Strengthening Sustainability Programs and Curricula at the Undergraduate and Graduate Levels (2020) / Chapter Skim
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3 Strengthening Sustainability Programs
3 Strengthening Sustainability Programs
Pages 59-82
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From page 59... ...
With interest high among current and incoming students and the ever-increasing need to balance societal trajectories between the lower bounds for human wellbeing and the upper environmental planetary boundaries, many higher education institutions are looking to create or expand their sustainability education programs and offerings. INSTITUTION-WIDE CONSIDERATIONS A symposium convened through the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2015 took an institution-wide view of the successful design and implementation of sustainability programs (Hart et al., 2016)
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From page 60... ...
COMPETENCIES AND CAPACITIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION The growth in sustainability programs at colleges and universities and the demand for graduates of these programs has led to concerted efforts to define the key competencies that sustainability graduates should acquire. The effort aligns with broader work to define competencies for 21st century learning.
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From page 61... ...
We accordingly discuss several frameworks that developers and leaders of sustainability education programs can draw upon as their institutional needs and strengths allow so as to incorporate the competencies and capacities needed for stronger sustainability education. A number of studies describe the competencies needed for 21st century learners.
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From page 62... ...
A substantive effort to describe competencies for sustainability education was conducted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Steering Committee on Education for Sustainable Development (UNECE, 2012)
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From page 63... ...
(2011) "embrace the convergence that sustainability education should enable students to analyze and solve sustainability problems, to anticipate and prepare for future sustainability challenges, as well as to create and seize opportunities for sustainability." Fundamental to this strategy is teaching students the skills to develop scenarios of desired, plausible futures; to explore strategies or interventions to get there; and to make sure those transitions are effective and equitable.
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From page 64... ...
FIGURE 3-2 The five key competencies in sustainability (shaded in grey) as they are linked to a sustainability research and problem-solving framework described in Figure 3-1.
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From page 65... ...
Sustainability competencies identified in the different sustainability education research efforts align well with each other. Given the range of key competencies relevant to sustainability education, no single learner can expect to become an expert across the suite of competencies.
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From page 66... ...
(2011, 204) note that key competencies "provide the reference scheme for transparently evaluating student learning and teaching effectiveness," as well as serve as a "critical reference point for developing the ambitious knowledge and skill profile of students expected to be future ‘problem solvers,' ‘change agents,' and ‘transition managers.'" Specifically, defining core competencies in sustainability education can serve the following purposes: • To describe how activities in sustainability programs relate to larger frameworks, including the university as a whole in its goals for general education and to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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From page 67... ...
CONTENT AREAS IN SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION In addition to learning competencies, the committee sought to understand the content knowledge sustainability students need to learn at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Workshop participants, a review of existing programs, and committee members' own experience suggested a range of topics that are needed to understand and address 21st century sustainability challenges.
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From page 68... ...
At the graduate level, sustainability programs, which may engage students from a variety of undergraduate disciplines, have to provide a foundational understanding of sustainability principles, competencies, and capacities, but the expectation is for students to develop depth in specific content, methods, or approaches (including depth in specific competencies and capacities)
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From page 69... ...
The need for this kind of data is also discussed in Chapter 4 as part of an agenda for research on sustainability education programs. Educators and end users at the workshops shared key perspectives on valued skills in sustainability.
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From page 70... ...
When one workshop participant wondered whether an executive education degree would cannibalize longer, more traditional programs, an administrator whose sustainability program offers both types of programs said they appeal to different audiences and do not detract from either one. Workshop participants discussed the need to adapt courses to focus on thematic issues, such as ecosystems and climate change, supply chain evaluation, and corporate social responsibility.
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From page 71... ...
While some students will prefer to gain knowledge about a broad number of topics in sustainability, others will prefer to specialize in more targeted areas. In both cases, sustainability students and graduates will need to collaborate with others to address sustainability challenges, which can be more easily achieved if students have a baseline understanding of various content areas relevant to sustainability, including the history of sustainability, ethics and social justice, data analytics, business administration, sustainability science, and Indigenous knowledge and culture.
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From page 72... ...
. In the past 15 years, sustainability programs have begun to offer courses, research, and other opportunities to help students understand the constructs of the natural environment and ecosphere, the human and social environment, the built environment, the intersections and interdependencies between these environments, and the implications for sustainable development.
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From page 73... ...
. Many sustainability education programs already offer experiential learning opportunities, such as the Coastal Science and Policy Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz (see Box 3-1)
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From page 74... ...
degree involves interdisciplinary coursework and a capstone planning seminar wherein students apply theory-of-change principles (Abson et al., 2017; Meadows, 1999) and methods (e.g., design for impact at scaleb)
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From page 75... ...
For example, the International Sustainable Development Studies Institute in Thailand offers U.S. college students a "People, Ecology, and Development" semester to focus on "understanding the broader challenges of sustainable development though experiential studies of specific landscapes and cultures in the villages, mountains, coasts and islands throughout Thailand" (Ritchie, 2013)
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From page 76... ...
Examples of community-led design of sustainability programs are highlighted in Box 3-2. BOX 3-2 Community-Led Design of Solutions to Sustainability Challenges Workshop participants emphasized the need for students to be exposed to ef forts that are community designed and led as an important aspect of sustainability education.
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From page 77... ...
Several solutions were suggested, but this is a central challenge for improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in sustainability education (see also Chapter 4)
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From page 78... ...
On the other hand, students also need familiarity with how organizations work, learn, and change through practical experience in organizational contexts -- whether through apprenticeship, internships, or other opportunities to engage decision makers and leaders of diverse organizations. At the Santa Cruz workshop, student participants discussed what they had learned about organizational change theory.
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From page 79... ...
; to develop their ability to discern and address the historical and contemporary trajectories and con sequences of sustainability processes; and to apply their learning in experiential learning settings (community, organizational, service) so that learners can be more effective implementers of effective transitions toward sustainability.
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From page 80... ...
2019. Competencies and pedagogies for sustainability education: A roadmap for sustain ability studies program development in colleges and universities.
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From page 81... ...
2013. Sustainability education, experiential learning, and social justice: Designing community based courses in the Global South.
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