What Can Sociology And Sociologists Tell Us About Sustainability In Higher Education? – Reflections On A Phenomenographic Study

Author(s):

Patrick Baughan(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

30. Environmental and Sustainability Education Research (ESER)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

30 SES 10 A, Innovative ESE Teaching in Higher Education

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-25

15:30-17:00

Room:

NM-A105

Chair:

Marco Rieckmann

Contribution

Sustainability represents a topic, issue, and set of practices that has attracted considerable interest in the higher education sector, but has also tended to divide opinion (Baughan, 2015). On the one hand, it has been influential in informing aspects of higher education activity, policy, research and teaching. Conversely, it is often treated with scepticism due to the lack of clarity over what it means and encompasses, and also because it is sometimes interpreted as an imposed agenda through which staff and students are expected to enact certain ‘sustainable’ actions and behaviours.

Correspondingly, many published articles and books – in Europe, America and elsewhere - have examined different aspects of sustainability in higher education, often in the context of individual disciplines (Barlett & Chase, 2013; Reid & Petocz, 2006; Jones et al., 2010; Johnston, 2013). These disciplinary perspectives have been valuable, providing insights into how sustainability is perceived and can be addressed within disciplinary research and teaching, and providing more general insights too.

However, in spite of this disciplinary interest, relatively few studies have focused on sociological interpretations of sustainability, which is surprising in view of the fact that sociology and sustainability share an interest in society and social change, and sociological research and teaching have addressed related areas such as the environment and consumption (Soron, 2010). Indeed, some sociologists have advocated closer links between their discipline and sustainability, Passerini (1998) stating “… sociology is uniquely equipped with the theoretical and methodological background to contribute scientifically accurate understandings of this phenomenon to a world much in need of such guidance”, adding that the sociological task “…is to examine how social systems create or resist sustainability claims and action in light of society’s dependence on, and inseparability from the natural environment”.

Consequently, the purpose of my paper will be to discuss a phenomenographic research project I have recently undertaken which taps further into the relationship between sociology and sustainability, and examines how sociology can inform our understanding of the issues and challenges associated with sustainability. The project investigates sociology academic staff and student perspectives about sustainability in higher education, seeking to understand, from their accounts, what sustainability is, what it can contribute to higher education, and whether it should be addressed in university curricula. The work introduces a further dimension in that it considers conceptions of sustainability in relation to professional identity (Henkel, 2000; Quigley, 2011), to establish whether sociology staff and students view sustainability to form part of their own roles and identities.

Research question: What variations exist in sociology academic staff and students in their accounts about and experiences of sustainability in higher education?

Subsidiary questions: What do sociology staff and students understand by sustainability? Should sustainability be included in higher education curricula? Does sustainability inform self-perceptions of professional identity?

Central line of argument: Based on the outcomes of the study, it will be argued that sociological interpretations and accounts offer important insights for our understanding of complexities, challenges and debates associated with sustainability in higher education. Whilst providing immediate insights about sustainability in sociology itself, the findings offer broader lessons which can be applied to other disciplines and areas of higher education activity, because sustainability is a societal phenomena, and in this capacity shares traits with sociology. With the research and data analysis now undertaken, I will use this paper to summarise the project, and present a selection of the findings, recommendations and conclusions.

Method

The project adopts a phenomenographic approach, because it focuses on variation in the way a particular phenomenon (sustainability in higher education) is experienced amongst a group of participants (sociology staff and students). Phenomenography assumes that experiences may be depicted by a limited number of qualitatively distinct categories of description (Marton, 1981), the researcher seeking to develop an understanding of the meanings of those categories and how they inter-relate (Entwistle, 1997). In deciding to use phenomenography, I was expecting to find variation in participant accounts, a decision aided by first piloting the study at my own institution (and the pilot revealed clear examples of variation). In addition, phenomenography already appears to be an appropriate approach for researching sustainability (Carew & Mitchell, 2006; Corney & Reid, 2007; Reid & Petocz, 2006). Design of this project was informed by phenomenography literature including Åkerlind (2005, 2007) and Cousin (2009). Interviews were conducted with 24 sociology staff and students. When using phenomenography, it is customary to try to achieve variation in the sample group to maximise variation in the outcomes. This was achieved through several means. First, the study was undertaken at three sociology departments, with distinctive histories, research foci, and curriculum structures. Staff with varied roles, levels of experience, and areas of expertise were interviewed, whilst students included first, second and final year undergraduates, including mature students, undertaking various sociology degree programmes. Although the universities selected are in the UK, participants originated from a number of countries, and a roughly equal gender mix was achieved (although more staff were male and more students were female). Phenomenography can be undertaken using several research methods, but I used semi-structured interviews for the collection of detailed, interpretive information. Four staff and four students were interviewed at each university. Interviews took 25-35 minutes each, with the exception of one or two which were longer. The project gained ethical approval from both my ‘home’ university and the three universities involved. All interviews were undertaken, transcribed and analysed by myself. The data analysis necessitated a multi-stage, iterative approach, featuring collation, organisation and editing of sets of conceptions into outcome spaces. In focusing on overall variation, transcripts were analysed together in a phased manner, but any marked differences between student and staff findings were noted.

Expected Outcomes

The data revealed much variation and richness amongst the accounts, ranging from identification of sustainability as part of ‘being a sociologist’ to negative sentiments and a sense that sustainability could be regarded as intrusive. Findings were organised under three outcome spaces, reflecting participant experiences of three components of sustainability: (a) “Sustainability and me” – understandings of sustainability and enacting of sustainability in everyday practices. (b) “Sustainability and my discipline” – accounts about the relationship between sustainability and sociology. (c) “Sustainability in sociology teaching and curricula” – accounts about the role of sustainability in sociology curricula. Each outcome space comprises a series of categories, which I will present during my paper. I will suggest that sociological perspectives provide distinctive insights into challenges and debates associated with sustainability in higher education in general, such an argument supported in statements throughout the accounts. Examples include: - Institutional sustainability initiatives should be defined and involve more than ‘being greener’. Sustainability should involve engaging staff and students critically, in relation to their disciplines and other activities, and also link to local communities. - In considering how sustainability can be taught, participants warned against using normative or ‘preaching’ approaches (proselytism) as these maybe interpreted as threats. Alternative approaches were identified. - Many misuses of sustainability were suggested, including as an instrument to justify neo-liberal policy, as justification for cost-cutting, and as a method of deflecting responsibilities from institution to individual. - The emphasis of sustainability needs to be less individualistic. There is a need to ‘find the right language’ to capture imaginations. Intuitively, many people subscribe to sustainability but not to its current discourses, so more meaningful approaches are needed. It will be concluded that sociology is well placed to contribute to more open and inclusive dialogues about sustainability in higher education, in Europe and beyond.

References

Åkerlind, G. (2005) Variation and commonality in phenomenographic research methods, Higher Education Research & Development, 24, 321-334. Åkerlind, G. (2007) Constraints on academics’ potential for developing as a teacher, Studies in Higher Education, 32, 1, 21-37. Barlett, P. & Chase, G. (2013). Sustainability in Higher Education; Stories and Strategies for Transformation (Urban and Industrial Environments). Massachusetts, MS: MIT Press. Baughan, P. (2015) Sustainability policy and sustainability in higher education curricula: the educational developer perspective. International Journal for Academic Development, 20, 3, 319-332. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2015.1070351 Carew, A. L. & Mitchell, C. A. (2006) Metaphors used by some engineering academics in Australia for understanding and explaining sustainability. Environmental Education Research, 12, 2, 217-231. Corney, G. & Reid, A. (2007) Student teachers’ learning about subject matter and pedagogy in education for sustainable development. Environmental Education Research, 13, 1, 33-54. Cousin, G. (2009) Researching learning in higher education: an introduction of contemporary methods and approaches. London, Routledge. Entwistle, N. (1997) Introduction: phenomenography in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 16, 127-134. Henkel, M. (2000). Academic Identities and Policy Change in Higher Education (Higher Education Policy), London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Johnston, L. (ed.). (2013) Higher Education for Sustainability: Cases, Challenges and Opportunities from Across the Curriculum, Routledge. Jones, P., Selby, D., & Sterling, S. (2010). Sustainability Education: Perspectives and Practice across Higher Education. London: Earthscan. Marton, F. (1981) Phenomenography – describing conceptions of the world around us, Instructional Science, 10, 177-200. Passerini, E. (1998) Sustainability and sociology. The American Sociologist, 29, 3, 59-70. Quigley, S. (2011) Academic Identity: A Modern Perspective, Educate, 11, 1, 20-30. Reid, A. & Petocz, P. (2006). University Lecturers’ Understanding of Sustainability. Higher Education, 51,105-123. Soron, D. (2010) Sustainability, Self-Identity and the Sociology of Consumption. Sustainable Development, 18, 172-181.

Author Information

Patrick Baughan (presenting / submitting)

City University London

Dept. of Educational Enhancement and Development

London

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