Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T14:38:05.678Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Education for Sustainability in Universities: Challenges and Opportunities for Change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2016

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]

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
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Altbach, P.G., Reisberg, L., & Rumbley, L.E. (2009). Trends in global higher education: Tracking an academic revolution (A report prepared for the UNESCO 2009 World Conference on Higher Education). Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
Anderson, D., & Johnson, R. (2006). Ideas of leadership underpinning proposals to the Carrick Institute: A review of proposals from the ‘Leadership for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Program’ Sydney, Australia: Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education).Google Scholar
Andrade, M.S. (2011). Managing change — engaging faculty in assessment opportunities. Innovative Higher Education, 36, 217233.Google Scholar
Arnold, G.B. (2004). Symbolic politics and institutional boundaries in curriculum reform: The case of National Sectarian University. The Journal of Higher Education, 75, 572593.Google Scholar
Arthur, M.M.L. (2007). Getting away from the basics: Competing explanations for curricular change. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). New York University, NY.Google Scholar
Awbrey, S.M. (2005). General education reform as organizational change: The importance of integrating cultural and structural change. The Journal of General Education, 54, 121.Google Scholar
Baldwin, R.G., & Baumann, M.J. (2005). Options for change: A flexible vehicle for curriculum evolution and reform. Innovative Higher Education, 30, 8998.Google Scholar
Bates, P., Khan, R., & Pye, A. (2000). Towards a culturally sensitive approach to organizational structuring: Where organizational design meets organizational development. Organization Science, 11, 197211.Google Scholar
Bexley, E., James, R., & Arkoudis, S. (2011). The Australian academic profession in transition: Addressing the challenge of reconceptualising academic work and regenerating the academic workforce. Melbourne, Australia: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne.Google Scholar
Biggs, J.B., & Tang, C.S. (2011). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does (4th ed.). Maidenhead, UK: Open Universities Press/McGraw-Hill Education.Google Scholar
Blackmore, P., & Kandiko, C.B. (2012). Processes and resources. In Blackmore, P. & Kandiko, C.B. (Eds.), Strategic curriculum change: Global trends in universities (pp. 11127). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Blewitt, J., & Cullingford, C. (2004). The sustainability curriculum: The challenge for higher education. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
Boyce, M.E. (2003). Organizational learning is essential to achieving and sustaining change in higher education. Innovative Higher Education, 28, 119136.Google Scholar
Christie, B.A., Miller, K.K., Cooke, R., & White, J.G. (2015). Environmental sustainability in higher education: What do academics think? Environmental Education Research, 21, 655686.Google Scholar
de la Harpe, B., & Radloff, A. (2006). Lessons learned from three projects to design learning environments that support ‘generic’ skill development. Journal of Learning Design, 1, 2134.Google Scholar
de la Harpe, B., & Thomas, I. (2009). Curriculum change in universities: Why education for sustainable development is so tough. Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 3, 7585.Google Scholar
de Vita, G., & Case, P. (2003). Rethinking the internationalisation agenda in UK higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 27, 383398.Google Scholar
Eckel, P., Green, M., & Hill, B. (2001). On change V: Riding the waves of change: Insights from transforming institutions. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.Google Scholar
Eckel, P., Green, M., Hill, B., & Mallon, W. (1999). On change III: Taking charge of change: A primer for colleges and universities. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.Google Scholar
Eckel, P., Hill, B., & Green, M. (1998). On change: En route to transformation. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.Google Scholar
Eckel, P.D., & Kezar, A.J. (2002). The effect of institutional culture on change strategies in higher education: Universal principles or culturally responsive concepts? The Journal of Higher Education, 73, 435460.Google Scholar
Elton, L. (2003). Dissemination of innovations in higher education: A change theory approach. Tertiary Education and Management, 9, 199214.Google Scholar
Ernst & Young. (2012). University of the future: A thousand year old industry on the cusp of profound change. Retrieved January 20, 2014, from http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/University_of_the_future/$FILE/University_of_the_future_2012.pdfGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, K. (2011). Achieving a ‘fair go’ at La Trobe University. International Perspectives on Higher Education Research, 6, 107118.Google Scholar
Filho, W., & Carpenter, D. (2006). University sustainability in the Australasian university context. Frankfurt:Peter Lang Scientific Publishers.Google Scholar
Frost, S.H., & Teodorescu, D. (2001). Teaching excellence: How faculty guided change at a research university. Review of Higher Education, 24, 397415.Google Scholar
Glazer, N. (1968). ‘Student power’ in Berkeley. Higher Education Quarterly, 22, 404424.Google Scholar
Goodstein, L. (1994). Achieving a multicultural curriculum: conceptual, pedagogical, and structural issues. The Journal of General Education, 43, 102116.Google Scholar
Guo, S., & Jamal, Z. (2007). Nurturing cultural diversity in higher education: A critical review of selected models. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 37, 2749.Google Scholar
Haigh, M.J. (2002). Internationalisation of the curriculum: Designing inclusive education for a small world. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 26, 4966.Google Scholar
Hannan, A., English, S., & Silver, H. (2006). Why innovate? Some preliminary findings from a research project on innovations in teaching and learning in higher educations. Studies in Higher Education, 24, 279289.Google Scholar
Hearn, J.C. (1996). Transforming U.S. higher education: An organizational perspective. Innovative Higher Education, 21, 141151.Google Scholar
Holdsworth, S., & Thomas, I. (2012). Academic development as a vehicle to deliver sustainability education. In M'Sirdi, N., Namaane, A., Howlett, R.J., & Jain, L.C. (Eds.), Sustainability in energy and buildings (pp. 4560). Heidleberg: Springer.Google Scholar
Holley, K.A. (2009). Interdisciplinary strategies as transformative change in higher education. Innovative Higher Education, 34, 331344.Google Scholar
Katayama, J., & Gough, S. (2008). Developing sustainable development within the higher education curriculum: Observations on the HEFCE strategic review. Environmental Education Research, 14, 413422.Google Scholar
Kezar, A. (2001). Understanding and facilitating change in higher education in the 21st century. George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development. Retrieved February 7, 2014, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED457763.pdfGoogle Scholar
Kezar, A. (2012). Bottom-up/top-down leadership: Contradiction or hidden phenomenon. The Journal of Higher Education, 83, 725760.Google Scholar
Knight, J., & de Wit, H. (2011). Strategies for internationalisation of higher education: Historical and conceptual perspectives, (pp. 45–60). Retrieved January 6, 2014, from http://www.uni-kassel.de/wz1/mahe/course/module6_3/10_knight95.pdfGoogle Scholar
Lang, J., Thomas, I., & Wilson, A. (2006). Education for sustainability in Australian universities: Where is the action? Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 22, 4558.Google Scholar
Lattuca, L.R., & Stark, J.S. (2009). Shaping the college curriculum — Academic plans in context. (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Leask, B. (2001). Internationalisation: Changing contexts and their implications for teaching, learning and assessment. In Richardson, L. & Lidstone, J. (Eds.), Flexible learning for a flexible society (pp. 389401). Proceedings of ASET-HERDSA 2000 Conference, Toowoomba, Qld, 2–5 July 2000. ASET and HERDSA. Retrieved January 31, 2015, from http://www.aset.org.au/confs/aset-herdsa2000/procs/leask1.htmlGoogle Scholar
Luxon, T., & Peelo, M. (2009). Internationalisation: Its implications for curriculum design and course development in UK higher education. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 46, 5160.Google Scholar
Marginson, S., & Considine, M. (2000). The enterprise university: Power, governance and reinvention in Australia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
McKenzie, J., Alexander, S., Harper, C., & Anderson, S. (2005). Dissemination, adoption & adaptation of project innovations in higher education. Sydney, Australia: Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.Google Scholar
Merton, P., Froyd, J.E., Clark, M.C., & Richardson, J. (2009). A case study of relationships between organizational culture and curricular change in engineering education. Innovation in Higher Education, 34, 219233.Google Scholar
Peterson, M., & Spencer, M. (1990). Understanding academic culture and climate. New Directions for Institutional Research, 68, 318.Google Scholar
Ryan, S., Groen, E., McNeil, K., Nadolny, A., & Bhattacharyya, A. (2011). Sessional employment and quality in universities: A risky business. Research and Development in Higher Education: Reshaping Higher Education, 34, 275284.Google Scholar
Schein, E. (2010). Organizational culture and leadership (4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Scott, G. (2004). Change matters: Making a difference in higher education. In Carmichael, Rob (Ed.), Proceedings of the Australian Universities Quality Forum 2004: Quality in a Time of Change (pp. 3551). Melbourne, Australia: Australian Universities Quality Agency.Google Scholar
Scott, G., Tilbury, D., Sharp, L., & Deane, E. (2012). Turnaround leadership for sustainability in higher education. University of Western Sydney.Google Scholar
Shephard, K. (2010). Higher education's role in ‘education for sustainability’. Australian Universities’ Review, 52, 1322.Google Scholar
Simsek, H., & Louis, K.S. (1994). Organizational change as paradigm shift: Analysis of the change process in a large, public university. The Journal of Higher Education, 65, 670695.Google Scholar
Southwell, D., Gannaway, D., Orrell, J., Chalmers, D., & Abraham, C. (2005). Strategies for effective dissemination of project outcomes. Sydney, Australia: Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education.Google Scholar
Sterling, S., & Maxey, L. (2013). Introduction. In Sterling, S., Maxey, L., & Luna, H. (Eds.), The sustainable university: Progress and prospects (pp. 124). Abington: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sterling, S., & Thomas, I. (2006). Education for sustainability: The role of capabilities in guiding university curricula. International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development, 1, 349370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas, I., & Nicita, J. (2002). Sustainability education and Australian universities. Environmental Education Research, 8, 475492.Google Scholar
Thomas, I., Hegarty, K., & Holdsworth, S. (2012). The education for sustainability jig-saw puzzle: Implementation in universities. Creative Education, 3, 840846.Google Scholar
Thomas, L. (2011). Institutional transformation to mainstream diversity. In Thomas, L. & Tight, M. (Eds.). Institutional transformation to engage a diverse student body: International perspectives on higher education research (vol. 6, pp. 7796). Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.Google Scholar
Tilbury, D. (2011). Higher education for sustainability: A global overview of commitment and progress. In Higher education's commitment to sustainability: From understanding to action. GUNi. Retrieved November 25, 2015, from http://www.guninetwork.org/files/8_i.2_he_for_sustainability_-_tilbury.pdfGoogle Scholar
Tierney, W.G. (1988). Organizational culture in higher education: Defining the essentials. Journal of Higher Education, 59, 221.Google Scholar
Uchiyama, K.P., & Radin, J.L. (2009). Curriculum mapping in higher education: A vehicle for collaboration. Innovation in Higher Education, 33, 271280.Google Scholar
Walkington, J. (2002). A process for curriculum change in engineering education. European Journal of Engineering Education, 27, 133148.Google Scholar