Stimulating boundary crossing learning in a multi-stakeholder learning environment for sustainable development

Carla Oonk,Perry Den Brok,Judith Gulikers,Martin Mulder

doi:10.1108/ijshe-04-2021-0156

Abstract

Purpose Sustainable development requires multiple stakeholders to work and learn across practices, in other words, it requires boundary crossing competence. To prepare students for their future sustainability professions, higher education should facilitate the development of boundary crossing competence in its curricula. This study aims to confirm whether boundary crossing learning can be stimulated by workshop-based support in multi-stakeholder projects. Design/methodology/approach This quasi-experimental intervention study (N = 122) investigates the effect of a series of supporting workshops on students’ boundary crossing learning in multi-stakeholder projects. The workshops allowed students to adopt four learning mechanisms (identification, coordination, reflection and transformation) theorised to stimulate learning across boundaries between practices. Students followed zero, one, or two workshops. By analysing the student learning reports, the study examines the effect of the workshop intervention on students’ self-efficacy for stakeholder collaboration, the number of reported student-stakeholder collaborative activities and the reported boundary crossing learning mechanisms. Findings The results show that a series of two workshops increase the number of reported collaborative activities and activates the students’ boundary crossing learning in terms of reflection and transformation. Research limitations/implications These findings support the evidence-based design of multi-stakeholder learning environments for sustainable development and contribute to the body of knowledge regarding learning across practices. Originality/value Boundary crossing competence receives increasing attention as an asset for sustainable development. The added value of this study lies in its confirmation that the boundary crossing theory can be translated into directed educational support that can stimulate students’ boundary crossing learning.

Highlights

Sustainable development requires collaboration between multiple societal stakeholders representing various practices, disciplines and perspectives (Scholz and Steiner, 2015).© Carla Oonk, Judith Gulikers, Perry den Brok and Martin Mulder
We argue that the boundary crossing theory, describing four learning mechanisms that catalyse learning at the boundaries, offers handles for designing supporting interventions in multi-stakeholder – boundary crossing – learning environments such as the Regional Learning Environment (RLE)
The two workshops were designed in such a way that they addressed the student-stakeholder collaborative activities needed in various stages of the RLE projects and to stimulate the boundary crossing learning mechanisms at stake in these stages

Summary

Introduction

Sustainable development requires collaboration between multiple societal stakeholders representing various practices, disciplines and perspectives (Scholz and Steiner, 2015).© Carla Oonk, Judith Gulikers, Perry den Brok and Martin Mulder. Collaboration can lead to tensions when differences between practices are ignored or remain implicit (Akkerman, 2011). These tensions should be recognised, sought, appreciated and used to enhance collaboration and come to new transformative insights (Akkerman and Bakker, 2011). This is not an easy task (Akkerman, 2011; Engeström et al, 1995). All stakeholders involved need boundary crossing competence, meaning the ability to operate and communicate across boundaries between different practices (Walker and Nocon, 2007)

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