InterpretingInterdisciplinarity inEnvironmentalEducation:aCanadianCaseStudy

CCUENHalifax2016IngridLemanStefanovic,

ProfessorandDean

FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENT

PlanforToday

1. Whatinspiredthisresearch2. TheCurrentSSHRC-fundedResearchProject3. Discussion

1.Whatinspiredthisresearch

• Longhistoryofinterdisciplinarity• UndergraduateandGraduatePlanning:UofTandSFU

• ESandEnvSc (scienceasrecht)

Backtothe70s:!

EricJantsch andtheOECD:• Multidisciplinary: juxtapositionwithnoapparentconnection

• Pluridisciplinary: juxtapositionofsimilardisciplines(math+physics)

• Interdisciplinary:interactionbetweendisciplines

• Transdisciplinary: acommonsystemofaxioms

World’s1st intergovernmentalconferenceonEE(organizedbyUNESCOandUNEP)

1977TbilisiDeclaration:

EnvironmentalEducation Interdisciplinary

“notjustanextrasubjecttobeaddedontotheexistingcurriculum.”

3.TheCurrentSSHRC-fundedResearch

• Universities/unitsupdateinventory• Surveyofkeyuniversityenvironmentalleaders

(to100peoplewith>30%responserate)

• Qualitative,HermeneuticInvestigationofcurriculumshifts

• Interviews• Industrysurvey

KeyQuestions

• Anyrelevantparadigmshifts?• Whatconstitutesinterdisciplinaryrigour(depthvs.breadth)?

• Roleofpraxis?• Guidelinesforprogramdelivery?• Matchindustryneeds?

AnalyzingCDNUniversities

Ofatotalof149units

Colleges 1%or2unitsFaculties 6% or9unitsSchools 10%or15 unitsDepartments 20%or30unitsInstitutes 26%or39unitsCentres 36%or54units

USAComparison:CouncilofEnvironmentalDeansandDirectors (CEDD)

OfallIEdegrees:– Almostallcontain“sustainability”concepts– 44%namedEnvironmentalScience– 25%namedEnvironmentalStudies– 31%other (Sustainability;NaturalResource;Management;UrbanandEnvironmentalPolicyetc.)

AnalyzingCDNUniversitiesListPercentagesof totalunitnames

Ofatotal of149units Notes

containingtheword‘science’or‘sciences’ 19%or28unitscontaining‘environmentalstudies’

11%or16units

containing‘sustainable’or‘sustainability’

19%or28units Frenchwastranslatedas‘durable’or ‘durabilité’

containing‘environmentalmanagement’

2%or3

containing‘management’ 5%or8units e.g.‘resourcemanagement’or‘coastalmanagement’

CEDDidealmodels:fromleasttomostpopular

1. SystemsScience(EarthSciences;Biologyetc.;analytical/diagnostic:22% ofIE)

2. PolicyandGovernance(socialsciences,humanitiesandpublicengagement;awarenessandbehaviorchange:33% ofIE)

3. AdaptiveManagement(coupledhuman-naturesystemsknowledge,problem-solvingandsolutions-oriented;meta-expertsustainability-orientedmanagement:45%ofIE)

SurveyofCDNEnvironmentalLeaders

Fromleasttomostpopular(withcaveat!)

• SystemsScience• PolicyandGovernance• AdaptiveManagement

“All3arepartofanintegratedapproach….”

SurveyResults

2-3keywordsdescribingthefields

• “management”,“adaptivemanagement”• “policy”• “systems”• “interdisciplinary”mostprevalent

SurveyResults

• Almost65%ofrespondentssaidthat“interdisciplinarity”haschangedoverthedecades

• 30%weren’tsure• Around5-6%feltthatithadnotchangedatall.

SurveyResults:Howhasmeaningofinterdisciplinaritychanged?

• “Rangeoffieldshasexploded…”• “Naturalscienceshavegraduallygotonboard”

• Lessmultidisciplinaryandmore“synergy”• Greaterappreciationofneedforinterdisciplinarycollaborationoncomplexproblemsofglobalscale

• Moreproblemandgovernance-focused

Interviews

• Stillunderanalysis• Someinterestingfindings:– 3keywordsforEnvSc andES:Interdisciplinarity– “Environmental Studies”:

• BroaderthemecontainingEnvSc; or• Humanities,socialpolicy,“nojobmarket”

Interviews

• ProfessionalOrganizations:– NegativecommentsaboutESAC:“ESAChasalwaysbeenaproblem.”

– CCUEN:“…definitelyshares informationbutIhaveyettoseeanythingthathelpsusinourprogramming….”

Interviews

• Curriculum:– Overallshiftfromtheoreticaltoapplied– Greaterfocusontools– Morecomplexity inprogramming(willsaymore)– Differingviewsonwhether interdisciplinarityshouldoccuratundergradorgradlevel

Qualitative,HermeneuticAnalysisofCurriculum

Maturationofapproaches.Forexample:• EnvironmentalPlanningandDesign(1970)• RecreationPlanningandManagement(1988)• LandscapeEcologyinPlanning;LandUsePlanning;CommunityPlanning

andHousing;PoliticsandPlanning;GISApplicationsinplanning;RecreationandTourismPlanningandManagement(2009)

HermeneuticAnalysis

Ashiftfrombroad,interdisciplinarycoursestoofferingsthatemphasizeapplied,practicalvalue;problems-focused.

NewperspectivesandapproachesSignificantCourseIncreasesoverthedecades

RiskSustainableDevelopmentInternationalfocusEcologyEnvironmentalImpactAssessmentEthics,Justice, CultureGenderHydrologyPolicyandGovernance

WordFrequencyChangebetween1979and2009:top20/100wordsanalyzedWord,Cluster,orPhrase- AbsoluteLargestChange

Changein%Coverage

Word,Cluster,orPhrase-AbsoluteSmallestChange

Changein%Coverage

international,global,world 0.51 planning -0.57sustainability,sustainable 0.49 energy -0.18risk,safety,security 0.28 regional -0.08ecology,-ical,ecosystem 0.23 institutions -0.06risk 0.21 Law,legal,legislation -0.06

culture 0.17

attitudes,behaviour,behavioural,behaviourism -0.06

ethics,justice,values,morals,morality,equity,equality 0.16 legal, -0.05Community,Society,People 0.16 housing -0.04Sustainabledevelopment 0.15 pollution -0.03cultural,culture 0.14 law -0.03political,politics 0.14 interventions -0.03integrated,interaction,interdependence,interdisciplinary,interrelationship,intersection 0.11 conservation -0.03Resourcemanagement 0.11 theory -0.03history-ian,-ical 0.11 impactassessment -0.02women,gender,feminist,-ism 0.1 resource(s) -0.01aboriginal,FirstNations,Indigenous 0.08 policy -0.01justice 0.07 design -0.01conflict,dispute,mediation,resolution 0.07 power -0.01ethics,-al 0.07health 0.06

SomeReflectionstodate

• Meaningof“interdisciplinarity”shifts• Someadditionaldepth,complexityandmaturationofissues

• Newinterdisciplinaryfieldsofstudy• Moreproblems-focusedthangeneralizedortheoretical

Yettocome…

• Resultsofindustrysurvey• DetailedNvivo analysisofinterviews• Websitedevelopment

Questionstoponder

• Paradigmshifts:goodorbad?• Professionalcertification:goodorbad?• Roleofpraxis:howtoincludeincurricula?• Howtocreateoptionsforstudentsinprogramplanning?

• Roleofonlinelearning?• Other?Discussion?......

Thank-you!Questions?Discussion?