ae7ff71fcbeef3e7ae99724b400d32a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-25 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / One of the reasons for the rising interest in education for sustainability among business schools is the belief that it has a central role in the education of a new generation capable of thinking and acting by principles that go beyond the economic reasons. In the international academic sphere studies have grown in number as well as in diversity of approaches. Despite the global scenario, the discussion of sustainability in higher education in Brazil is still under disseminated in practices that integrate education, environment and society as well as in the literature supporting the academic debate. Thus, the present study objective was to discuss the meanings of education for sustainability in higher education and the consequences for the education of the future generation of business administrators. The intention was to reflect upon the experiences of the directors and deans of undergraduate courses on the integration of sustainability in business education in the context of Brazilian universities, promoting a debate on its specificities, difficulties and advances in contrast to the international context. To achieve its objective, a basic qualitative study was conducted with 17 business schools in the north, south and southeast of Brazil. The data collection strategy included interviews and document analysis. It starts with a discussion of sustainability, based on the works of Sachs (1995), Wright (2004) and Shriberg (2002). After that a discussion of the international literature on education for sustainability reviews European, North and Latin American, South-Pacific, African and Brazilian researchers. At the end the works of Down (2006), Beringer (2007), Beringer, Wright e Malone (2008), Lozano-García, Huisingh and Fabián (2009) are explored to present the experiences of integrating sustainability into higher education. The results indicate that at one side the insertion of sustainability in the business schools curricula has shown advances in the last years. Experiences are being conducted in most of the studied schools in terms of curricula, research, community extension, student opportunities, academic staff development, inclusion of sustainable goals in the vision and mission declarations and even in the university governance and administration. At the other side, the experiences show there is still a distance from meaningful changes that may affect the presuppositions of the business education. It is important to mention this scenario is not a prerogative of the Brazilian context, as studies of Calder e Clugston (2003), Tauchen and Brandli (2006) and others indicate this is an international issue. Nonetheless, this does not minimize the need for a significant effort from the Brazilian schools for the advancement of alternative models towards an education for sustainability. / Entre as razões do crescente interesse pelo tema educação para sustentabilidade nas escolas de administração, está a crença de que esta tem um papel central na formação de uma nova geração capaz de pensar e agir por princípios que vão muito além das preocupações de cunho econômico. Na esfera acadêmica internacional, estudos se multiplicaram nas últimas duas décadas, tanto em número quanto em diversidade de abordagens. Apesar de um cenário global promissor, no Brasil, por sua vez, a discussão da educação para sustentabilidade no ensino superior ainda é pouco disseminada, tanto nas práticas que relacionam educação, meio ambiente e sociedade nos cursos de educação superior, quanto na literatura que sustenta as discussões acadêmicas a respeito do tema. Assim, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo discutir os significados de educação para sustentabilidade nas instituições de ensino superior e suas implicações para a formação da nova geração de administradores. A intenção foi refletir sobre as experiências dos responsáveis pela direção e coordenação dos cursos de graduação na inserção da sustentabilidade no currículo de administração de empresas, no contexto brasileiro, promovendo um debate sobre suas especificidades, dificuldades e avanços em relação às tendências mundiais nesse campo. Para tanto, um estudo qualitativo foi conduzido com diretores e coordenadores de 17 cursos de graduação nas regiões nordeste, sul e sudeste do país. As principais estratégias de coleta de dados foram entrevistas em profundidade e análise documental. Parte o estudo de uma discussão sobre sustentabilidade, suportada por autores como Sachs (1995), Wright (2004) e Shriberg (2002). Em seguida procede-se a uma análise da literatura internacional sobre educação para sustentabilidade, revisando autores europeus, norte-americanos, africanos, latino-americanos e outros. Por fim, recorre-se a Down (2006), Beringer (2007), Lozano-García, Huisingh e Fabián (2009), para discutir experiências de inserção da educação para sustentabilidade. Os resultados indicam que, por um lado, a inserção da sustentabilidade no currículo das escolas de administração e negócios brasileiras têm demonstrado avanços nos últimos anos. Experiências já estão sendo conduzidas como as que se observou na maior parte das escolas participantes do estudo em termos de currículo, pesquisa e extensão, participação de alunos, capacitação de docentes, inclusão de metas sustentáveis nas declarações de visão e missão e, até mesmo na gestão universitária. Por outro lado, as experiências também indicam a distância que se tem de qualquer iniciativa nos cursos de administração que sinalize um rompimento ou uma revisão dos pressupostos que há anos vêm fundamentando a formação do administrador. É importante que se diga, contudo, que este cenário também não é prerrogativa do contexto brasileiro, as pesquisas de Calder e Clugston, (2003), de Tauchen e Brandli (2006), entre outros, indicam uma preocupação mundial nesse sentido, que não minimiza, em nada, a necessidade de um empenho significativo de nossas escolas de administração em fazer avançar modelos alternativos que respondam ao que se espera de uma formação para a sustentabilidade.

Submitted by Rosina Valeria Lanzellotti Mattiussi Teixeira (rosina.teixeira@unisantos.br) on 2016-08-09T14:35:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Meilyng Leone Oliveira.pdf: 1097255 bytes, checksum: 9ecc06441f27179418a3d8cf6ac3c2fa (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-09T14:35:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Meilyng Leone Oliveira.pdf: 1097255 bytes, checksum: 9ecc06441f27179418a3d8cf6ac3c2fa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-14 / This study's main axis Sustainable Development and how the education can be impactful in terms of environmental responsibility. The existing legal framework in Brazil on the subject provides for environmental education and education for sustainability, be applied in a holistic and cross-sectional shape, in relation to formal education as informal, and the study focused on education for sustainability in higher education institutions, even if performing empirical research with academics in the cities of Santos, São Vicente and Guaruja, in order to check at what stage is the education for sustainability in the universities of the region. / O presente estudo tem como eixo principal o Desenvolvimento Sustentável e de que modo a Educação pode ser impactante em termos de responsabilidade socioambiental. O arcabouço jurídico existente no Brasil sobre o tema prevê que a Educação Ambiental, bem como a Educação para a Sustentabilidade, seja aplicada de forma holística e transversal, tanto em relação à educação formal quanto à informal, tendo o presente estudo focado na Educação para a Sustentabilidade nas instituições de Ensino Superior, inclusive, realizando-se pesquisa empírica com professores universitários das cidades de Santos, São Vicente e Guarujá, com a finalidade de verificar em que estágio se encontra a Educação para a Sustentabilidade nas universidades dessa região.

The United Nations declared 2005 to 2014 to be the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. This agenda is being implemented enthusiastically in university facilities management and operations, and while research in sustainability is increasingly common, tertiary curriculum has not experienced a similar push. This thesis undertakes to explore the expressions of sustainability in the academic activities of universities, and to determine what sort of change (if any) is appropriate. It also seeks to mediate what has become a polarised debate between idealists and pragmatists around the implementation of EFS. Two key features of the work are: 1) the investigation of sustainability in the aggregate student experience, rather than individual subjects; and 2) returning to first principles to avoid a normative stance a priori.¶ A range of methods is employed adaptively through the process of this alternately broad and deep exploratory study, including: participant observation, interviews, content analysis, questionnaires, social network analysis, bibliometrics, and data clustering. A systemic approach to Canadian and Australian case work captures the diversity of institutional roles and academic motivations at play in adaptation to the EFS agenda.¶ A stasis exists between the literature around higher education curriculum for sustainability and its implementation. The problem is exacerbated by the lack of pedagogical training in most university academics. A long-standing utilitarian sectoral culture and an increasingly job-focused student market further challenge such public-good concepts as sustainability in the academy. Four simple ideas sit at the heart of 35 years of environmental and sustainability education literature, despite changes in jargon: liberal education and broad foundations; interdisciplinarity in problem-solving; cosmopolitan philosophies; and civic action. Relevant disciplinary content includes biology, environmental science, policy, philosophy, human society, economics, and culture. Most of these elements are rare in the Australian sector, which instead offers science and technology-focused environmental programs with flexible requirements. A transition to the human realm is evident in programs targeting sustainability.¶ Curriculum cannot be viewed in isolation, however, as it concerns only one of a university’s many constituencies, and one facet of academic staff scholarship. For example, even in higher education sectors more sympathetic to a diversity of university niches and curricular models, like Canada’s, sustainability offerings operate at a tension from low-cost and low-effort teaching models. So-called ‘umbrella’ networking structures on cross-cutting topics must walk a careful line to be comprehensive yet non-competitive. They present great opportunities for sustainability teaching but are almost uniformly research-focused. A distinct sense emerges that the erosion of the collective identity and activities of academe has weakened the ability of universities to respond to new information and challenges in anything but corporate, isomorphic ways.¶ Two detailed Australian cases of research, research training and curriculum development activities around sustainability paint a rich picture of the agenda. The intractability of fragmentation between disciplines is evident, even in so-called interdisciplinary units. Problem-based topics often do not have an established social network or committee structure, and priorities can differ by budget unit. Disciplines provide identity, peers and cohesive research directions that can be compelling for individual academics. The most fascinating pattern that arises during the mapping of research co-authorship and co-supervisory relationships around sustainability is the bi-directional orientation: academics collaborate outside their departmental home on papers, but within that home to mentor research students. This combination unifies two contrasting theories of social capital transmission – those preferring dense and sparse networks, respectively – and may be ideal. Students then receive consistent messages while gaining access to the largest (non-redundant) set of human and technical resources via their supervisors’ personal networks. This hypothesis should be explored further: if supported, it would have major impacts on the rhetoric around collaboration in interdisciplinary units in particular.¶ Curriculum design processes in utilitarian universities are subject to the same fallibilities in adapting to sustainability as other institutions and the wider society. Change is motivated and moderated by financial imperatives and the scale of thought is often coincident with budgets. Engagement processes are often incomplete or undemocratic, hampered by inadequate leadership and shifting membership. Group learning via research, experimentation or vigorous debate is surprisingly rare. Finally, ad-hoc or project-based academic teams are rarely mandated to tackle the causes of problems, some of which can be intractable, and are limited to treating the symptoms. Incremental pragmatism may be a necessary element to university adaptation for EFS.¶ A number of recommendations are offered to improve interdisciplinarity and university values more generally. Individual academics should: offer additive alternatives to metrics and incentive schemes that maintain existing functions; act on common ground to rebuild a community of scholars; wield to the fullest the freedom in the classroom, and the opportunity to reflect, that university teaching allows; and, continue to debate ideas with passion and rigour, avoiding ‘academic correctness’. University management can contribute by: establishing a clear academic identity for the university beyond ‘excellence’, and supporting firm foundations for students based on that particular vision; taking a proactive view of course review and development and facilitating experimentation in those settings; intentionally fostering interdisciplinary units differently to disciplinary ones; and, establishing and recognising equivalence across a range of successful academic career archetypes.¶ This methodologically innovative work also suggests opportunities for extending the research, including: refining and testing the sustainability canon developed here; better understanding collaborative behaviour and the impact of various models of supervisory teams on student career paths; and, finding better ways of defining, modelling and evaluating interdisciplinary scholarship. Sustainability is likeliest to emerge from a healthy and independent tertiary sector, than one operating as an overt policy instrument.