Peter Blaze Corcoran

Case studies, make‐your‐case studies, and case stories: a critique of case‐study methodology in sustainability in higher education

In this paper we raise serious concerns about existing case-study research on sustainability in higher education. Our key concern is that the research does not live up to its potential for improving the field of sustainability in higher education. We have argued that case-study research in the field falls short of its promise due to a lack of theorizing about the research methodology or an understanding about the methodology. If case-study research is to lead to an improvement in the way universities respond to sustainability in their curriculum, activities, policies and functions then researchers need to address the manner in which they conduct and report their research. Based on an analysis of 54 journal articles on sustainability in higher education, four areas of concern have been identified. The paper converges in a set of critical considerations for conducting case-study research in sustainability in higher education.

Sustainability in higher education in the Asia-Pacific: developments, challenges, and prospects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the contributions of the Asia‐Pacific region to leading practice in sustainability in higher education (HE), as prelude and orientation to this special issue collection from different countries and regions.Design/methodology/approach – This is a critical review that includes international and regional policy contexts in sustainability and “education for sustainable development” (ESD), whilst exploring the trajectories of key initiatives across the region and considering the broader context of sustainability innovation within the HE sector.Findings – The Asia‐Pacific region offers many creative initiatives and shows considerable progress in ESD and in understanding the learning dimensions of sustainability. At the same time, it mirrors global trends in that further work is needed to promote systemic change in educational arenas, particularly in terms of strategic integration within HE institutions. The Asia‐Pacific contributions to this colle...

Learning for sustainability in times of accelerating change

This chapter challenges sustainability researchers to reflect on how they can stimulate social learning and collaborative knowledge production within the research process. Crucially, there are three challenges that need to be addressed: (1) how to increase the transdisciplinary capacity of the research processes that we facilitate; (2) how to integrate academic and non-academic knowledge types more effectively in order to develop common solutions; and (3) how to amend our roles as researchers to enhance the potential for social learning. We respond to these challenges using a conceptual road map that enables researchers to develop their capacity to facilitate more effective and interactive stakeholder dialogue within their research. We then draw on practical experience of using the road map to work with a transdisciplinary group of stakeholders to develop a sustainability assessment toolkit for rural landowners in upland Scotland. The chapter alerts us to the potential for sustainability to adopt a transformative role in social learning processes, facilitating a real-world, problem-focussed approach and combining perspectives and knowledge from a range of academic and nonacademic participants.

Formative Influences in the Lives of Environmental Educators in the United States

Summary The author obtained autobiographical statements and other data from 510 US members of the North American Association for Environmental Education. This report (1) presents findings regarding human and vicarious influences in their lives, and (2) presents excerpts from 34 of their statements, to illustrate the variety and richness of their narratives.

The practice of sustainability in higher education: an introduction

The higher education community is called to respond to times of disastrous anthropogenic environmental crises, failing political systems, religious intolerance, and unsustainable and inequitable economic development. The scope and range of the negative impacts of university-educated people on the natural systems that sustain Earth are unprecedented. Characterizing this crisis, leading environmental academic David Orr has written “the crisis of the biosphere is symptomatic of a prior crisis of mind, perception, and heart. It is not so much a problem in education, but a problem of education (Orr, 1994).” Orr goes on to say:

The Pacific Way: Sustainability in Higher Education in the South Pacific Island Nations.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to create an area profile of significant activity and possibility in higher education for sustainable development (ESD) in the island nations of the South Pacific Ocean.Design/methodology/approach – This is a descriptive research paper on philosophy, policy, and practice according to a methodology of categorical analysis by developments, challenges, and prospects. The focus is on higher education institutions, particularly the University of the South Pacific, the regional university of 12 Island nations in Oceania. The developments and prospects are contextualized, however, in the larger regional Pacific Education for Sustainable Development Framework and the Action Plan for Sustainable Development in the Pacific Islands 2008‐2014. Academic programs, policy statements, and education projects are analyzed.Findings – South Pacific universities possess rich missions that valorize traditional knowledge and culture. The region also has a sophisticated policy environment f...

Learning for a Sustainable Environment: professional development and teacher education in environmental education in the Asia‐Pacific region

Summary The close link between environmental education and development education advocated by major international reports of the last decade is operant in the UNESCO Asia‐Pacific region. A regional collaborative effort sponsored by the Asia‐Pacific Centre of Educational Innovation for Development (ACEID), UNESCO and Griffith University is creating an action research network to support teacher education in environmental education. The process is informed by Paul Harts and Ian Robottoms argument that constructivist epistemology is consistent with an ecological world view and, therefore, provides an appropriate grounding for professional development in environmental education. Teacher educators from some 20 countries in the region are sharing in the writing of workshop modules for pre‐ and in‐service teachers; these are then critiqued and adapted in accordance with the needs of other countries. A culture of action research is being created by encouraging those involved to write case studies of their design...

“More than scaling up”: a critical and practical inquiry into operationalizing sustainability competencies

This edited collection invites educational practitioners and theorists to speculate on - and craft visions for - the future of environmental and sustainability education. It explores what educational methods and practices might exist on the horizon, waiting for discovery and implementation. A global array of authors imagines alternative futures for the field and attempts to rethink environmental and sustainability education institutionally, intellectually, and pedagogically. These thought leaders chart how emerging modes of critical speculation might function as a means to remap and redesign the future of environmental and sustainability education today.Examining curriculum policy and pedagogy across borders: re-imagining socially transformative learning in early childhood educationHow can education train imagination and creativity to think about ‘the future we want?’ How can we create learning experiences to head towards these desirable futures? In this chapter, we explore b ...

The Earth Charter in Higher Education for Sustainability.

A central challenge of sustainable development is to provide material sufficiency for the human population while preserving the integrity of Earth’s biosphere. Current modes of economic production and consumption accomplish neither of these ethical imperatives. Institutions of higher education must show leadership in the transition to sustainable ways of life. The Earth Charter is a people’s declaration of ethical principles for securing a just, peaceful, humane and sustainable future. The document can serve as a valuable resource for tertiary educators. The Earth Charter provides an inclusive definition of sustainability, emphasising the interrelated concepts of ecological integrity; social and economic justice; and democracy, nonviolence and peace. It can help us resolve the tension between educating for sustainability while creating learning spaces for contestation and critical inquiry. The Earth Charter also valorises the principle of intergenerational equity, challenging us to create human livelihoods that secure the continued full flourishing of all life for generations to come.

Intergenerational learning and transformative leadership for sustainable futures

The end of this journey exploring the intersection of environmental education, intergenerational learning, and transformative leadership – which coincides with the end of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development – provides a good opportunity to reflect on where ‘we’ are. We between quotation marks as it is not so clear who will be reading this book, this Epilogue and how it will be read given the different vantage points and backgrounds the readership of this book is likely to have. Not only that, ‘we’ are unlikely to be in the same place – many of the authors stress the importance of providing space for diversity and being in different places and recognizing the generative potential of ‘difference’ as a quality of leadership for sustainability. It is unlikely and even undesirable that the various chapters will speak to every reader in the same way.