“Oh This Learning, What a Thing It Is!”—Putting Sustainability First in Teaching Techniques and in Content

Joanna Gusc,Coen Heijes

doi:10.3390/su10082803

Abstract

Although sustainability has become a strategic topic at many universities, working towards a learning approach in which sustainability is the fundament underlying and permeating the entire course is hardly straightforward. This paper is a case study on the development, the teaching, and the evaluation of one specific course that aims to achieve this. Based on (participant) observation, documents, and discussion with students and other stakeholders, we describe and analyze the results of the transformation of the course ‘advanced management accounting techniques’ for Masters students at the University of Groningen, in the academic year 2017–2018. We show how the course was transformed in a way to increase both a general, a business, and an accounting awareness of the importance of sustainability, while also applying a new teaching approach, namely lemniscate learning, to support this. Our course was the first in the faculty to make this transformation, and although the majority of the students were enthusiastic, the faculty staff was cautiously positive. In presenting our findings, we aim at supporting educators and other stakeholders at universities, by supplying a case study on the transformation of our course, and by scrutinizing the problems that we encountered, the feedback, both positive and negative, that we received, and the challenges that still face us, both on a course and a university level. Thus, we hope to be a source of inspiration and advice for others and to further advance our understanding of the dilemmas, practicalities, and challenges in working towards sustainability in teaching.

Highlights

“Oh This Learning, What a Thing It Is!” [1]
We describe the result of our efforts to include sustainability in business studies in advanced management accounting techniques
At the outset of our paper, we introduced three main challenges that universities face: (1) MOOC developments and the need for universities to focus on an approach based more on interactive contact and instruction; (2) the necessity to connect science with practical aspects; and (3) the need to integrate sustainability in all its aspects in its curriculum

Summary

Introduction

“Oh This Learning, What a Thing It Is!” [1]. Shakespeare’s famous line on learning seems to encompass an everlasting truth, as challenges still abound 400 years later. Research on the effects of online education on the regular student numbers in accounting education is lacking It may even become unsustainable in financial terms, meaning no longer attracting sufficient student numbers to continue its existence. How sustainable in terms of long-term prospect is current reductionist university teaching in general; second, how can management accounting teaching be conducted to satisfy high quality standards (i.e., educating knowledgeable humans capable of performing jobs in real world) with the ongoing trend of less interaction with practice becoming a fact nowadays; and how can we educate economically, socially, and environmentally aware graduates prepared to face the complexity of interconnectedness and contributing to radical change in the world needed to save/serve our planet? How sustainable in terms of long-term prospect is current reductionist university teaching in general; second, how can management accounting teaching be conducted to satisfy high quality standards (i.e., educating knowledgeable humans capable of performing jobs in real world) with the ongoing trend of less interaction with practice becoming a fact nowadays; and how can we educate economically, socially, and environmentally aware graduates prepared to face the complexity of interconnectedness and contributing to radical change in the world needed to save/serve our planet? The former two challenges concern the students’ perspective in particular, affecting students’ personal development and individual learning and future career opportunities

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Conclusion