arjen.wals@wur.nl sustainability in higher education – moving from understanding to action:...
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Arjen.wals@wur.nl
Sustainability in Higher Education –Moving from Understanding to Action: Breaking Barriers for Transformation
presentation for UNICA Academic Footprint Workshop, Oslo May 3rd, 2011
Arjen E.J. Wals
Arjen.wals@wur.nl
“The conventional wisdom holds that all education is good, and the more of it one has, the better.… The truth is that without significant precautions, [it] can equip people merely to be more effective vandals of the Earth” (D. Orr).
Arjen.wals@wur.nl
Higher Education’s Response (Wals & Blewitt,
2010)
Creating environmental engineering/studies programmes (70-ties onwards)
Greening of campuses (90-ties onwards) Whole institution approaches
Sterling: denial, bolt-on, built in, whole system re-design
Arjen.wals@wur.nl
Three binaries in Higher Education: where to go?
1. Science for impact factors – science for society
2. Increasing efficiency– promoting authentic learning
3. Science as ‘commodity’ – science as ‘community’
barrier way out
Arjen.wals@wur.nl
Science for impact factors – barrier?
T1990 2000 2010
Time to read/review
n-publicationsn-scientists
Arjen.wals@wur.nl
Sustainability Competence (1)
Understanding sustainable development Systems thinking Adopting an integral view
Personal leadership and entrepreneurship Unlocking creativity, utilizing diversity Appreciating chaos & complexity Fostering collective change
Dynamics of SD
Change & Innovation
Arjen.wals@wur.nl
Sustainability Competence (2) – (Wals,2010)
Transformative learning
Trans-spatial
Gestalt
Trans-cultural
Gestalt
Trans-temporal
Gestalt
Trans-disciplinary
Gestalt
Arjen.wals@wur.nl
Third generation university – science 2.0 Scientia Techne Praxis
Focus Learning for knowing
Learning for doing
Learning for being
Knowledge produced
Propositional Practical Experiential
Stucture
Subject disciplines Crafts/Skills Issues/Competences
Teacher’s role Expert Master Facilitator
Teaching strategies
Lectures on theory Instruction Demonstrations
Real-world Projects
Research style Basic (Experimental)
Applied (Developmental)
Action (Participative)
Research goals Abstract-universal knowledge
Workplace Solutions
Contextual knowledge / Action for change
Basic philosophy
Positivism Utilitarianism Constructivism
Arjen.wals@wur.nl
A Framework for Facilitating Sustainability
University as an University as an institutioninstitution Community Community
linkageslinkages
Pedagogy, Pedagogy, learning and learning and instructioninstruction
Contents, Contents, CurriculumCurriculum
ResearchResearchFacilitating Facilitating SustainabilitySustainability
Arjen.wals@wur.nl
Key questions for today’s universities
Normatively – to what end? Epistemologically – what kind of knowledge?
what counts as knowledge? Relationally – what kind of interface with the
community/society is needed to remain relevant?
Methodologically – what kind of research methodologies are congruent with this changing role/position?
Pedagogically – what are appropriate learning processes and learning outcomes?
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