Implementation Of Education For Sustainability Research Articles

When teaching habits meet educational innovation: problematic situations in the implementation of sustainability education through ‘open schooling’

In the face of the global sustainability crisis, schools and teachers are called on to transform education and implement educational innovations to strengthen sustainability education. One of these innovations is ‘open schooling’: educational practices that involve students in identifying, exploring, and tackling real-world sustainability problems in the school environment and the local community. Such – often externally driven – innovations can disrupt teachers’ habitual ways of thinking and acting and create what John Dewey calls ‘problematic situations’. This article reports on explorative case studies in Belgian and Swedish schools that establish open schooling practices through LORET - Locally Relevant Teaching. It presents and discusses six different types of problematic situations that were observed as implementing LORET disturbed established teaching habits. Teachers experienced difficulties (1) to plan lessons starting from a sustainability challenge, (2) to take the students along in an authentic quest for solutions, (3) to plan lessons not knowing what the students’ input will be, (4) to collaborate among teachers, (5) to define and coordinate the roles of teachers and non-school partners, and (6) to create lesson plans and teaching materials from scratch.

Implementation of Education for Sustainability in Turkish Pre-Service Teachers’ Practicum

In this study, we explored early childhood education pre-service teachers’ (ECEPTs’) understanding and pedagogical application of education for sustainability (EfS) by critically analyzing EfS implementation during ECEPTs’ practicum. The study examined the challenges and critical aspects of EfS practices in the practicum, and the relationships among mentor teachers, academic mentors, and ECEPTs. A multiple case study methodology was employed involving two purposefully distinct universities with 14 participant students across the two university case study sites. Initially, 22 practicum activity plans for each ECEPT were examined via content analysis; then, the students were individually interviewed about the plans and their implications. Subsequent analysis indicated negligible differences between the two universities’ student activity plans regarding quality (aspects of EfS) and quantity (frequency of EfS activities). The students self-reflected about their EfS understandings and implementation. Additionally, they remarked that academic mentors’ and mentor teachers’ stances influenced them either positively or negatively during their workplace-based learning. They also pointed to the absence of a whole-institution approach, not only at the practicum school but also at the university level.

The Presence of Sustainability in Hungarian Geography Textbooks

The Lucerne Declaration on Geographical Education for Sustainable Development recommends including the subjects of Education for Sustainable Development and sustainability in Geography teaching all over the world. One possible way to examine the practical implementation of education for sustainability is through textbook analysis. The present study investigates how Hungarian textbooks published after 2015 perform in terms of ESD. In order to do that, it conducts content analysis the help of the MAXQDA 2020 programme, looking for the presence of Sustainable Development Goals and competencies related to sustainability in the analysed educational media. The results show that Geography in Hungary has an ecological approach to teaching about sustainable development. Sustainability issues relevant to society are less emphasized. Textbooks written in a modern, problem-centric spirit pay a lot of attention to competence development. However, ESD only appears in the studied textbooks sporadically; there is no evident competence development concept present in them in a planned, structured format.

Greening the operating room, one procedure at a time

Abstract Background/Purpose There is growing interest within the anesthesia community regarding sustainability practices. A quality improvement initiative at a large, urban, academic medical center provided anesthesia practitioners education to promote change in practice to reduce our overall carbon footprint in the operating room. This endeavor provided cost-savings to the healthcare system and positioned the anesthesia department as environmental advocates. Methods Institutional Review Board approval was granted for non-human subject research. A retrospective chart review was completed examining inhalational agent usage and fresh gas flow rate over thirty days (n = 304). Next, an education on sustainability practices with an overview of inhaled anesthetics and their impact on the environment, based on global warming potential, was delivered during department grand rounds. Afterwards, data was collected for 30 days with the same sampling technique (n = 285). Six weeks later, desflurane vaporizers were removed from anesthesia machines. After removal, data was collected once again to determine desflurane usage (n = 289). Results A retrospective chart review of 878 patients undergoing general anesthesia showed an average baseline usage of desflurane at 8.3%. A reduction to 3% was noted after implementation of sustainability education. Desflurane usage further decreased to 0.3% after desflurane vaporizer removal. Discussion This quality improvement initiative resulted in cost savings and provided a significant environmental impact while providing the tools for a conscious, deliberate decision in care based on current literature to decrease global warming impact while preserving the practitioners right to choose an inhalational agent.

Education for Sustainability

This article argues for the implementation of Education for Sustainability (EfS) through the Humanities learning areas in primary education, as together they can deliver powerful knowledge, concepts, skills, values and actions that prepare students to create and participate in a more sustainable future. To overcome barriers to EfS, such as, lack of teacher preparedness, conceptual understanding, enthusiasm and confidence in teaching controversial issues, greater exposure to and experience in EfS not only during pre-service teacher education, but also as continued professional development, is critical to encourage and support teachers in implementing meaningful and transformative EfS practices into their teaching It is widely recognised that establishing a democratic classroom environment and taking a student-centred constructivist approach to teaching and learning strategies, including the cooperative learning, questioning, discussion and an inquiry-based learning model, are the best suited processes and pedagogical practices for EfS.

Implementação da educação para a sustentabilidade no Ensino Fundamental: uma revisão

Escassa abordagem sobre sustentabilidade na educação básica trará impacto significativo para um futuro próspero e sustentável da humanidade. Portanto, o objetivo do presente estudo é analisar artigos de pesquisa sobre a implementação da educação para a sustentabilidade (EpS) no ensino fundamental, publicados após a aprovação da Agenda 2030 até março de 2020. Para tanto, realizou-se buscas sistematizadas nas bases SciELO, Google Scholar e ERIC, utilizando-se de processos de exclusão em diversas etapas, que findaram em 10 artigos revisados. Os resultados apontaram para a existência de lacunas nas literaturas sobre as maneiras de como a EpS vem sendo abordada no contexto da sala de aula do ensino fundamental, apesar da sua importância perante a atual situação de insustentabilidade do planeta. Os artigos analisados consideram importante a EpS, devido contribuir para mudar conhecimentos, valores e atitudes rumo a um futuro sustentável; além do mais, mostram dificuldades na implementação de EpS nas práticas educativas cotidianas, devido à complexidade de implementação, além de resistência por partes de alguns professores em inovar na prática educacional. Portanto, essa revisão pode ser útil, por informar as atuais abordagens educacionais relativas à implementação da sustentabilidade no ensino fundamental, assim como para a proposição de práticas inovadoras da EpS nesse nível de ensino.

When relational capabilities walk in education for sustainability scenario

Since higher education institutions are considered relevant catalysts in the formation of future business leaders, the concern for sustainability issues can take place in such institutions through the so-called Education for Sustainability. However, there are challenges higher education institutions face to implement it, as well as facilitating elements to overcome such challenges. In this scenario, this paper highlights the importance partnerships have, as facilitating elements, in all fronts needed to overcome challenges for education for sustainability’s implementation in higher education institutions. Also, the role relational capabilities play as key-element for the success of partnership development is proposed. Thus, a Proposition is developed, as well as a conceptual framework for overcoming challenges for the implementation of education for sustainability in such institutions, considering the relevance of using the relational capabilities’ perspective to better comprehend and develop partnerships for education for sustainability in higher education institutions. This paper’s originality consists in filling a gap in the literature of this research domain, since there are no studies that discuss Education for Sustainability and Relational Capabilities, jointly. It is expected that this paper provides relevant insights regarding the importance of developing the dimensions of relational capabilities to increase the chances of success of partnerships between higher education institutions and other actors with which they relate.

An associational study on pre-service early childhood teachers’ nature relatedness in education for sustainability

There is significant global concern with current environmental problems, yet people’s behaviour towards the environment has been resistant to change. Young people have the opportunity to bring about desirable changes through environmental behaviours and attitudes. The goal of this study is to better understand the scope of nature relatedness as an attribution interacting with pro-environmental behaviours for Turkish pre-service early childhood teachers. We examined the associations between the domains representing nature relatedness and also sought to identify any differences in nature relatedness with respect to their year of enrolment in a teacher education program. The participants were 402 students attending an Early Childhood Teacher Education Program at one of the two public universities in the capital of Turkey. A Turkish-adapted version of the Nature Relatedness Scale developed by Nisbet, Zelenski, and Murphy was administered to gather the data. Participants were found to have a mostly positive external nature-related worldview. Furthermore, the statistical analysis indicated non-significant differences in their nature relatedness with respect to the year of enrolment in the teacher education program. In terms of the relationships between the constructs representing nature relatedness, the internalized identification with nature was positively correlated with two constructs which refer to his/her physical familiarity as well as attraction to nature, and how individual’s relationship with the environment is provoked by his/her behaviour. This research indicates that pre-service teachers, who are regarded as important agents for the future implementation of sustainability education, are actually lacking in their nature relatedness constructs and need to develop key competencies in a field that presupposes that they have already acquired sufficient experience of physical and emotional interaction with nature.

Teacher Education for Sustainable Development in Pakistan: Content Analysis of Teacher Education Curriculum and Standards

Teacher education is a key space in implementation of sustainability education. The current study aimed at investigating the status of education for sustainable development in teacher education of Pakistan. The study employed content analysis of the key teacher education documents developed during the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014). The documents included in the study were: National Accreditation Standards for Teacher Education Programmes; National Professional Standards for Teachers; and B.Ed. (Honours) Curriculum. The content analysis indicated that education for sustainable development had been only partially addressed in the national documents on teacher education. Only 5% of content of the B.Ed. curriculum deals with sustainability. Similarly, National Professional Standards for Teachers and Standards for Teacher Education Programmes were found deficient in terms of their focus on sustainability education. The study findings indicate a dire need for mainstreaming of education for sustainable development in teacher education of Pakistan. The study indicates that although teacher education reform in Pakistan occurred during the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, it did not incorporate the elements of sustainability education. This raises questions about the implementation of international initiatives across all the countries.

Meaningful Learning and The Integration of Responsible Management Education in the Business School Courses

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in responsible management education. Integration of the principles of responsible management education (PRME) within the core curricula of business schools and management education-related institutions calls for the creation of innovative pedagogies and educational approaches. Responding to the inherent challenges associated with the development and implementation of education for sustainability within existing business‐related education, this paper seeks to discuss a teaching initiative of introducing Model United Nations (Model UN) as a classroom activity for undergraduate students. The main purpose of research presented in this paper is to explore students’ experience of engaging in Model UN debates around topics related to the sustainable development goals as defined in the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development (for example, youth unemployment, climate change, poverty, etc.). Model UN is traditionally known as an extra-curricular educational simulation of the United Nations where students play their roles as delegates from different countries and endeavour to solve real world issues using the policies and perspectives of their assigned country as well as policies and procedures of the United Nations. In this paper Model UN is proposed as a classroom engagement activity which assists undergraduate students in recognising the complexity of international negotiations and reflecting on challenges associated with the decision making process and how it affects the sustainability agenda on the individual and societal level. This paper seeks to provide a useful insight into the practical value of Model UN simulation as a means to facilitate meaningful learning on the course. It is suggested that experience of introducing Model UN as a core curricular activity, rather than one that is extra-curricular, will be of particular interest for educators who are involved in delivering sustainability-related courses or wishing to teach sustainability-related topics in globally responsible business-related education programs for undergraduate students.

Student Teachers\u2019 Workplace-Based Learning in Sweden on Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: Experiences in Practice Settings

Workplace-based learning experiences are integral to early childhood teacher education. In Sweden, the objectives of early childhood teacher education programmes require students to develop knowledge and skills about education for sustainability (EfS), in accordance with national policy documents. This includes how to work with EfS in everyday practice. The aim of this qualitative study was to critically analyse how pre-service teachers describe their workplace encounters with EfS, including dilemmas observed in practice and divergences in interpretation of EfS. The empirical data comprised 76 blogs (188 pages of text) written by pre-service teachers as a requirement for a university course report about EfS in early childhood education. A document analysis was employed to critically examine the blogs through a reflexive interpretive process. The findings were revealing of both the students’ meaning-making processes and their workplace supervisors’ understandings of EfS. The findings depict different cultures of ‘doing’ EfS in early childhood settings, reflecting pluralistic and divergent landscapes of understandings as well as an absence of transformative whole-institution approaches in the implementation of EfS.

Does Specific CSR Training for Managers Impact Shareholder Value? Implications for Education in Sustainable Development

AbstractThis study aims to analyze whether specific corporate social responsibility +CSR) training in sustainable development can boost the potential impact of CSR on shareholder value (i.e., corporate reputation, brand image, and financial value) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We also aim to determine the main implications from an educational point of view and in terms of training program and curriculum design related to sustainable development. We carry out a quantitative study using partial least squares (PLS) techniques to analyze a sample of SME owners and managers. Results suggest that specific CSR training matters, making this type of training a valuable resource for business management and for society. Therefore, it is possible to promote business management models in which sustainability and profit can coexist. However, there are still sizeable education/training gaps, especially in the field of SMEs. Our results provide a foundation for solid arguments in defense of more widespread, in‐depth implementation of sustainability education – not only at universities and business schools, but at all levels of education. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

When Policy and Infrastructure Provisions are Exemplary but still Insufficient: Paradoxes Affecting Education for Sustainability (EfS) in a Custom-designed Sustainability School

Schools willing to implement education for sustainability (EfS) commonly find themselves confronted with curricula, school grounds and buildings and teaching practices that do not lend themselves easily to best practice EfS. In this article, we present what we learned about some of the challenges confronted daily by the staff of a purpose-built sustainability primary school situated in a ‘green’ suburb in Western Australia. Over the period of a year, we regularly engaged with the staff of the school through semi-structured, in-depth interviews and classroom observations as part of an interpretive ethnographic study. We identified three key themes—policy infrastructure, physical infrastructure and pedagogical infrastructure—that serve as both affordances and counter-affordances to best practice EfS. Given the paradoxical interplay of the affordances and counter-affordances shaping the school’s implementation of EfS, we suggest that overcoming these paradoxes requires no less than a transformation of school culture.

Holding a sustainability bearing through cutty-grass and clearings: Implementing sustainability during disruptive organisational changes

Introduction Calls for increased focus on sustainability in universities worldwide are becoming more intense as we approach the end of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) (UNESCO, 2003) but the means to this end are disputed. Sustainability initiatives require innovative approaches and tolerance of complexity (Wals, 2010). While, noting that there has been some movement towards sustainability in the tertiary sector in Aotearoa New Zealand, Irwin (2010) still considers that significant barriers exist. Resources to support sustainability in higher education tend to focus on projects rather than on how change happens and by whom (Brinkhurst, Rose, Maurice, & Ackerman, 2011). Brinkhurst et al. argue that staff are a powerful force for transformation that have been under-emphasised as change agents, and at times seen as passive or as adversarial in sustainability initiatives. Hill (2012) suggests that specific examples of what teachers are implementing would be useful. Responding to such calls, this paper provides a case study from a faculty perspective on sustainability initiatives. The context is an Outdoor and Environmental Education curriculum centre (OEE Centre) in the University of Canterbury and we take an optimistic approach that seeks to inform others through illuminating our journey towards sustainability. This paper begins with an overview of the implementation of Sustainability Education in a tertiary education context. In particular we make reference to the recent research in the areas of outdoor education and sustainability education in Aotearoa/New Zealand (Covich, O'Steen, & Hewson, 2009; Hill, 2010; 2011; 2012; Irwin, 2010) and to highlight its contribution to this discussion. It then moves onto the current status of sustainability education across the University of Canterbury (UC) and reflects on a range of initiatives at the University of Canterbury College of Education (UCCE) that are part of an ongoing process of re-visioning programmes based on a 5 year strategic planning process that occurred during a highly turbulent time (Jansen & Boardman, 2011). This includes an outline of the definition for sustainability education adopted by UCCE, some specific changes that have been implemented including transformation of student assessment tasks, and the design and implementation of new and innovative courses. We describe the difficulties but also opportunities that our OEE Centre's strategic plan and subsequent sweeping organisational changes provided for sustainability education at UCCE. The clearings offered by case studies, metaphors and sustainability This paper presents a case study, illustrated with a metaphor to describe our experiences of sustainability initiative within our setting. We consider this approach to be a strength for a number of reasons and explain the terms case-study, metaphor and sustainability below. Case studies are a powerful way to share the successes of faculty and staff in sustainability implementation, and should be presented as a means to overcome barriers and motivate others (Brinkhurst et al., 2011). Case studies can provide context rich information that allows readers to identify with our situation and see possibilities in their own context. Metaphors are used frequently in presenting arguments or describing ideas. Indeed Lakoff (1995) states that "we may not always know it, but we think in metaphor" (p. 177). As outdoor educators, we have spent much time navigating in the dense bush around Aotearoa / New Zealand. Off-track travel can be exhausting and confusing, but at times highly rewarding. Much like off-track navigation, when journeying through sustainability education, openings sometimes present themselves and at other times we find ourselves in a thicket of cutty grass (1). Limited visibility and dense undergrowth often characterise off-track navigation, and we see similarities with our experiences of our sustainability initiative. …

Introducing sustainability into business education contexts using active learning

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how active learning may help address the legitimacy and practicability issues inherent in introducing education for sustainability into business‐related degree programs.Design/methodology/approachThe focus of this study is the experience of the authors in the development and implementation of education for sustainability within their business‐related higher education programs. To address the inherent challenges of the task, they apply the principles of active learning, with substantial use of problem‐based learning, in the classroom and engage in a process of staff development in their personal time. The method used is a simplified version of action research where the authors worked together over two years and then reflected on the experience through interviews and extensive discussions with each other, with their respective teaching teams, and with sustainability educators from outside of their programs.FindingsThe findings suggest that active learning approaches move learners away from dependence on (possibly illegitimate and unprepared) educators and towards a personal responsibility approach. This also means accepting that learners are free to understand sustainability in a “global” sense or instead choose only its “business as usual” applications.Originality/valueThe paper provides a useful insight into the practical value of active learning for educators grappling with the dilemma of delivering globally responsible business and/or management‐related education programs.

Introducing Sustainability into Business Education Contexts Using Active Learning

The purpose of this paper is to explore how active learning may help address the legitimacy and practicability issues inherent in introducing education for sustainability into business-related degree programmes. The focus of this study is the experience of the authors in the development and implementation of education for sustainability within their business-related higher education programmes. To address the inherent challenges of the task, they apply the principles of active learning, with substantial use of problem-based learning, in the classroom and engage in a process of staff development in their personal time. The method used is a simplified version of action research where the authors worked together over two years and then reflected on the experience through interviews and extensive discussions with each other, with their respective teaching teams, and with sustainability educators from outside of their programmes.