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Models for implementing sustainable development into the universityHolzbaur, U., Jordaan, G., Wenzel, T. January 2013 (has links)
Published Article / Any effort to build up an educational framework needs an adequate structure and a formal basis. This is especially true whenever complex multifaceted issues like Sustainable Development, ethics, or project management have to be integrated in the existing setting of a university and its educational system.
In this paper, we present models for integrating Sustainable Development and Education for Sustainable Development into the university agenda. Based on the experience of the authors gained in Germany and South Africa we derive various representations for the sustainability activities and models for implementing Sustainable Development that can be used for planning, implementation and communication purposes.
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Researching and developing a humanities curriculum for sustainable development through activity theoryJones, Peter R. January 2014 (has links)
The local to global crisis facing society and the need for sustainable development has provided the impetus for this research study based on education for sustainable development (ESD). Education is often viewed as a tool for sustainable development. However, at present, it arguably reinforces inequalities and unsustainable development. This research study therefore seeks to help analyse and address this paradox in education. It focuses on the research and development of a humanities curriculum for sustainable development in a secondary school in London. It follows the journey of a group of teachers who try and bring about change through the curriculum and explores and examines the opportunities, challenges and outcomes of the curriculum activity. The main theoretical framework used in this research study is Activity Theory. This study argues that Activity Theory, based on the Vygotskian concept of unity between consciousness and activity, shares many philosophical underpinnings with education for sustainable development. The study argues that Activity Theory's expansive and holistic qualities mean that it not only has the potential to act as an effective tool to analyse the curriculum activity system but also the potential to act as a tool for learning and change. The main methodology used for the research study was loosely based on development work research (DWR). DWR applies Activity Theory in a practical and participatory manner. DWR allowed for the teachers involved in this research activity to act as research participants, with myself as the main facilitator of the change process. Through the DWR sessions the teachers were able to critically discuss research findings, examine contradictions and tensions within and beyond the curriculum activity system and identify tools that may mediate and reorientate the curriculum towards sustainable development. 14 Overall, this study shows that Activity Theory and the DWR sessions did provide an effective means to research and develop a humanities CSD. They enabled the teachers and myself to deconstruct the humanities curriculum activity system and expand this system so it became more orientated towards sustainable development. It is hoped that this research study has not only led to positive change within the local empirical field but also contributed to the more general theoretical field. The wider implication of the study suggests that greater links between ESD and AT can be of mutual benefit to each field. ESD and SD can provide the rationale for AT and help AT move more closely back to its Marxist roots, while AT has the potential to strengthen the theoretical underpinnings of ESD and act as a vehicle for change.
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Extra-curricular education for sustainable development interventions in higher educationLipscombe, Bryan Paul January 2009 (has links)
Universities are seen to have a central role in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), partly through their teaching and research activities. However, the critique of Higher Education's (HE) contribution to sustainable development thus far points to the limitations of a discipline driven, curriculum content and solely student focused response. Within this context, extra-curricular interventions, for example, running awareness campaigns, creating groups and organising events, appear to have potential to advance ESD in HE. However, there has been little investigation or published work in this area. Ideas of non formal and informal education; constructivist theories of learning; concepts of free choice, tacit and social learning, and the notions of whole systems thinking and sustainable education all point to roles for interventions in the extra-curricular sphere. This thesis explores the use of extra-curricular interventions in HE through an empirical investigation in the UK. A 2006 postal survey of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) records the extent and type of interventions in use and opinions about their utility. A case study, developed through action research, reports the use and impact of extra-curricular ESD-related interventions at one HEI over an academic year (2006-07). In this case study, regular contact with a group of staff and students over the year is used to map changes in their thoughts and actions relating to sustainable development, and to record the influences attributed to these changes. Importantly, extra-curricular ESD-related interventions are found to be commonly used in UK HE, and to have a prominent position in ESD work despite their limited visibility in the literature. Their utility is confirmed as they are seen to provide experiences that contribute to student and staff learning, as well as institutional change. The evidence collected supports their roles as: disciplinary bridge', community bridge; socialisation scaffold, and social learning arena. They appear to have a useful developmental role in mobilising and motivating members of the campus community. As peripheral activities, however, extra-curricular interventions may be prone to erratic implementation through being under-resourced. They can extend participation in BSD although will not reach everyone. They are best viewed as a complementary part of BSD and linked to a process of curricular and pedagogic renewal. In addition to confirming the extent, utility and limitations of extra-curricular ESD practice, the research contributes a model to map understandings of sustainable development. This model points to a core environmental understanding to which extra layers and strands of thinking can be added. It also confirms the importance of non formal and informal influences in shaping people's conceptions of sustainable development.
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Investigating students' learning of sustainable development through music education : an exploratory study at Key Stage 3 in EnglandCheng, Yusi January 2015 (has links)
‘Education’ is widely regarded as the primary agent of transformation towards ‘sustainable development (SD). In England, ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ (ESD) has been an established part of the National Curriculum, but in secondary schools, the subject of music, which seems to have great potential for helping in creating interest and awareness of SD to foster responsible behaviours, appears more often to be ignored. There is a growing enthusiasm for, and anecdotal recognition of, the benefits of using music in the teaching of SD issues to young people amongst educators and musicians. However, no in-depth ESD empirical research with regard to music education and few ESD good practices currently exist. To this end, the PhD, which examines the pedagogical potential of music in ESD and the role of music as a learning medium in the development of students’ capacities necessary for a more sustainable future, fills this research gap. An ethnographical intervention, informed by constructionist and symbolic interactionist approaches, is employed in this project. Sets of music-SD lessons in the lower stages of four secondary schools in London boroughs were analysed as case studies of how SD might be taught in music classrooms. Evidence suggested that it is feasible and beneficial to embed SD into the secondary music curriculum. The findings demonstrated that a transformative pedagogical approach in ESD was achieved by combining different methods for integration, including listening, composing and performing pieces of music, raps and songs on SD and creating and performing junk instruments, with a range of strategies of ESD, such as discussion, audio and visual activities, brainstorming and co-operative work, in a holistic process. For some students, compared with the traditional subjects for ESD, such as geography and science, the particular ways of learning SD within the musical context seemingly resulted in their higher level of enthusiastic, active, participative, affective and transformative learning, and thus positively affected the achievement of the outcomes of ESD, which was manifested in the development of their SD-related understandings, skills, attitudes and potential behaviours.
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Are there inherent contradictions in attempting to implement education for sustainable development in schools?Vare, Paul January 2014 (has links)
Despite being ranked according to narrow measures of pupil achievement, many schools aim to become more sustainable. Faced with indicators suggesting the rapid degradation of social-ecological systems, these schools would prefer not to be part of the problem. However, environmental education/education for sustainable development (EE/ESD) in schools does not reflect the transformative rhetoric of academic discourse. Research into this ‘rhetoric-reality gap’ has focused either on academic discourse or the psychology of individual teachers; there is a lack of critical research on teachers-in-context. This enquiry explores the notion of inherent contradictions in developing a sustainable school (however subjects define this). It applies an Activity Theory framework designed to identify contradictions within ‘activity systems’ (e.g. schools). The primary method is a semi-structured interview conducted with fifteen teachers/headteachers in twelve schools (primary and secondary). The thesis offers a resource-efficient qualitative interview process that can bring Activity Theory to school-based research with minimum disruption and outlines a streamlined process of dilemma analysis. The data highlights contradictions in the way that schools conduct EE/ESD noting that these are often not recognised by educators themselves. Five different responses to contradictions are identified, including ‘expansive learning’ that redefines the activity itself. In terms of an ESD1/ESD2 framework, this might be termed ‘ESD 3’. Four approaches that schools may adopt in relation to sustainability are also outlined. An empowering vision of schools – and society – as autopoietic systems, i.e. as both products and producers, suggests that social reality is not as inevitable as it seems. By confronting contradictions, educators demonstrate the adaptive capacity required by young people if they are to engage in remodelling their world. Finally, the thesis proposes combining a two-sided conception of ESD with Activity Theory, potentially to the mutual benefit of both. Investigating this further is one of a number of options for further research.
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Dance as a Tool for Sustainability: Possibilities and LimitsPateraki, Andriana - Christina January 2015 (has links)
This study argues that the art of dance can be used as a tool for sustainability, including matters of human rights, political oppression, awareness in environmental and ecological destruction.This thesis explores possible ways for dance to contribute to sustainable development and whether these ways are effective. It also seeks to locate the possibilities and limits of dance in comparison with other forms of art that can also be used to promote sustainability. The research was conducted by gathering data from a variety of sources including interviews, videos, a literature review and personal observation.Dance was found in many instances to be a successful way of addressing sustainability issues. The advantages of dance over other forms of art include its familiarity for most people; its capacity to uplift people’s feelings; the ease of combination with other forms of art; and the variety of choices in moves, styles and ways of addressing pressing issues. The drawbacks of dance, include the fact that dance is nonverbal and not easy to preserve or describe; as well as practical limitations facing the people involved with dance and not the art form as such.The findings from this research offer insight into the current and potential future impact of dance on sustainability issues. Dance can contribute to diverse dimensions of sustainable development, though this impact is somewhat constrained by the low status of dance in many educational systems.andriana.christina@gmail.com
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Turning off lights : how sustainable development becomes embedded in primary schools' everyday lifePaulos, Margarida Ramires January 2014 (has links)
Focusing on the ‘Sustainable schools’ strategy, a programme launched in 2006 by the former United Kingdom government, this thesis examines the relationship between sustainable development and schools. It analyses how the abstract and contested concept of sustainable development (Scott & Gough 2003), is translated into education practices in state-funded primary schools in England and Portugal. The collection of data in two different countries is explained by the fact that it was in England that the ‘Sustainable schools’ policy was developed. Portugal was selected due to a requirement from my Portuguese sponsor, providing a valuable opportunity to explore the role of the context in the development of education for sustainable development (ESD) in primary schools. Taking a sociological approach, this study explores the practices of education for sustainable development and the factors that shape those practices. It looks at the way schools make choices, what they prioritise, and what the key elements influencing the development of ESD are. ‘What does one want ESD for?’; this is the underlying question behind the research, and so practices are contrasted with motivations, interests, agendas and expected outcomes. There is no single definition of ESD, given the complexity involved, and so to accept the importance of the concept of sustainability for education is to accept something that constitutes a problem (Corcoran & Wals 2004). Sustainability itself is a normative ethical principle, not a scientific concept as such, and since it has both necessary and desirable characteristics, there is no single model of a sustainable society (Robinson 2001). By providing robust data on how schools interpret, organise, decide, and implement ESD, my research contributes to the discussion of the role of schools in the transition to a ‘fairer and greener’ world. Literature claims, policy ideas and school practices are compared and contrasted with the aim of ‘demystify’ ESD and question the intentions, the expectations and the projected ESD outcomes The key research question of this study aims to identify the limitations of ESD in the shift to a ‘greener and fairer’ world. In order to do that, this thesis researched three other sub-questions: a) how is sustainability translated into practice in state-funded primary schools? b) how important is the promotion of ESD in primary schools’ agendas? and c) how was the ‘Sustainable schools’ project designed to prepare pupils for current and future environmental and social challenges. On the search for answers, several dilemmas were identified: of teaching about sustainable development versus practising it; of promoting critical thinking versus promoting specific knowledge, values and behaviours; of accepting the sustainable development concept or challenging it; of reducing the school’s environmental impact or developing the curriculum. These must all be faced by those dealing with ESD. Using a mixed methods approach, I explored these particular issues by researching five state-funded primary schools in England, some of which considered exemplary of the best practice of ESD. The case-studies research was followed by an online questionnaire sent to selected schools in England and Portugal. The questionnaire was used mainly to develop further the understanding of the results gathered with the case studies, providing a more robust image of ESD practices and its context. My research concludes that schools value ESD and tend to deal with its complexity by dividing the main ideas within the concept of sustainable development, into specific themes and activities, such as recycling, turning off lights or growing vegetables. The development of the school’s grounds, the investment in eco-features, and the activity-based projects are the most common practices found in the different schools. In this sense, there is a significant degree of standardisation in the projects developed, combined with a diverseness of specificities explained by the context, or the way the diverse factors, such as the location, the size, and the resources of the school, are used and combined. The limitations of ESD in the shift to a ‘greener and fairer’ world are plentiful, related to schools’ internal and external constraints, revealing the need to adjust expectations and resources to the projects developed by schools.
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Integrating Intercultural Competence into Graduate Education for Sustainability ProfessionalsHurley, Elizabeth Colegrove 03 November 2023 (has links)
Sustainability professionals often lack the intercultural competencies needed to effectively engage in the cooperative, collaborative work that must be accomplished to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. Higher education institutions are well-positioned to help meet this need. However, challenges related to buy-in, time, expertise, and diverse and conflicting priorities can create barriers to developing and integrating curriculum for intercultural learning into disciplinary courses. This dissertation presents a case study that describes how graduate program faculty at Virginia Tech, where the author works, overcame these challenges to design intercultural curriculum into an online, asynchronous graduate course in global sustainability.
We began with an in-depth literature review to identify the intercultural competencies that sustainability professionals need and the pedagogical practices that support their development. The literature review indicated that sustainability professionals would be well served by having the ability to behave and communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations. This competence relies on the development of certain cognitive, behavioral, and affective skills that can be developed through increased self-awareness and other-awareness and practicing mindful engagement. Educators can support students in this by designing curriculum that moves students through the experiential learning cycle and leads to transformed meaning perspectives.
We then engaged in a curriculum redesign process to integrate these competencies and pedagogies into our graduate curriculum using a backward design approach. We empowered faculty through backward design to first articulate intercultural learning outcomes prioritized the development of related learning experiences. In addition, we organized two off-site retreats that provided participants with unstructured time together, which fostered the supportive, trusting relationships necessary for ongoing, successful collaboration and led to enthusiasm for and connection to the intercultural content that was developed. Finally, we involved faculty with expertise in intercultural competence development in the redesign process to help define intercultural concepts and develop pedagogically appropriate curriculum. Collaborative backward design enabled us to successfully develop and integrate intercultural learning into our course. This process highlighted the likely need for ongoing institutional commitment to encourage, maintain, and evaluate these efforts. It also revealed that financial constraints, institutional capacity, and an online, asynchronous format present additional barriers and challenges to the development of intercultural curriculum using a collaborative backward design approach. / Doctor of Philosophy / Intercultural competence, the ability to behave and communicate appropriately and effectively with people from different cultures, is important for professionals who work in the environmental field and must address problems that cross local, regional, and national boundaries. Although graduate programs can help aspiring environmental professionals develop intercultural competence, university faculty face challenges related to buy-in, time, expertise, and diverse and conflicting priorities that inhibit the development of relevant curriculum. This dissertation presents a case study that describes how faculty at Virginia Tech, where the author works, overcame these challenges to design curriculum for intercultural competence development into an online, asynchronous graduate course in global sustainability.
We began with an in-depth literature review of intercultural learning theory, competencies, models to understand how intercultural competence is developed and to identify intercultural competencies and instructional approaches that are the most appropriate for a graduate course in global environmental sustainability. We then engaged in a curriculum redesign effort that coupled a proven approach to curriculum with strategies to promote collaboration. We empowered faculty to first articulate intercultural competence outcomes, which prioritized the development of related learning experiences. In addition, we organized two off-site retreats that provided participants with unstructured time together, which fostered the supportive, trusting relationships necessary for ongoing, successful collaboration and led to enthusiasm for and connection to the intercultural curriculum that was developed. Finally, we involved faculty with expertise in intercultural competence development in the process to help define intercultural concepts and develop appropriate curriculum. Using a proven curriculum design process enabled us to successfully develop and integrate intercultural learning into our course. Our collaborative curriculum design process highlighted the likely need for ongoing institutional commitment to encourage, maintain, and evaluate these efforts. It also revealed that financial constraints, institutional capacity, and an online, asynchronous format present additional barriers and challenges to development of intercultural curriculum using a collaborative curriculum design approach.
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Using Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for Language Learners : Study of University Approaches / 持続可能な開発のための教育(ESD)を用いた語学学習に関する研究-学士課程教育における方法論の検討-JODOIN, Joshua John 24 September 2019 (has links)
京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地球環境学) / 甲第22102号 / 地環博第188号 / 新制||地環||37(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院地球環境学舎地球環境学専攻 / (主査)准教授 SINGER JANE, 教授 佐野 亘, 講師 BAARS ROGER CLOUD / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Global Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM
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Vindkraftsturism : En studie av teknisk turism med särskilt fokus på vindkraftsparkerNatanaelsson, Anna January 2014 (has links)
This study investigates and describes the phenomenon of ‘technical tourism’, in the case of wind power plants in Sweden. The main purpose of the study is a greater understanding of a field which to date has remained largely uncharted. Technical tourism is a type of visits to a production site, where the technical aspect of the production is the main focal point for the visitor. The definition of technical tourism is based on concepts within ‘Industrial tourism’. Technical tourism is argued to be a subcategory of Industrial tourism. The study, conducted in collaboration between KTH and Vattenfall, resulted in two complementing parts. Part one, ’Vinkraftsturism: En studie av teknisk turism med särskilt fokus på vindkraftsparker’, is a theoretical description of technical tourism (hereafter referred to as ‘Rapporten’). Part two, ‘Kommunikationsmanual: Vindkraftsturism’, a communications manual based on the results of the study and tailored for Vattenfall to use when informing various stakeholders about technical tourism (hereinafter ‘Manualen’). Material for the two parts of the thesis was gathered through interviews and literature reviews. The informants where gathered in and around one single wind park in northern Sweden. Stakeholders from both the municipality and local/regional businesses were included in the study. ‘Rapporten’ — The theoretical review of technical tourism in a wind power plant deals with benefits and conflicts which may occur when interfacing with the local community and other stakeholders. A model for stakeholder assessment is presented and used to find key relationships between involved parties. It further describes the importance of cooperation and finding common points of identification between the host company and the region. Two factors which are needed to efficiently establish technical tourism. ‘Manualen’ — The communications manual is designed with the characteristic democratic perspective of ‘Education for sustainable development’. Furthermore it presents a workshop structure and a summary of similar projects both national and international. The study showed a variety of benefits (five of them) from technical tourism, and also some potential conflicts. The study also highlighted the importance of collaboration between stakeholders, both through the informants’ statements and explored in previous academic works. It also states that the democratic process and the participants’ view of themselves as democratic subjects, are important factors when communicating technical tourism. The study presents a new definition of technical tourism. / Den här studien undersöker och beskriver fenomenet ”teknisk turism” för vindkraftparker i Sverige. Huvudsyftet med studien är en djupare förståelse för ett nytt forskningsfält som till stor del lämnats outforskat. Teknisk turism är en typ av besök i en verksamhetsanläggning, där de tekniska aspekterna av produktionsprocessen är huvudfokus för besökaren. Definitionen av teknisk turism baseras på konceptet ”Industrial tourism”. Teknisk turism hävdas vara en underkategori till Industrial tourism. Studien, som är ett samarbete mellan KTH och Vattenfall, har resulterat i två sammanhängande delar. Del ett, ‘’Vindkraftsturism: En studie av teknisk turism med särskilt fokus på vindkraftsparker’, är en teoretisk beskrivning av teknisk turism (nedan kallad ‘Rapporten’). Del två, ‘Kommunikationsmanual: Vindkraftsturism’ är en handledande kommunikationsmanual baserad på resultaten i studien, designad för Vattenfall att använda vid information om teknisk turism till berörda intressenter (nedan kallad ‘Manualen’). Materialet för de två delarna av studien samlades genom intervjuer och genom litteraturstudier. Informanterna rekryterades i anslutning till en vindkraftspark i norra Sverige. Representanter från kommunen samt det lokala näringslivet inkluderades i studien. ‘Rapporten’ – Den teoretiska genomgången behandlar potentiella möjligheter och konflikter för berörda intressenter, som kan uppstå kring en vindkraftspark med besökarverksamhet. Vidare presenteras och används en modell för analys av intressenter, för att finna nyckelrelationer mellan involverade parter. Den beskriver även vikten av att finna gemensamma identifikationspunkter och samverkan mellan värdföretaget och regionen. Två faktorer som är nödvändiga för en effektiv etablering av teknisk turism. ‘Manualen’ – Kommunikationsmanualen är utformad efter det demokratiperspektiv som karaktäriserar ’Education for sustainable development’. Den består av en färdig mall för en workshop på ämnet och även en redovisning av besöksprojekt av liknande karaktär, både från Sverige och internationellt. Resultatet visar en handfull fördelar med teknisk turism och även några potentiella konflikter. Studien belyser även vikten av samverkan mellan intressenterna, något som framkommit både via informanter och genom granskning av tidigare forskning. Studien presenterar en ny definition av teknisk turism.
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