Learning Experiences of a Participatory Approach to Educating for Sustainable Development in a South African Higher Education Institution Yielding Social Learning Indicators
Abstract:A principle of sustainable development is that environmental matters are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens. The UN has identified a gap between innovative teaching and learning methods and a participatory approach at institutions of higher education (IHE) to support interdisciplinary action. This paper shares the learning experiences of pre-service teacher students who took part in a participatory approach to educating for sustainable development in a South African IHE. A survey res… Show more
“…At the curriculum level, the economic, social, environmental, and other cross-cutting dimensions that enable sustainability is addressed (Berríos-Villarroel et al, 2021; Jimenez et al, 2021; Lozano et al, 2019; Nguyen et al, 2020). Regarding educational approaches, the literature shows an interest in participatory pedagogies, action-oriented learning and the development of sustainability competencies (Carrapatoso, 2021; de Sousa, 2021; Filho et al, 2021; Wals, 2014). Within these approaches, pedagogies of creative problem-solving and enquiry learning focused on child, and adolescent leadership were also envisioned (Green & Somerville, 2015).…”
Previous studies have suggested the importance of sustainability in all organizations; however, their application to schools as an organization is limited. This study aims to characterize sustainability in primary and secondary catholic schools. The theoretical framework is based on the theories of resources, capabilities and stakeholders because they relate most directly to organizational sustainability. The method consists of three interrelated parts. First, a bibliometric analysis with four clusters was obtained in the first model of understanding (1.0). The second stage consisted of a content analysis, which elicited meanings by screening2,710 records and deepening 200 research studies with the model (2.0). Then, in the third stage, an exploratory analysis was carried out through interviews with a group of Latin American education experts who manage almost 300,000 students in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, and Chile; the data were analyzed using the text mining technique with discourse analysis. The results validated five categories: Management, Campus Operation, Well-being, Education for Sustainable Development, and Associativity. This study concluded that associativity in these Catholic organizations is fundamental to guaranteeing their sustainability over time and that the wellbeing category implies social and political transformation processes. Therefore, it is proposed for future research to measure these categories and systematize them as a model of sustainability management in the school as a whole and as a strategy for managing sustainability processes in the whole school.
“…At the curriculum level, the economic, social, environmental, and other cross-cutting dimensions that enable sustainability is addressed (Berríos-Villarroel et al, 2021; Jimenez et al, 2021; Lozano et al, 2019; Nguyen et al, 2020). Regarding educational approaches, the literature shows an interest in participatory pedagogies, action-oriented learning and the development of sustainability competencies (Carrapatoso, 2021; de Sousa, 2021; Filho et al, 2021; Wals, 2014). Within these approaches, pedagogies of creative problem-solving and enquiry learning focused on child, and adolescent leadership were also envisioned (Green & Somerville, 2015).…”
Previous studies have suggested the importance of sustainability in all organizations; however, their application to schools as an organization is limited. This study aims to characterize sustainability in primary and secondary catholic schools. The theoretical framework is based on the theories of resources, capabilities and stakeholders because they relate most directly to organizational sustainability. The method consists of three interrelated parts. First, a bibliometric analysis with four clusters was obtained in the first model of understanding (1.0). The second stage consisted of a content analysis, which elicited meanings by screening2,710 records and deepening 200 research studies with the model (2.0). Then, in the third stage, an exploratory analysis was carried out through interviews with a group of Latin American education experts who manage almost 300,000 students in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, and Chile; the data were analyzed using the text mining technique with discourse analysis. The results validated five categories: Management, Campus Operation, Well-being, Education for Sustainable Development, and Associativity. This study concluded that associativity in these Catholic organizations is fundamental to guaranteeing their sustainability over time and that the wellbeing category implies social and political transformation processes. Therefore, it is proposed for future research to measure these categories and systematize them as a model of sustainability management in the school as a whole and as a strategy for managing sustainability processes in the whole school.
“…The utilization of network applications such as Quizizz, Kahoot, and Mentimeter was among the interactive activities. The participatory method required relevant case scenarios, simulations, and assignments, especially in groups (Chernikova et al, 2020;de Sousa, 2021). The speaker created simulation scenarios for relevant topics, such as those in topics 5, 6, and 8.…”
The natural disaster of an earthquake with the potential to cause a tsunami is still a latent danger along the coast of West Sumatra. One of the efforts in disaster management is mitigation by building a culture of disaster preparedness in the health sector, starting with intensive training. The purpose of this training was to increase the capacity of the trainees. A total of 21 out of 25 participants fully participated in the activity. This service activity was carried out in several stages, starting from the planning and preparation stage, the implementation stage, and the evaluation stage. The training method is a participatory approach with an andragogy education model. We assessed capacity improvement objectively using pre and post-test assessment sheets. Most participants were 50-60 years old and had never participated in disaster training. Analysis using paired samples t-test showed a significant increase in participants' knowledge capacity (p<0.05), from an average of 69.4 to 91.2. An evaluation of partner satisfaction at the end of the activity completed the activities. Participants were satisfied with the material the resource persons presented and the tasks. The participants considered the duration of training sufficient. Participants expect to participate in further training for specific subjects.
“…Several global and regional conferences and agreements have been signed in the last three decades addressing global-, local-, and urban-level environment, urban sustainability, city infrastructure, transportation, public health, etc. In the early 1970s, international institutions responsible for global education, environment, and development started reviewing the role of higher education institutions in terms of promoting sustainable economic and social development nationally and globally [23]. Even though the global initiative started with "Environmental education," in 1997, the United Nations highlighted the application of "environmental education," which established the need for low-carbon-emission campus design and construction for the very first time [24].…”
Section: The Impact Of Higher Education Institutes (Heis) On Communit...mentioning
After three decades of global climate initiatives, local governments’ capabilities to implement policies and solutions have not always been effective in making the urban environment more resilient and adaptive to climate change. All the previous climatic initiatives and decisions were mostly carried out by governments or affiliated actors on global or regional scales. However, the lack of notable climate actions at the community level is evident in the current crisis of urban sustainability. To drive a radical change toward a zero-carbon transition at the city scale, massive decarbonization is required at the institutional level (academic/nonacademic campus) of a city. Among all the nongovernmental actors, it is always expected that Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) would take the lead in promoting a resilient and sustainable future for the cities through their education, research, and innovation. HEIs’ multidimensional activity resembles the “small scale model of a city” interacting with different subsystems like education, administration, transport, housing, health, etc. However, the present studies were found to be mostly based on specific regions and developed countries. In addition, the previously developed methods of assessing energy consumption and CO2 emissions at the university level lack adaptability for other countries and urban settings. Following the need for a comprehensive method of evaluating energy consumption and accelerating the zero-carbon practice to a broader scale, a new framework is proposed here for a university campus. It can be implemented regardless of the campus type and geographic and weather conditions. After implementing the evaluation methods on a 753-acre campus of Rajshahi University, the campus typology and natural resources were identified. Following that, the behavior patterns of the users in terms of energy usage and waste generation were also determined. Finally, the results show that 1900.71 tons of CO2 was emitted in the academic year 2022. The per-capita CO2 emission was 0.041 tons of CO2. To boost the zero-carbon city transition, three core parameters of scaling-up methods were taken into consideration to evaluate the benefits of zero-carbon campuses. The scalability of the zero-carbon practices was evaluated based on the ideas of (1) expansion—how educating future generations about the environment can have a long-lasting impact, (2) demonstration—adopting innovative practical and technological solutions to exhibit the benefits of zero-carbon practices to society, and (3) collaboration—building strong alliances with state and nonstate actors of the city to promote sustainability through sharing knowledge, innovation, and technology.
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