Debby Cotton

Revolutions and Second-Best Solutions: Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education.

Despite widespread policy support for education for sustainable development in higher education, and a strong academic literature arguing for a radical rethink of curriculum, pedagogy and institutional culture, progress towards the educational reforms advocated remains limited. Based on in‐depth interviews with lecturers at a case‐study university, this article explores reasons for the slow pace of change, in particular how constraining variables (such as class size, patchy managerial support, perceived irrelevance to some disciplines, and conflict with prevalent higher education pedagogies) inhibit the widespread use of the holistic, interdisciplinary, transformative learning approaches advocated by theorists. Coping strategies employed by lecturers to bring education for sustainable development into their teaching practices are investigated and reviewed in the context of the ‘theory of the second best’. We conclude with a plea for greater recognition in the literature of the merits of such ‘second‐best’ approaches in higher education.

Communicating the sustainability message in higher education institutions

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the possibilities and problems with engaging in effective communication about sustainability in higher education (SHE) institutions.Design/methodology/approach – Using a case study of a new (post‐1992) university in the UK, the research investigated the ways in which sustainability issues were communicated with staff across the institution, and any barriers encountered. Semi‐structured interviews and a focus group with selected staff led to the development of four key themes related to different aspects of the communication strategy, and it is these which are explored in this paper.Findings – This research suggests that there are some particular difficulties with regard to communicating messages about sustainability successfully. These relate to the lack of an agreed definition or shared understanding of sustainability, and also to potential individual differences in values and attitudes which may act as a perceptual filter of the message.Research limitations/implicati...

Making the hidden curriculum visible: sustainability literacy in higher education

Despite strong political support for the development of sustainability literacy amongst the UK graduates, embedding sustainability in the higher education curriculum has met with widespread indifference, and in some cases, active resistance. However, opportunities exist beyond the formal curriculum for engaging students in learning about sustainability. Previous research has highlighted the potential of the university campus for experiential, place-based learning about and for sustainability. This has been conceptualised as the ‘informal’ curriculum, consisting of extra-curricular activities and student projects linking estates and operations to formal study. However, the impact of the so-called ‘hidden curriculum’ (the implicit messages a university sends about sustainability through the institutional environment and values) has been overlooked as a potential influence on student learning and behaviour. This article reports on a small-scale research project which utilised a phenomenographic approach to explore students’ perceptions of the ‘hidden sustainability curriculum’ at a leading sustainability university. The findings suggest that helping students deconstruct the hidden campus curriculum may enhance aspects of sustainability literacy; developing students’ understanding about sustainability and creating solutions to sustainability issues, enabling evaluative dialogue around campus sustainability and also self-reflection, which could be transformative and translate into pro-environmental behaviour change. This research is transferable to other contexts.

Effective e-learning? Multi-tasking, distractions and boundary management by graduate students in an online environment

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale study that documented the use of information technology for learning by a small group of postgraduate students. Our findings support current knowledge about characteristics displayed by effective e-learners, but also highlight a less researched but potentially important issue in developing e-learning expertise: the ability of students to manage the combination of learning and non-learning activities online. Although multi-tasking has been routinely observed amongst students and is often cited as a beneficial attribute of the e-learner, there is evidence that many students found switching between competing activities highly distracting. There is little empirical work that explores the ways in which students mitigate the impact of non-learning activities on learning, but the evidence from our study suggests that students employ a range of ‘boundary management’ techniques, including separating activities by application and by technology. The paper suggests that this may have implications for students’ and tutors’ appropriation of Web 2.0 technologies for educational purposes and that further research into online boundary management may enhance understanding of the e-learning experience.

Researching the hidden curriculum: intentional and unintended messages

In this paper, we examine the concept of the hidden curriculum, its importance to pedagogic research in geography and research methods which might be used to investigate it. We review three case studies of research projects which have explored the hidden curriculum in geographical contexts, and use these to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of different methods. We conclude by suggesting that there is an increasing need for research exploring new elements of the hidden curriculum being created by current changes in the political and economic context affecting geography in higher education in the UK and other countries.

Using Observational Methods to Research the Student Experience

Much pedagogic research undertaken in geography and other disciplines relies on post-hoc methods such as surveys or interviews to investigate the student experience of higher education (often based on self-reports of behaviour). However, observation of students provides a far more direct route to obtain information about their behaviour, and there are many situations where observational data—collected by a researcher or by students themselves using video, audio or written diaries—may provide a deeper insight into their experience. This paper outlines some basic methods of observation, describes the potential advantages and disadvantages of collecting observational data, and provides examples of relevant research which draws on these methods. We conclude with a recommendation that observational methods should be used more widely in pedagogic research.

Commitment to environmental sustainability in the UK student population

Sustainability is an increasingly important issue in higher education, both in the UK and internationally. Although environmental sustainability is the most frequently identified of the three pillars of sustainability (social and economic sustainability being less widely understood), there has been little previous research which has quantitatively explored the relationship between university attendance and commitment to environmental sustainability. This article presents the results of an analysis of data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), which compared young adults at UK universities with other respondents of a similar age in order to explore this relationship. Commitment to environmental sustainability was measured on a scale developed from seven questionnaire items used in BHPS Wave 18, and the relationship between university attendance and subsequent scale scores was examined. Results show that university attendance has a significant positive association with commitment to environmental sustainability over other adult transition pathways, including participation in other forms of full-time education, when gender and social class are taken into account and when prior educational attainment is held constant. Thus, we argue that UK universities may have a desirable impact on environmental commitment, and we explore possible explanations for our findings.

Higher Education Provision in a Crowded Marketplace.

Current changes to policy around higher education in the United Kingdom are leading to an increasingly marketised system. As funding is transferred from the United Kingdom government to the individual student, universities will be required to pay more attention to marketing. This paper draws on the literature relating to marketing of services to assess the extent to which higher education marketing addresses issues of covenant, quiddity and representation. Using a mixed sample of universities and associated further education colleges who provide higher education opportunities, this research investigates the marketing strategies of different types of higher education institution. Differences identified include the extent to which reputation, educational experience, research and student life are used in marketing. We conclude that newer universities and further education colleges appear to be more greatly influenced by contemporary government policy agenda than are the older more traditional institutions, which continue to trade largely on their established strong reputations.

Developing Students' Energy Literacy in Higher Education.

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate students’ energy literacy at a UK university, and recommends ways in which it can be enhanced using a behaviour change model. Developing students’ energy literacy is a key part of the “greening” agenda, yet little is known about how students develop their ideas about energy use and energy saving at a university. Design/methodology/approach – The research utilised a mixed-methods approach including an online survey (with 1,136 responses) and focus groups. Findings – The research identified strengths and weaknesses in students’ energy literacy, and noted the relative influence of formal and informal curricula. The potential for aligning these curricula is highlighted through the 4Es model of enable, engage, exemplify and encourage. Research limitations/implications – The research involved a single instrumental case-study site. The wider applicability of the findings should therefore be tested further in other institutions. Practical implications – The research sugges...

Understanding the gender and ethnicity attainment gap in UK higher education

In recent years, the success rates of different groups of students in higher education have come under considerable scrutiny, with gender and ethnicity identified as key attributes predicting differential achievement of ‘good degrees’. A review of previous studies highlights the need for research which looks beyond ‘the deficit model’ to explain the attainment gap. This research used a mixed-methods approach to explore the academic and social experiences of students, as well as lecturers’ views on student achievement, in one UK University. Findings suggest that there are significant differences in motivation and confidence speaking English for different ethnic groups in this study, and a divergence in attendance and study time by gender – both of which may go some way to helping understand the gaps in attainment. In addition, male and BME students tended to overestimate their likelihood of achieving a good degree outcome, compared to other groups.