Implementing Sustainability Education

In a time of unprecedented transformation as society seeks to build a more sustainable future, education plays an increasingly central role in training key agents of change. This book asks how we can equip students and scholars with the capabilities to promote sustainability and how the higher education curriculum can be changed to facilitate the paradigm shift needed. Across the globe, a rising number of higher education institutions and academics are responding to these questions by transforming their own teaching and learning and their institutions’ curricula. This book contributes to that development by examining in-depth case studies of innovative approaches and curriculum changes at multiple levels of the education sector. Elaborating key principles of higher education for sustainable development and identifying drivers and barriers to implementing sustainability in the curriculum, the book provides a comprehensive overview of what makes higher education for sustainable development a unique field of research and practice, as well as offering a coherent narrative of how change can be effected in it. This much-needed book is a valuable resource to inform, guide and inspire students, academics, administrators and community partners, whether experienced or new to the field, whether already committed or not to higher education for sustainable development in an age of transformation.

This book presents sustainable development themes across universities and introduces methodological approaches and projects to the teaching staff. It has been prepared against this background, to identify ways to better teach about sustainability issues in a university context. It contains a set of papers presented at a Symposium with the same title, held at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) in March 2017. The event was attended by a number of institutions of higher education active in this field. It involved researchers in the field of sustainable development in the widest sense, from business and economics, to arts and fashion, administration, environment, languages and media studies. Sustainability is seldom systematically embedded in the curriculum at higher education institutions. Yet, proper provisions for curricular integration of sustainability issues as part of teaching programmes across universities are an important element towards curriculum greening. The aims of this book are: (i) to provide teaching staff at universities active and/or interested in teaching sustainable development themes with an opportunity to document and disseminate their works (i.e. curriculum innovation, empirical work, activities, case studies practical projects); (ii) to promote information, ideas and experiences acquired in the execution of teaching courses, especially successful initiatives and good practice; (iii) to introduce methodological approaches and projects which aim to offer a better understanding of how matters related to sustainable development can be tackled in university teaching. Last but not least, a further aim of this book, prepared by the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP) and the World Sustainable Development Research and Transfer Centre (WSD-RTC), is to catalyse a debate on the need to promote sustainable development teaching today.

In a time of unprecedented transformation as society seeks to build a more sustainable future, education plays an increasingly central role in training key agents of change. This book asks how we can equip students and scholars with the capabilities to promote sustainability and how the higher education curriculum can be changed to facilitate the paradigm shift needed. Across the globe, a rising number of higher education institutions and academics are responding to these questions by transforming their own teaching and learning and their institutions’ curricula. This book contributes to that development by examining in-depth case studies of innovative approaches and curriculum changes at multiple levels of the education sector. Elaborating key principles of higher education for sustainable development and identifying drivers and barriers to implementing sustainability in the curriculum, the book provides a comprehensive overview of what makes higher education for sustainable development a unique field of research and practice, as well as offering a coherent narrative of how change can be effected in it. This much-needed book is a valuable resource to inform, guide and inspire students, academics, administrators and community partners, whether experienced or new to the field, whether already committed or not to higher education for sustainable development in an age of transformation.

Prioritizing Sustainability Education presents theory-to-practice essays and case studies by educators from six countries who elucidate dynamic approaches to sustainability education. Too often, students graduate with exploitative, consumer-driven orientations toward ecosystems and are unprepared to confront the urgent challenges presented by environmental degradation. Educators are prioritizing sustainability-oriented courses and programs that cultivate students’ knowledge, skills, and values and contextualize them within relational connections to local and global ecosystems. Little has yet been written, however, about the comprehensive sustainability education that educators are currently designing and implementing, often across or at the edges of disciplinary boundaries. The approaches described in this book expand beyond conventional emphases on developing students’ attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors by thinking and talking about ecosystems to additionally engaging students with ecosystems in sensory, affective, psychological, and cognitive dimensions, as well as imaginative, spiritual, or existential dimensions that guide environmental care and regeneration. This book supports educators and graduate and upper-level undergraduate students in the humanities, social sciences, environmental studies, environmental sciences, and professional programs in considering how to reorient their fields toward relational sustainability perspectives and practices.

In a fast-changing, globalising world, the teaching and implementation of a curriculum for Education for Sustainability (EfS) has been a challenge for many teachers. Issues in Teaching and Learning of Education for Sustainability highlights the issues and challenges educators and academics face in implementing EfS and gives examples of what an EfS curriculum may look like and how some institutions translate the theory into practice. Organised into three parts, the volume looks at: the who (EfS for whom), the what (EfS curriculum) and the how (translating from theory to practice). The concluding chapter provides ideas and directions on where the world can proceed regarding sustainability education and how it can help in the teaching and learning of sustainability. Considering social issues such as poverty, education, health, culture and the use of natural resources, this book proposes a different path towards Education for Sustainability. Providing concrete data on the realisation of sustainable development, Issues in Teaching and Learning of Education for Sustainability will be of interest to geographers, geography educators and professionals concerned with Education for Sustainability.

'To summarise, this book has a clear academic justification and is aptly outlined with examples of creative and relevant ideas that could easily be adapted and implemented in many fields - particularly for those subject areas that were intentionally omitted. Readers can easily navigate to their field of interest and the book would be a highly recommended resource for many, including the student market, academics, practitioners, policy makers and senior managers.'Nancy El-Farargy, A Guide to Publications in the Physical Sciences

One of the most important transformations in the world today is the adaptation to education and teaching methods that must be made to enhance the learning experience for Millennial and Generation Z students. The system in which the student is passive and the teacher is active is no longer the most effective form of education. Additionally, with the increased availability to information, knowledge transfer is no longer done solely by the teacher. Educators need to become moderators in order to promote effective teaching practices. Paradigm Shifts in 21st Century Teaching and Learning is an essential scholarly publication that examines new approaches to learning and their application in the teaching-learning process. Featuring a wide range of topics such as game-based learning, curriculum design, and sustainability, this book is ideal for teachers, curriculum developers, instructional designers, researchers, education professionals, administrators, academicians, educational policymakers, and students.