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Education for Sustainability in Universities: Challenges and Opportunities for Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2016

Blanche Higgins  and
Ian Thomas
Blanche Higgins*
Affiliation:
RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ian Thomas
Affiliation:
RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Blanche Higgins, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Swanston St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3000. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Education for sustainability (EfS) is widely supported and researched; however, the broad and deep implementation of EfS in universities that is needed lags behind the goals of change agents. This article reviews literature on change procedures; in particular, curriculum change in universities. Our aim was to develop insights into strategies change agents can use to bolster their efforts to implement EfS. We found that change in universities is commonly acknowledged as a complex process, and that taking account of institutional culture is an integral step in curriculum change efforts. We also explored the struggles and successes of attempts to diversify the curriculum in order to find parallels that EfS change agents can learn from.

Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 32 , Issue 1: 18th AAEE Biennial Conference - Sustainability, Smart Strategies for the 21st Century , March 2016 , pp. 91 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

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