Organizational learning II: Theory, method and practice

The emerging academic field focused on sustainability has been engaged in a rich and converging debate to define what key competencies are considered critical for graduating students to possess. For more than a decade, sustainability courses have been developed and taught in higher education, yet comprehensive academic programs in sustainability, on the undergraduate and graduate level, have emerged only over the last few years. Considering this recent institutional momentum, the time is seemingly right to synthesize the discussion about key competencies in sustainability in order to support these relatively young academic programs in shaping their profiles and achieving their ambitious missions. This article presents the results of a broad literature review. The review identifies the relevant literature on key competencies in sustainability; synthesizes the substantive contributions in a coherent framework of sustainability research and problem-solving competence; and addresses critical gaps in the conceptualization of key competencies in sustainability. Insights from this study lay the groundwork for institutional advancements in designing and revising academic programs; teaching and learning evaluations; as well as hiring and training faculty and staff.

http://reforma.fen.uchile.cl/Papers/Key%20Competences%20in%20Sustainability%20Framework%20-%20Wiek,%20Withycombe,%20Redman.pdf

Key competencies in sustainability: a reference framework for academic program development

Embedded Case Study Methods: Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Knowledge

Future-oriented higher education: Which key competencies should be fostered through university teaching and learning?

Universities play an important role in shaping the future of the world society in terms of sustainable development by generating new knowledge as well as contributing to the development of appropriate competencies and raising sustainability awareness. During the last years, many universities have undertaken activities for implementing Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD). Many have asked which key competencies are most relevant for sustainable development and hence should be developed in future-oriented higher education. Different approaches for the selection of sustainability key competencies have been developed, but there is little international agreement in the debate around the most important key competencies. Consequently, this paper asks which individual key competencies are crucial for understanding central challenges facing the world society and for facilitating its development towards a more sustainable future, and thus identifies those competencies which should be fostered through university teaching and learning. The empirical design of the study is related to a Delphi study in which ‘sustainability key competencies’ are defined by selected experts from Europe (Germany, Great Britain) and Latin America (Chile, Ecuador, Mexico). The results show that twelve key competencies crucial for sustainable development can be identified; the most relevant ones are those for systemic thinking, anticipatory thinking and critical thinking.

Future-Oriented Higher Education: Which Key Competencies Should Be Fostered Through University Teaching and Learning?

Transition to sustainability is a search for ways to improve the social capacity to guide interactions between nature and society toward a more sustainable future and, thus, a process of social learning in its broadest sense. Accordingly, it is not only learning that is at issue but education and educational science, of which the latter is about exploring the preconditions of and opportunities for learning and education—whether individual or social, in formal or informal settings. Analyzing how educational science deals with the challenge of sustainability leads to two complementary approaches: the ‘outside-in’ approach sees the idea of sustainability influencing educational practice and the way the relationship of learning and teaching is reviewed, theoretically as well as within the social context. In an ‘inside-out’ approach, an overview is given of how educational science can contribute to the field of sustainability science. An examination of the literature on education and sustainability shows that, while sustainability features prominently in one form or another across all sectors, only little work can be found dealing with the contributions of educational science within sustainability science. However, as sustainability is a concept that not only influences educational practices but also invites disciplinary contributions to foster inter- and transdisciplinary research within the sustainability discourse, the question remains as to how and to what extent educational science in particular can contribute to sustainability science in terms of an ‘inside-out’ approach. In this paper, we reconstruct the emergence of education for sustainable development as a distinctive field of educational science and introduce and discuss three areas of sustainability research and throw into relief the unique contribution that educational science can make to individual action and behavior change, to organizational change and social learning, and, finally, to inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration.

Learning for change: an educational contribution to sustainability science

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the particular character of the research and development project “Sustainable University – Sustainable development in the Context of University Remits” which lies both in its integrative perspective on universities and the attempt to transfer its findings onto other higher education institutions.Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the testing and further development of transdisciplinary research methods (transformative approach, scenario development) for the purpose of both exploring and testing potentials/capabilities for sustainable development of a single institution (case study: University of Luneburg, Germany) against the backdrop of sustainability concept; and making this kind of development transferable to other universities. The paper offers additional reinforcement of strategic scope/effectiveness by means of reference to findings of higher education research (e.g. relevance of neo‐institutionalism)Findings – There is empirical evide...

Transferability of approaches to sustainable development at universities as a challenge

Routledge Handbook of Higher Education for Sustainable Development

I. Mapping Sustainability Communication 1. Sustainability Communication - An Introduction 2. Strong Sustainability as a Frame for Sustainability Communication 3. Sustainability Communication an Integrative Approach 4. Sustainable Communication as An Inter- and Transdisciplinary Discipline II. Framework of Sustainability Communication 5. Sociological Perspectives on Sustainability Communication 6. Psychological Aspects of Sustainability Communication 7. Media Theory and Sustainability Communication 8. Communication Theory and Sustainability Discourse 9. Communicating Education for Sustainable Development 10. Sustainability Communication: A Systemic-constructivist Perspective III. Practice of Sustainability Communication 11. Climate Change as an Element of Sustainability Communication 12. Biodiversity and Sustainability Communication 13. Communicating Sustainable Consumption 14. Corporate Sustainability Reporting 15. Computer Support for Cooperate Sustainability Communication 16. Participation: Empowerment for Sustainable Development Index

Sustainability communication : interdisciplinary perspectives and theoretical foundations

The development of the term sustainability communication is accompanied by the call for responsible human interaction with the natural and social environment. This entails a process of social understanding that deals with the causes and with possible solutions. The task of sustainability communication is to critically evaluate and introduce an understanding of the human-environment relationship into social discourse. Alongside defining and providing a theoretical framework for mutual understanding, this chapter will describe issues, concepts and methods relating to sustainability communication.

Gerd Michelsen

Papers

Learning for change: an educational contribution to sustainability science

Transferability of approaches to sustainable development at universities as a challenge

Routledge Handbook of Higher Education for Sustainable Development

Sustainability communication : interdisciplinary perspectives and theoretical foundations

Sustainability Communication – An Introduction