Sustainability teaching using case-based debates

Panikos Georgallis,Kayleigh Bruijn

doi:10.1108/jieb-03-2021-0039

Panikos Georgallis, Kayleigh Bruijn

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1108/jieb-03-2021-0039

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Abstract

PurposeGiven today’s pressing societal challenges, business schools are increasingly expected to incorporate sustainability in their curricula. Yet, while research on corporate sustainability is on the rise, there is less innovation in teaching methods as most institutions rely on traditional methods to teach sustainability in the classroom. This paper aims to present the case-based debate as an appropriate teaching method for exposing students to the complexity of business sustainability issues.Design/methodology/approachThe pedagogical background of the traditional case method and the debate method have been analyzed to provide an integrated understanding of the benefits of combining the two in the case-based debate. Building on the authors’ experiences from using case-based debates in the classroom, the paper describes what a case-debate is and how it can be implemented.FindingsThe paper offers a practical tool that can be used to teach sustainability in business schools and other educational institutions. Case-based debates can elicit active participation, support the development of students’ critical thinking skills and improve reflexivity by compelling students to seriously and actively engage with opposing viewpoints on a given issue.Originality/valueThis paper presents a hybrid approach for sustainability teaching that combines the benefits of the traditional case method with those of an in-class debate. The case-based debate method has received little attention in educational research and business sustainability teaching practice but can serve multiple teaching objectives relevant to sustainability teaching.

Highlights

Pressing sustainability challenges threaten our economies and societies
This paper presents a hybrid approach for sustainability teaching that combines the benefits of the traditional case method with those of an in-class debate
We present the method and its usefulness for sustainability teaching in Sections 3 and 4

Summary

Introduction

Pressing sustainability challenges threaten our economies and societies. Issues such as climate change and the deterioration of ecological systems have negative impacts on human health, species extinction, agricultural yields, freshwater availability and the erosion or inundation of coastal areas (IPCC, 2021). A variety of teaching methods have been used to educate business students, including but not limited to lectures and tutorials, debates, simulations, role-playing, the case method and site-visits (Brown and Guilding, 1993). Considering that sustainability teaching requires an experiential and active learning approach that fosters critical thinking, reflexivity and problem-solving skills (Springett, 2005; Kalamas Hedden et al, 2017), there are various teaching methods available such as role play and site-visits (Collins and Kearins, 2007, 2010). As we will argue below, the advantages of this method render it very suitable for teaching sustainability-related courses. It has received scarce attention in educational research (Austin and Packard, 2009; Doran et al, 2011) and teaching practice (see Appendix for further details). Before elaborating on the practice of case-based debates, we first discuss, the pedagogical background of the two teaching techniques it relies on: the case method and the debate method

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion