Session Information
30 SES 08 B, Higher education and ESE
Paper Session
Contribution
This paper has its origins in a forthcoming book chapter (tentatively entitled ‘Professional development for staff for inspiring ESD’) which will form part of a new edited text about Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in international higher education that, subject to final confirmation with the academic publisher, will be published in 2024. Taken as a whole, the handbook will discuss perspectives on and practices for ESD in universities, examining how ESD can be embedded in all disciplines and departments by way of a ‘whole university approach’. Its chapters will address issues including (but not limited to): what ESD ‘is and means’; interdisciplinarity and staff engagement; whole institution approaches to ESD; ESD in the curriculum; assessment for ESD; leadership and governance; and, support for and evaluation of ESD initiatives.
My own paper will be based on my chapter contribution to this book. The key premise of the paper is: if higher education is to promote and innovate in sustainability, and our aim is to develop authentic sustainable graduates through learning, teaching and the broader student experience, our staff also need to be ‘sustainability literate’ – and enabled, through their own expertise areas, to be advocates for sustainability. Thus, I will problematise and discuss the need for appropriate and diverse ESD-based professional development opportunities for staff in higher education, be they university leaders, researchers, or educators. Key questions are:
- What are the professional development needs of higher education staff, to enable those staff to embed sustainability in their own curricula, teaching and assessment, accounting also for their own diverse disciplinary backgrounds?
- Is professional development for ESD sufficiently catering for all staff? What different professional development needs might specific staff need in order to fulfil their roles in a sustainability-informed way?
- How can we be more inclusive and participatory in our staff development about sustainability, to ensure that all staff perspectives are considered, thereby intersecting equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) principles with the development of ESD in our universities?
It will be argued that sustainability is relevant to all staff, and that there needs to be better ‘joining up’ of professional development activities, enabling staff, students and other partners to collaborate in their institutions rather than operating in ‘sustainability silos’. Further, that our professional development about ESD needs to be informed by student perspectives and experiences, utilising, for example, appropriate student partnership models (Cook-Sather et al, 2014).
The work is supported by a range of literature (see sample reference list below) but will make particular reference to the UNESCO Sustainability Development Goals, as well as the (UK) ‘Education for Sustainable Development Guidance’ document (QAA and Advance HE, 2021).
Method
The study - and its subsequent arguments and recommendations - will be based on the following secondary approaches: (a) Use of ESD and academic development literature, including literature on higher education leadership, EDI as applied to sustainability (and relevant critiques of current approaches) and relevant policy and guidance publications. Example studies are listed in the reference list below, but this will be developed ahead of the conference paper. (b) Reflection on and application of my own professional experience in relevant sustainability initiatives using a suitable approach (Moon, 2005). What I am referring to here is my own work on sustainability at several universities, including student-based collaborations, and my own attempts to develop professional development initiatives (including challenges I encountered). Also used here is my own previous published research on the role of academic development / staff development departments in undertaking professional development for sustainability. Finally, I have been involved in sector body events (e.g. ‘Sustainability Here and Now’ - campaign) which have yielded valuable records. (c) The use and application of case-study examples, where successful professional development initiatives have been introduced, usually in conjunction with students and / or other parties. How have these worked and what wider ‘good practice’ ideas can be taken from them that others can apply? My paper will be international in scope, but leave time for delegates to contribute their own experiences and ideas.
Expected Outcomes
Outcomes and recommendations are being developed, but provisional, summary points can be offered here. First, there are examples of innovative, impactful professional development activity, often in partnership with students, or involving enterprise initiatives, yet these are not sufficiently widespread. Elsewhere, professional development for ESD is sparse, bit-part and siloed; in some cases, questions remain over who is responsible or whether there is sufficient desire for it. My early outcomes also indicate a clear need for sustainability to involve ‘everybody’ in higher education, via opportunity and responsibility. These issues need to be considered in relation to leadership of ESD in higher education institutions: whilst in some cases, this is established, in others, leadership of ESD needs to be defined. The UNESCO SDGs can be used a key informant to help embed sustainability in every part of every institution, but they need to be used in conjunction with other frameworks, guidance and expertise. In sum, staff professional development for ESD should be an exciting and inclusive venture as opposed to another ‘add on’ that staff are mandated to undertake. But we need shared, innovative provision to make this happen.
References
Barlett, P. and Chase, G. (2013). Sustainability in Higher Education; Stories and Strategies for Transformation. Massachusetts, MIT Press. Barth, M., Michelsen, G., Rieckmann, M. and Thomas, I. (Eds.) (2015). Routledge Handbook of Higher Education for Sustainable Development. London, Routledge. Baughan, P. (2015). Sustainability policy and sustainability in higher education curricula: the educational developer perspective. International Journal for Academic Development, 20, 4, 319-332. Baughan, P. (Ed.) (2021). Voices of Sustainability Blog Collection, York, Advance HE. Caradonna, J. (2016). Sustainability: A History. Oxford, University of Oxford. Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C. and Felten. P. (2014). Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching: A Guide for Faculty. CA, Jossey-Bass. Drayson, R., Bone, E., Agombar, J. and Kemp, S. (2014). Student attitudes towards and skills for sustainable development. York, The Higher Education Academy/National Union of Students. Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C. and Felten, P. (2014). Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching: A Guide for Faculty. CA, Jossey-Bass Hopkinson, P., Hughes, P. and Layer, G. (2008). Sustainable graduates: linking formal, informal and campus curricula to embed education for sustainable development in the student learning experience. Environmental Education Research, 14, 4, 435-454. Kale, S. (2020) ‘We need to be heard’: the BAME climate activists who won’t be ignored. The Guardian, 9.3.20. Moon, J. (2005), ‘Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice’, London, Routledge. National Union of Students (2018). Sustainability Skills Survey 2017-18. Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) & Advance HE (2021) Education for Sustainable Development Guidance, Gloucester, QAA. Stough, T., Ceulemans, K., Lambrechts, W and Cappuyns, V. (2017). Assessing sustainability in higher education curricula: A critical reflection on validity issues. Journal of Cleaner Production, 172, 4456 – 4466. Tilbury, D. (2021) Embed sustainability in university teaching to save the planet. Times Higher Education, 31st October. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2017). Education for Sustainable Development Goals: Learning Objectives. Paris, France. Smith, A. and Clark, J. (2022) The Intellectual and Practical Alignment of ESD: From a philosophy of ‘the University’ via admin processes to assessment specifics. Webinar for Centre for Educational Development and Innovation, University of Glasgow, 31.1.21. Winter, J. and Cotton, D. (2012a). Making the hidden curriculum visible: sustainability literacy in higher education. Environmental Education Research, 18, 6, 783-796. Wood, B., Cornforth, S., Beals, F., Taylor, M. and Tallon, R. (2016). Sustainability champions? Academic identities and sustainability curricula in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 17, 3, 342-360.
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