A transformative university learning experience contributes to sustainability attitudes, skills and agency

Probst, Lorenz; Bardach, Lisa; Kamusingize, Daphine; Templer, Noel; Ogwali, H.; Owamani, Amos; Mulumba, Lukman Nagaya; Onwonga, Richard N.; Adugna, Berihun Tefera

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.05.395

Cited by 38 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Learners also experience self-awareness (Papenfuss and Merritt, 2019), gain personal confidence and develop a more integrated identity, which increases their sense of agency and empowerment, as manifested by a willingness to make a change in their communities, promoting sustainable actions (Iliško, 2007;Bell et al, 2016;Piasentin and Roberts, 2017;Probst et al, 2019), expressing feelings of responsibility towards climate change (Bentz and O'Brien, 2019), assuming active roles in communal and management activities and communicating change (Bull, 2013;Davis and Boulet, 2016;Sims, 2017). This sense of agency and empowerment is also complemented by the acquisition and improvement of different managerial related skills, such as business modelling, leadership and design thinking (Cottafava et al, 2019).…”

Section: Critical Reflectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transformative learning in the field of sustainability: a systematic literature review (1999-2019)

Aboytes

Barth

2020

IJSHE

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose This study aims to investigate how transformative learning has been conceptualised and operationalised in education for sustainable development (ESD) and sustainability learning and to collect evidence on how to support transformative learning in formal and non-formal environments. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a systematic literature review to provide a structured and replicable search and analysis of the relevant literature to produce a bibliometric overview that combines a quantitative description of the body of literature and qualitative analysis of the learning processes, outcomes and conditions. Findings The convergence between transformative learning and sustainability has become an emerging field of inquiry, despite the superficial use of transformative learning theory in many studies. By examining the learning process, outcomes and conditions in the core sample of studies, this study demonstrates that transformative learning theory – if carefully studied – can contribute to the design and implementation of educational interventions and assessments of learning towards sustainability. Furthermore, the sustainability context provides an empirical grounding that highlights the fact that social learning, the role of experience and the development of sustainability competencies are inherently part of transformative learning. Originality/value To date, few attempts have been made to better understand how transformative learning theory has been used in sustainability learning and ESD research. This systematic review allows for a better comprehension of how concepts and mechanisms elucidated in transformative learning theory are operationalised in sustainability learning and ESD research and serves as a source of inspiration for those researchers and practitioners who aims to make sustainability education, teaching and learning more transformative.

show abstract

Section: Critical Reflectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transformative learning in the field of sustainability: a systematic literature review (1999-2019)

Aboytes

Barth

2020

IJSHE

112

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Attitudes and behavior when talking about Sustainability in HEIs have been studied in different disciplines, contexts, and involving different stakeholders (e.g., [15,[37][38][39][40]).…”

Section: Sustainability Attitudes and Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Spanish Students Become More Sustainable after the Implementation of Sustainable Practices by Universities?

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are a critical component to develop and promote sustainable solutions for both society and the planet. A challenge to HEIs is to provide students with the knowledge and skills required to achieve Sustainable Development (SD), as they are important stakeholders. In order for a person to take responsibility for a sustainable future, it is not only important to implement SDs in higher education, but to follow the progress of the individuals’ awareness of the sustainable world and lifestyle. This study aimed to analyze students of Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), focusing on their attitudes, behaviors, and level of knowledge concerning education for sustainable development (ESD), to better understand the situation of students in terms of learning and applying sustainability. The students’ perception of the University practices and initiatives, as well as pedagogical methodologies for promoting and learning SD, were also examined. An online survey was applied to undergraduate students from several faculties at UAM, and a sample of 504 students returned from a total population of 30,000 students. Descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out and included Chi-square tests, correlation analyses, and ANOVA analyses for independent and repeated measures. The results reveal good levels for the three dimensions (global Index > 3.5), with consistency demonstrating the highest correlation between attitudes and behaviors, although differences between faculties were identified. Knowledge has the highest score among all faculties. In addition, the results point to a need to better communicate the initiatives promoted, as well as to realign some learning methodologies with students’ preferences. The most important contributions of the paper are as follows: Shedding fresh light on the knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral dispositions of university students and improving strategies concerning education in higher education institutions. Furthermore, it is relevant to say that UAM has pushed sustainability in environmental management and education, so it is also important to assess the impact of these initiatives. Our research aimed to help understand how students incorporate sustainability into their attitudes and behaviors, and whether this incorporation depends on the type of faculty. It also makes it possible to verify whether the sustainability measures implemented by universities are identified and applied by their students.

show abstract

“…Building on students' knowledge, making knowledge relevant, and posing and solving real life problems are essential elements of critical-empowering pedagogy and transformative EE or EfS. Freire's insights have influenced the development of the transformative learning approach which "center[s] on personal transformation" [27] (p. 198) that occurs as students' frames of reference change through a critical learning process [28]. The transformative learning literature argues that EE/EfS should encourage attitudes and behaviors that lead to individual and social change [28].…”

Section: Environmental Education and Education For Sustainability: Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Freire's insights have influenced the development of the transformative learning approach which "center[s] on personal transformation" [27] (p. 198) that occurs as students' frames of reference change through a critical learning process [28]. The transformative learning literature argues that EE/EfS should encourage attitudes and behaviors that lead to individual and social change [28]. Therefore, this approach necessitates an engagement with ethical, emotional and political questions in order for faculty to assist students in achieving personal and possibly social transformation [27].…”

Section: Environmental Education and Education For Sustainability: Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflections on the Transformative Power of Environmental Education in Contemporary Societies: Experience from Two College Courses in Greece and the USA

Marouli

Duroy

2019

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the current information-saturated world of knowledge societies, universities are at risk of training technical experts who hold myopic views of the future, and leaders who are ill-equipped to address the systemic nature of current global ecological, economic, and political crises. In this context, and taking into account the obstacles posed, and the opportunities provided, by contemporary societies, the current paper discusses the design and implementation of courses which not only rely upon, but also increase the transformative power of Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainability (EfS) within Higher Education. We rely on our experience in two college courses, in Greece and the USA, to provide reflections on the integrative, interdisciplinary and collaborative dimensions of EE/EfS and on their ability to challenge neoliberal discourse that permeates contemporary knowledge societies. The qualitative methodology utilized in the paper rests on a self-study research approach and on end-of-term course evaluations filled by the students. We propose that successful design and implementation of EE/EfS courses depends upon the instructors’ (and their institutions’) ability to democratize and rethink the classroom (beyond its physical limits and into the community), to help students self-examine their place in the system, and to create assignments that test the learning process rather than learning outcomes.

show abstract

A transformative university learning experience contributes to sustainability attitudes, skills and agency

Cited by 38 publications

References 48 publications

Transformative learning in the field of sustainability: a systematic literature review (1999-2019)

Transformative learning in the field of sustainability: a systematic literature review (1999-2019)

Do Spanish Students Become More Sustainable after the Implementation of Sustainable Practices by Universities?

Reflections on the Transformative Power of Environmental Education in Contemporary Societies: Experience from Two College Courses in Greece and the USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About