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Professional development of sustainability competences in higher education

Professional development of sustainability competences in higher education PurposeThis paper aims to provide insights into the relation between professional development (PD) and organisational change processes towards sustainability, with a specific focus on empowerment.Design/methodology/approachThe paper builds upon a constructivist approach, combining a literature review, a desk research on key publications and reports and a socio-political analysis to reveal the specific context in Flanders, Belgium. Findings are then connected to earlier insights from research on organisational change for sustainability.FindingsThe paper provides a number of PD initiatives that focus on sustainability in general and in a single higher education (HE) institution. Framing such initiatives as an organisational change process offers insights on how elements of empowerment are currently incorporated in PD initiatives and how it can strengthen them to lead to the further integration of sustainability competences in HE.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations are linked with the kind of sources used in the constructivist approach. The analysis only looks at written reports on the topic, albeit it also builds upon the first-hand experiences of educators in the HE institution focused upon in the case.Practical implicationsThere is a need to frame PD initiatives as an organisational change process towards sustainability with specific attention towards empowerment. Without this framing, PD approaches comprise the risk of being left in the margins or being understood as single initiatives without any connection to the bigger picture, i.e. the transition towards sustainability in HE.Social implicationsInterlinking PD and organisational change provides opportunities to frame the sustainability transition within the university in a wider societal context.Originality/valueThe paper provides an original contribution to the debate on sustainability competences, as it frames the PD within an organisational context, rather than focusing on the individual role of educators. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Emerald Publishing

Professional development of sustainability competences in higher education

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
1467-6370
DOI
10.1108/IJSHE-02-2016-0028
Publisher site
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Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to provide insights into the relation between professional development (PD) and organisational change processes towards sustainability, with a specific focus on empowerment.Design/methodology/approachThe paper builds upon a constructivist approach, combining a literature review, a desk research on key publications and reports and a socio-political analysis to reveal the specific context in Flanders, Belgium. Findings are then connected to earlier insights from research on organisational change for sustainability.FindingsThe paper provides a number of PD initiatives that focus on sustainability in general and in a single higher education (HE) institution. Framing such initiatives as an organisational change process offers insights on how elements of empowerment are currently incorporated in PD initiatives and how it can strengthen them to lead to the further integration of sustainability competences in HE.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations are linked with the kind of sources used in the constructivist approach. The analysis only looks at written reports on the topic, albeit it also builds upon the first-hand experiences of educators in the HE institution focused upon in the case.Practical implicationsThere is a need to frame PD initiatives as an organisational change process towards sustainability with specific attention towards empowerment. Without this framing, PD approaches comprise the risk of being left in the margins or being understood as single initiatives without any connection to the bigger picture, i.e. the transition towards sustainability in HE.Social implicationsInterlinking PD and organisational change provides opportunities to frame the sustainability transition within the university in a wider societal context.Originality/valueThe paper provides an original contribution to the debate on sustainability competences, as it frames the PD within an organisational context, rather than focusing on the individual role of educators.

Journal

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jul 3, 2017

References

  • Successful change: paying attention to the intangibles
  • The teacher as change agent
  • Developing key competencies for sustainable development in higher education
  • Competencies in education for sustainable development: exploring the student teachers’ Views
  • Revolutions and second-best solutions: education for sustainable development in higher education
  • The BLK 21 programme in Germany: a ‘Gestaltungskompetenz’-based model for Education for Sustainable Development
  • Sustainable universities – a study of critical success factors for participatory approaches