Four Impediments to Embedding Education for Sustainability in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education institutions have an unavoidable responsibility to address the looming economic, environmental and social crises imperilling humans and ecosystems by placing 'education for sustainability' at the heart of their concerns. Yet, for over three decades, the practice of 'higher education for sustainability' (HEfS) has encountered significant barriers to implementation, begging the question as to why. Drawing on a diverse, interdisciplinary literature, we identify four structural impediments to implementing HEfS: (1) disciplinary contestation, which creates confusion over what 'sustainability' means; (2) institutional fragmentation, which prevents the interdisciplinary dialogue that sustainability demands; (3) economic globalisation, which transforms higher education into just another market opportunity; and (4) 'fast and frugal' habits of reasoning, which steer time-pressed academics towards poorly integrated decisions and unsustainable positions. Our analysis highlights that wider structural change within and beyond the academy will be required if higher education institutions are to meet their responsibilities and drive the necessary social transformation. 29Higher education institutions have a responsibility to address a nexus of systemic eco-30 nomic, environmental and social problems that imperil human and non-human futures 31 by placing 'education for sustainability' (EfS) at the centre of their concerns. This 32 responsibility is grounded in the role of these institutions in providing independent crit-33 ical analysis, educating professionals, creating new knowledge, and fostering informed

Education for Sustainable Development: An Exploratory Survey of a Sample of Latin American Higher Education Institutions

“…To discuss the results about embedding ESD in the eight Latin American universities e the structure proposed by Gale, Davison, Wood, Williams, & Towle (2015) (Figure 3) was used. They found "that different disciplines attract different values" and understandings for sustainable development and it is one impediment to establish ESD in higher education.…”

“…This analysis suggests that it is necessary an interdisciplinary dialogue towards ESD in Latin America where the view of the university as a competitive commercial enterprise (Tünnermann, 2003) needs to be challenged and maybe replaced by a more open and inclusive view that seeks the wellbeing of the different stakeholders including the community where the higher education institution operate. Adapted from the concept of Conceptions of sustainability in higher education institutions using Connelly´s approach (Gale, Davison, Wood, Williams, & Towle, 2015).…”

Exploring the current position of ESD in UK higher education institutions

“…Tilbury (2011) argues, the systemic complexity regarding ESD integration 'challenges university silos, corridors of power, and criteria and processes of decision-making'. Gale (2015) adds that there are four impediments to embedding ESD: 1. Contestation over sustainability; which challenges universities to seek a coherent approach to operationalisation 2.…”

Inspiration From the Classroom: A Mixed Method Case Study of Interdisciplinary Sustainability Learning in Higher Education

“…Within the Education for Sustainability (EfS) arena, government strategic educational policies also support the need for graduates with skills for interdisciplinary collaboration (Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2009;Scottish Government, 2010;Tilbury & Cooke, 2005), and this has led academics to establish interdisciplinary subjects and courses at many universities (Global University Network for Innovation, 2011; Jones, Selby, & Sterling, 2010). Nonetheless, the practice of implementing cross-faculty, interdisciplinary sustainability learning remains in its infancy, with key structural barriers remaining and new challenges arising, such as the corporatisation of higher education (Gale, Davison, Wood, Williams, & Towle, 2015;Granados-Sánchez et al, 2011). The literature on EfS in higher education identifies skills in interdisciplinary collaboration as critical for tackling complex and intractable issues (commonly referred to as 'wicked problems'), and sustainability and climate change are frequently cited as examples (Briggs, 2012;Jones & Watt, 2010; National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, & Institute of Medicine, 2005;Vincent & Focht, 2010).…”