Sterling, Maxey, & Luna eds. (2013) The Sustainable University

PART I

Chap 1: The sustainable university: challenge & response

The mainstream of HE may, therefore, largely be educating for a future that "no longer exists." (p.17)

Paul Raskin (2012: 12) suggests 3 possible global scenarios: worlds of 

1. incremental adjustment (Conventional Worlds)
2. catastrophic discontinuity (Barbarization)
3. progressive transformation (Great Transitions)

The last, sus. scenarios depend on "an enlargement of consciousness" which emphasises "global citizenship, humanity's place in the wider community of life, and the well-being of future generations. 

Re-thinking the purpose of HE

... the tension between the traditional academic role of uni and the more instrumental role of preparing young people for the workplace and their place in society, has become more marked... through shifts in govt policy. (p.19)

Education is critical for promoting SD and improving the capacity of the people to address environmental and development issues (UN, 1992:320). 

Box 1.1: The sus uni. (Definition)

The sus. uni is one that through its guiding ethos, outlook and aspirations, governance, res., curriculum, community links, campus management, monitoring and modus operandi seeks explicitly to explore, develop, contribute to, embody and manifest - critically and reflexively - the kinds of values, concepts and ideas, challenges and approaches that are emerging from the growing global sus. discourse. (p.23)

The sus. uni. educates its students to become transformational leaders of a sus. society through its curriculum, its research, its willingness to serve as a testbed for innovation, its outreach and interactions with the greater community and through behaving sus in all of its practices, process, and deliberations. (p.24)

Sus. is essentially a systemic worldview or epistemic perspective that presents considerable intellectual and moral challenges to humankind that far transcend the horizons of the prevailing paradigm of scientific reductionism, technological determinism, and economic rationalism. 

Five key pillars could underpin this approach: sus., employability, internationalisation, culture and lifelong learning... backcasting approach is consistent with what Scharmer (2009: 14) refers to as leading, learning and acting "from the future as it emerges."... educational institutions need to become

• less centres of transmission and delivery, and more centres of transformation and critical inquiry;
• less teaching organisations, more learning organisations critically engaged with real-world issues in their community and region;
• less discipline based, more inter- and transdisciplinary;
• less managerial and more participative
• less self-contained and self-referential, more engaged with a broad range of stakeholders;
• less instrumental and reluctant to engage with normative issues, more holistic in purpose and exploring ethical dilemmas and dimensions. (p.27)

Towards a deep learning response

Box 1.2: Engaging with sus.: drivers and benefits

Res. for HEFCE (Policy Studies Institute et al. 2008: vii) concluded that barriers to curriculum inclusion...essentially amount to: lack of interest in SD, silo or mono-disciplinary thinking and institutional organisation, which militates against the cross-department activity that is essential for SD, and lack of incentives or priority to engage in SD. Similarly, res. for HE Academy (Dawe et al. 2005) suggested several factors that prevent academics from engaging w/SD in the curriculum such as: a crowded curriculum, perceived irrelevance, limited staff awareness/expertise, limited institutional commitment, limited commitment from external stakeholders, and seen as too demanding. (p.29)

This operative at two levels. First, externally, uni operate inevitably within a certain socio-economic climate, which heavily influences their values, purpose and culture.  .. Second, at a deeper level, the cultural brake is paradigmatic. HE still largely reflects the Western intellectual legacy from whence it came, rooted in the memes of the prevalent ed epistemology - reductionism, objectivism, materialism, dualism and determinism underlain by a mechanistic metaphor - refracted from the wider cultural milieu and exerting an influence in purpose, policy and provision, as well as in educational discourse. (p.31)

The implications of deeper personal and organisational change are further illuminated by Bateson's theory of levels (Bateson 1972)...three orders of learning and change,

1. both individual and organisational learning by staff and students can be conformative: 
2. reformative
3. transformative - a shift towards higher-oder learning (pp.33-34)

The second order is reflected in calls for a more holistic, integrative, co-evolutionary, participative, "living systems", ecological worldview. 

A first-order learning response is adaptive and accommodative, a "bolt-on" of sus ideas to the existing system... This is often characterised by "education about sus"...a second-order response is informative, a "build-in" process whereby questioning and reformulating some policies and programmes, and revising some guiding institutional norms in line with sus ideas and principles, leads to quite significant institutional change. The cultural shift here is more towards "education for sustainability" and learning for change. A third-order learning response involves a deep questioning of educational paradigms, and therefore also purposes, policies and programmes, and a transformative redesign process that involves "learning as change" throughout the educational community.(p.35)

同じ著者はその15年前にabout & forを次のように分類してた：Sterling 1996 Chap 13.

"Sus. ed" differs from ESD. ESD discourse is both helpful and unhelpful: ... unhelpful in the sense that boundaries tend to be placed - sometimes by advocates but often by others - around what constitutes and what does not constitute ESD. Sus. ed. implies 4 descriptors: educational thinking, policy and practice that are sustaining, tenable, healthy and durable:

1. Sustaining: it helps sustain people, communities and ecosystems.
2. Tenable: it is ethically defensible, working with integrity, justice, respect and inclusiveness.
3. Healthy: it is itself an adaptive, viable system, embodying and nurturing healthy relationships and emergence at different system levels.
4. Durable: it works well enough in practice to be able to keep doing it. (p.39)

Towards the sus. uni.: a view of Plymouth

... a holistic "4C" approach, seeing Curriculum, learning and teaching (and related res), Campus change, and Community engagement as mutually embedded and enhancing spheres and, as such, powerful contributors to the student learning experience, all encircled and in relation to a fourth C, Culture, as reflected in institutional values, policies and practices (Selby 2009). Fig. 1.3. (p41)

... distinction between "systematic" and "systemic" aspects of the uni.

the policies, strategies, rules, procedures, assessment, evaluation, structures etc. Uni can adopt a catalytic role.

the "glue" of the organisation, the collegiality, social learning and exchange, informal networks, ethos, self-organisation. Uni can adopt an enabler or facilitative role. (p.43)

"Securing a Sustainable Future through HE" 

PART II

Chap 7: Times of change: shifting pedagogy & curricula for future sus.

The intl literature confirms that embedding EfS in the HE curriculum is the most difficult area of sus practice in which to gain traction.  ... They present both risks and opportunities for EfS, which competes for attention in a changeable HE landscape with multiple influences on education. ... the value and place of EfS in changing pedagogy and learning experiences across the formal, hidden and informal curriculum. (p.151)

Changing the formal curriculum: engaging communities of practice

EfS is geared to innovation in pedagogy, targeting not just the "what" but the "how" of education. ... not just to encourage teaching "about sus", but to reframe the purposes and aims of learning across entire programmes of study... The foundations of EfS in constructive epistemology and critical pedagogy means that disciplines grounded in these approaches (for example, in humanities and social sciences) find easier alignment between EfS and their existing pedagogic orientation...EfS in the formal curriculum can be strongly driven by external influences from professional bodies, governmental agencies and sector level organisations (p.152).

Under the radar: the hidden curriculum

... what the campus "says" about sus may leave a lasting impression on students who live and work there for a sustained period, and com about sus. through official channels can be subverted easily through "noise" caused by competing messages in the campus environment (Djordjevic and Cotton, 2011). These aspects of learning form part of the "hidden curriculum" of educational settings, a term first used to describe in schooling, the "unpublished features of school life" (Jackson 1968: 17)... Consideration of the relationship between formal and hidden curricula in HE raises serious Qs for policy-makers and practitioners in EfS: it confirms the need to prepare students to "make sense of and respond to exposure to contradictory info., values, beliefs and practices" and to ensure that they are "cognisant and critical," rather than "over-determined, passive recipients of hidden curriculum messages" (Skelton 1997: 177) (p.157)

Integrating informal learning: broadening the terrain

... practitioners and researchers focused on informal learning have encountered an arena which is eminently suitable for, and already influential in, enhancing EfS opportunities for students. Informal learning offers a potential route which bypasses the disciplinary silos and sometimes negative academic attitudes which can hinder the embedding of EfS in the formal curriculum. The campus, for example, provides a subject-neutral forum through which sus can be experienced, discussed and critiqued regardless of the "limitations of [disciplinary] tunnel vision" (Jucker 2002: 13). In relation to sus, Lipscombe (2008)  defines the informal curriculum as consisting of extra-curricular activities and expressions such as volunteering, internships, membership of clubs and societies and attending sus events. In HE, this may constitute a very important part of the learning in which students engage, since they are often living in a different area, possibly independently for the first time, and with significant social contact outside formal classes.... Kagawa describes the campus as a potential site for learning and EfS through a "sus orientated pedagogy of place" (2007: 320). (p.158)

While informal learning often takes place without much structure, harnessing its full power may involve its integration with formal learning by encouraging reflection on everyday activities or experiences (p.160)

Pedagogic evolution: EfS at the heart of the HE system

... bringing EfS to life is no small task, given the scale and complexity of HE systems, which are influenced by various educational political and financial agendas (Corcoran and Wals 2004a; Wals and Jicking 2002). 参考：Corcoran & Wals 2007

The concept of transformative learning originated in AE and encompasses a range of participatory pedagogies to promote critical self-reflection, leading to transformed "habits of mind" (Mezirow 2000)... However, the appearance of transformative learning in HE is relatively new and its models may need refinement to support effective EfS (p.161)

• Bateson (1972)'s work on third-order learning, truly transformative education involves integration and changes
• first-order change (doing things better)
• second-order change (meta-learning or doing better things) to seeing things differently, where engagement with ethical frameworks, belief systems and interpersonal relationships is deeply implicated.

The benefits of connecting EfS and transformative learning are easy to anticipate, in the pursuit of higher-order learning that entails links with the wider community as well as the ability to deal with complexity and uncertainty (Craton 1996; Sterling 2011). "Learning: the Treasure Within (Delors 1996)"

... there may also be some unanticipated benefits for EfS in the "performance culture" of leagues and rankings, which has also permeated the sus agenda. These schemes can support EfS through informal learning, campus greening and "whole-institution" dev. for sus... Taking this systems view, "sus is not just another issue to be added to an overcrowded curriculum, but a gateway to a different view of curriculum, of pedagogy, of organisational change, of policy and particularly of ethos" (Sterling 2004: 50) (p.162)

Conclusion

1. EfS need to be more effectively positioned in relation to the broader pedagogic de literature and strategic approaches to curriculum change.
2. the need to consider all dimensions of curriculum and pedagogy. Uni are places of inspiration and creativity, and if EfS is to become part of the mainstream, it must engage all parts of the system. 

Connecting informal and formal learning, integrating learning across different parts of HEIs and shifting boundaries between uni and their surrounding communities, using the full range of EfS pedagogies and understanding the change processes involved, are all crucial to this endevour.

Chap 8: Sustainability research: a novel mode of knowledge generation to explore alternative ways for people & planet

The role of res. at sus. uni. is to enhance knowledge generation, mobilisation and implementation for a more equitable, healthier and happier society and to understand and develop environmental integrity... This chapter... exploring in particular the relationship between SD ed and sus res.

Defining sus. res.

SD constitutes a recognition that social justice and environmental integrity are interdependent; a process offering multiple pathways towards alternative futures; a plurality of perspectives that offers a new model of knowledge generation, mobilisation and implementation. (p.169)

While the terms "education for sus" and "ESD" are widely used in theory and in practice, there are critiques that the preposition "for" implies dogma, and a predetermined direction (Jickling 1992; Sterling 2001). 

Many scientists view sus as the main goal, but they perceive it as a largely environmental issue, without fully reconciling the potential contribution of the "development" of humanity... the term "sus res", with the understanding that this is an area valid to all disciplines epistemologies, including natural and physical sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities... Sus res also incorporates a particular approach to res, and an expectation that the researcher and research participants may themselves be affected by the res process.

Academics and uni managers may either believe sus to be very limited, usually in relation to their own area or existing only in relation to the areas of others. Alternatively, people are confused because sus res seems to touch on everything, and we consistently state that sus scholarship is relevant to all disciplines. (p.170)

Sus res process

The second aspect of sus res is the research process... Sus issues ... transcend disciplinary boundaries. .. while we need interdisciplinary teams, we also need individuals working within disciplines to contribute new thinking on sus issues.

Table 8.2 Proposed attributes of sus res.

• Interdisciplinarity: may include holistic synthesis such as systems thinking
• Linking theory & practice
• Local impact w/global relevance
• Participatory approaches
• Linked to learning
• Employs different knowledge forms
• Includes knowledge mobilisation
• Reflective process including self-assessment

In contrast with integrated interdisciplinary approaches, multi-disciplinarity implies a non-integrated engagement between two or more disciplines. Transdisciplinarity has two meanings, in different literatures: i) a form of interdisciplinarity in which theory from one discipline informs another, and ii) a form of interdisciplinarity that involves coordination between theoretical and practical aspects within and across disciplines (Max-Neef 2005). .. Systems thinking offers a holistic framing, recognising that issues need to be studied in context, and in relation to other issues (Meadows 2008; Seddon 2008). Design thinking can be a form of synthesis. (p.173)... Participatory action research (PAR) enables a critical engagement with feminist and post-modern concepts, although insensitive applications may actually exacerbate power imbalances (Kindon et al. 2008)

In sus. res, the interdisciplinarity of much of the res has prompted the emergence in recent years of a suite of new journals aiming to facilitate debate focused on sus rather than discipline. Academi knowledge is divided into disciplines and basic and applicable knowledge, and it distinguished by epistemological belief. 

Indigenous knowledge, or Traditional Ecological Knowledge, offers more than just specific facts regarding conservation in a particular area ... Local knowledge is distinct from indigenous knowledge in that it is not associated with a particular culture and belief system and has not necessarily been passed down over generations. .. Constructive thinking suggests that knowledge and belief are not strictly separable (Coburn 1971)... knowledge production is seen as a process of social negotiation involving multiple actors and complex power relations (Nygren 1999: 267). (p.176)

Reflection is rarely considered a part of the research process, yet reflective learning is increasingly being seen as important in education (Moon 2004). .. in sus. res. the boundaries between knowledge generation and know mobilisation are blurred. (p.177)

Sus res within all disciplines

All disciplines can contribute to sus res, either through contributions from within the discipline or through interdisciplinary collaboration. (p.181)

The role of res. in sus. uni.

Good research facilitates critical reflection and can aid institutional attempts to operationalise sus, raise sus awareness and build uni community. The cross-structural interactions (interdisciplinary, between staff and students) help build social capital. Res-led teaching stimulates critical and contemporary analysis of local and global issues. 

Nurturing sus res

..."ecosystem of expertise" for SD, in which contemporary forms of "experts" connect with outreach experts who connect with non-experts, interdisciplinary experts, meta-experts who broker claims across different kinds of experts, and the civic expert who engage in democratic process across experts and non-experts. 

... Interdisciplinarity requires building of trust and relationships among academics, translation across language and terminology differences.(p.183)

Recommendations for the promotion of sus res

2. Hold sus themes-based WS and half- or one-day seminars to which people from different disciplines are invited to contribute.

5. Offer social and professional networking opportunities for researchers. . 

Chap 9:  The student experience: campus, curriculum, communities & transition at the Uni of Edinburgh

Uni. of Edinburgh as a case study and reflects both the historical commitment and current approaches to management of its estate and procurement, and the particular role of the student body in developing initiatives... This chapter recognises that these circumstances offer particular opportunities to develop within that community of practice, an understanding of and values orientation towards social responsibility and sus., and to demonstrate good practice in those facets of uni life.

... the work of Dewey (1963) and the transformation he wanted to see in American society; and in the work of the Brazilian Paulo Freire (1996) whose educational approach involved a purposeful educational engagement to transform social, economic and political relationships. The transformational nature of these approaches ... may be seen as central to contemporary approaches such as PBL, real-world learning and action learning. (p.192) 

Bone and Agombar (2011) ... For first-year students sus issues were significant in their uni choices. They stated that curricula should be modified accordingly and permeate their courses, and over 80 % of respondents believed skills in SD are significant for employability and for future employers. (p.193) 

Geddes' insight are particularly apposite as he is considered by many to be the founding philosopher of the concept of sus and the notion of "think global, act local"

All these factors provide challenges and opportunities in the practice and promotion of sus and ESD.

Campus (U of Edinburgh)

Such developments have reaped financial benefits. Since 1989, "more than 5% of the uni's utilities spend has been invested each year in energy efficiency projects delivering cumulative savings of 10 mil.(Somervell 2006; U of Edinburgh 2010b, 2011).

Curriculum

Progress towards a more sus uni offers important programme-related and personal learning opportunities for students and staff... As well as growing awareness of the necessity of such an approach, the global trend towards more student choice in course selection, particularly in the early years of degree programmes, has aided such developments.... Students also recognise that such interdisciplinary programmes foster the personal and transferable skills necessary to succeed in their studies and subsequent employability... Similarly, Biomedical Sciences staff launched Our Chaning World in 2009 (U of Edinburgh 2012c) introducing first-year students to a "range of difficult, complex and inter-related issues that impact human wellbeing" (food, energy and water security, the spread of infectious diseases, developments in technology and medicine, and climate change) and relate these to their own subject discipline (p.198)

Communities

Some activities serve various communities directly, such as through student volunteering. Some impact locally and informally, through different lifestyles, attitudes and approaches to everyday things like recycling, sus travel choices, conservation of energy and generally being good neighbours. (p.199)

The uni's social science community has a wide-ranging role in understanding and engaging staff and students and wider communities on sus and social equity as a construct and as a values issue, and is engaged in topics that spread through philosophy, divinity, education, politics economics and business studies.... One of the most important aspects of getting the wider uni community to engage with the sus and social responsibility agenda in an academic environment is finding ways to encourage and support people to develop their own plans. ... Two areas of difficulty and complexity are the balance between enthusiasts and the rest of the community, and the conflicting views of the best way to tackle specific global issues... Orr (1992)'s conclusion that the sus crisis is driven by graduates educated in modernist notions of progress, economic growth and the urge to dominate nature. (p.201)

Future prospects

...if uni are to successfully engage students they must acknowledge their potential as agents of change who have different spheres of influence. Students' opportunities for engagement are spatially diverse (involving uni life but also off-campus life) and determined by individual and collective agency (the capability to take action that will have a social and/or environmental impact). This means uni do not simply lecture about the importance of sus while assuming students are "citizens in waiting." Rather, everyone in uni can engage in transformative approaches to citizenship that begin now and involve capacity building and action (p.205) 

Chap 10: Well-being - What does it mean for the sus uni?

The Brundtland definition of sus ... has been interpreted predominantly in relation to the physical resource base ... However, consideration of the sus uni would be incomplete without due regard being paid to social issues, notably health and well-being... maiinstream agendas of student recruitment, experience and retention and must be embedded within an institution's approach to sus (Dooris and Doherty 2010:6)... health is determined by a range of environmental, social and economic influences and that the health of people, places and the planet are interdependent (Orme and Dooris 2010: 425).

The WB of staff

When considering uni staff WB, differentiation is required between academic staff and those who support the academic functions, and between functional categories within each group (Wine-field et al. 2003; Tytherleigh et al. 2005)....it must first accurately monitor the environment in which it operates to ensure that it is not predisposing its staff to collective stress. Second, it must take steps to promote behaviours that are sus, as these have been found to produce co-benefits in terms of health and WB (UCL Institute of Health Equity 2010)...the incidence of burnout within the academic community was comparable with professions known to be at high risk, namely health care workers and schoolteachers. Burnout has three dimensions (Watts and Roberston 2011) : i) emotional exhaustion, ii) cynicism, and iii) work-related dissatisfaction and a possible loss of efficiency.

 ...greater susceptibility among female academics than male (Doyle and Hind 1998), while the key predictors of burnout were associated with work demands, control and supervisory support (McClenahan et al 2007). 

In summary, the literature confirms that academic staff are at greater risk of suffering stress-related conditions than many other employees. Their role makes them particularly susceptible to burnout, with the attendant negative consequences for the student experience. (p.215)

...three aspects that are of importance for staff WB:

1. staff-student-ratios
2. the changing nature of the student cohort: changes in modes of delivery, engaging students in new ways, can be stimulating for both staff and students, empowering both groups in a more dynamic relationship... Another consideration relating to the student base is that of funding. The introduction and escalation of fees has created a strongly pronounce consumer culture among students.
3. changing technologies

The WB of students

... The NUS (2020:32) predicted that the percentage of eighteen - to twenty-year-olds entering full-time programmes will drop by some 13 % from 2009 to 2019 ... 75% finding it "reasonably" or "very" successful. Over half also experience stress due to financial pressure. (p.220)

New systems of support 

Community involvement through volunteering, such as horticultural and biodiversity engagement projects, have the potential to act as a destressing mechanism (Forest Research 2010; Bell et al. 2008; Guite et al. 2006; Weldon et al 2007)

The learning & working environment: a key contributor to health and WB

A uni is an environment in which students are not only educated, but also develop personally and socially (Dooris 2001). Uni occupy a multiplicity of spaces that change as ideologies, processes and pedagogy change.

Recommendations for the sus. uni

The estate: The new economics foundation's work on WB and sus. ... nef has looked at the evidence about what drivers WB of individuals... The Five Ways to WB are:

1. Connect
2. Be active
3. Take notice
4. Keep learning
5. Give 

Students: The basic generic infrastructures are increasingly in place for the support of students. But we face a choice: do we rely increasingly on electronically-based support, or do we return to greater human contact between academics and students? Both require investment; possibly both are needed. (226)

Staff: ...despite all these mechanisms, two major concerns must be addressed: first, the issue of WB remain difficult to measure and in a world governed by metrics, it is hard to argue for investment in something for which the indicators of success are not well developed. Second, the causes of stress and burnout need addressing.

...widerly recognized that health is determined by a range of environmental, social and economic influences and that the health of people, places and the planet are interdependent (Orme and Dooris 2010: 425). If any uni does not address this holistically, it is not a sus uni.

PART III

Chapt 14: The sustainable university: taking it forward

The focus of this book is not HE. It is HE-in-context, that is, the nature of the relationship between HE and the wider world. Taking a whole system view, we argue that this relationship needs to change for the benefit of both. .. We have the choice: to continue "BAU" based on individualism, high levels of consumerism and competition, and continuing depletion of natural resources, or to take a co-evolutionary pathway based on diversity, a circular economy, collaboration, sufficiency and WB within planetary limits, as outlined in Great Transition scenarios (Rasking et al. 2002). Only or of these pathways is viable in the long term.

Education should play an important role in enabling people to live together ni ways that contribute to SD. However, at present, education often contributes to unsustainable living. This can happen through a lack of opportunity for learners to question their own lifestyles and the systems and structures that promote those lifestyles. It also happens through reproducing unsustainable models and practices. The recasting of development, therefore, calls for the reorientation of education towards SD (UNECE 2012).

Response and commitment

In the somewhat young history of the response of HE to sus, four positions have emerged (Table 14.1) (p.305)

1. BAU
2. advocacy: There is an explicit critique of A, but there tends to be an instrumental emphasis on universal "sus literacy" rather than on deeper implications for change in educational thinking, learning and practice. 丸山の扱うNFE研究と人間開発はここが多い
3. liberal: This holds that sus is best advanced through critical appraisal of all views and alternatives. 丸山が知るESD研究はここが多い
4. transformative: it sees sus as arising from outdated, deep-seated cultural assumptions and norms, and articulates the need for urgent cultural change based on systemic, ecological or relational thinking, which is also self-critical, necessarily exploratory and capable of multiple interpretations within different contexts. It reconises the starting point of many 1, the urgency of the situation 2, the need for quality learning and education and to respect multiple voices 3, and embraces these in its articulation of paradigm change. 丸山のやろうとしている「Deep ESD」

Critique, vision and design

...Vision without action is useless. But action without vision is directionless... Vision is absolutely necessary to guide and motivate. More than that, vision when widely share and firmly kept in sight, doe bring into being new systems. (Meadows et al 2005: 272)

Box 14.3: Elements of developing systemic change

- Avoiding working in silos

... experience of change towards sus uni in USA (p.310)

Box 14.5: A sus uni identification guide 

Sus is about making educational systems and the education that they offer fit for purpose and fit for the future.

The Sustainable University: Progress and prospects (Routledge Studies in Sustainable Development) by Unknown(2014-06-01)