A Tale of Two (or More) Sustainabilities: A Q Methodology Study of University Professors’ Perspectives on Sustainable Universities

Abstract

Abstract:If change for sustainability in higher education is to be effective, change efforts must be sensitive to the institutional culture in which they will be applied. Therefore, gaining insight into how institutional stakeholders engage with the concept of sustainable universities is an important first step in understanding how to frame and communicate change. This study employed Q methodology to explore how a group of professors conceptualize sustainable universities. We developed a Q sample of 46 statements comprising common conceptions of sustainable universities and had 26 professors from Dalhousie University rank-order them over a quasi-normal distribution. Our analysis uncovered four statistically significant viewpoints amongst the participants: ranging from technocentric optimists who stress the importance of imbuing students with skills and values to more liberal arts minded faculty suspicious of the potential of sustainability to instrumentalize the university. An examination of how these viewpoints interact on a subjective level revealed a rotating series of alignments and antagonisms in relation to themes traditionally associated with sustainable universities and broader themes associated with the identity of the university in contemporary society. Finally, we conclude by discussing the potential implications that the nature of these alignments and antagonisms may hold for developing a culturally sensitive vision of a sustainable university.

Strategic Planning for Sustainability in Canadian Higher Education

“…Prior research has highlighted academic autonomy (i.e., freedom of inquiry of faculties and faculty members) as a significant mediating factor in the uptake of sustainability [40][41][42]. This significance has been explained in two main ways.…”

“…To set the stage for introducing this typology further, it is helpful to appreciate some of the ways in which higher education structures and decision-making processes intersect with ambitions of SHE. The shifting and complex governance structures of higher education have often been cited as a barrier to innovation in SHE, including in relation to both entrenched and emergent aspects of the higher education sector [2,3,31,40].…”

Educating for Sustainability: Perspectives and Critical Notes on Accounting Scholars’ Role in Higher Education

“…State of sustainability and state of education include different levels: no change (or "token"); cosmetic reform (education about sustainability); serious greening (education for sustainability) or wholly integrative (sustainable education). A common vision for sustainability in higher education requires institutional change efforts toward sustainability (Sylvestre et al, 2014). However, despite the diffused conviction that universities bear a profound moral obligation to promote ideals of sustainability by incorporating them throughout their institutional dimensions, cultural barriers and resistances to organisational change still exist.…”

“…Exploring lecturers' beliefs about, and understandings of, sustainable development and their views on incorporating it into the curriculum, Cotton et al (2009) revealed a diversity of understandings of 'education for sustainable development' and a range of views on the appropriateness of including sustainable development in the curriculum. In addition, a specific research stream has been developing on Education for Sustainability (EfS) (Corcoran and Wals, 2004;Cotton et al, 2007;Sherren, 2008;Shephard, 2010;Teisl et al, 2010;Sylvestre et al, 2013Sylvestre et al, , 2014Christie et al, 2015) However, the vast literature reveals a highly subjective nature of thinking about the roles of higher education and its teachers with respect to education for sustainability. Shephard and Furnari (2013) attempted to make sense of the complex phenomenon through the viewpoints provided by university teachers.…”

“…However, despite the diffused conviction that universities bear a profound moral obligation to promote ideals of sustainability by incorporating them throughout their institutional dimensions, cultural barriers and resistances to organisational change still exist. Universities have proved somewhat resistant to fully engaging with the concept of sustainability in an institutionally holistic fashion; change efforts are often confounded by substantial institutional inertia (Sylvestre et al, 2013(Sylvestre et al, , 2014.…”