Living and Learning Sustainability in Higher Education: A Research Study on Indicators of Social Learning

Numerous international declarations point to education and learning as inherent processes of sustainability. However, as the UNDESD (2005-2014) has recognised, there is a need to emphasise more the importance of learning (as opposed to teaching), as education is too frequently interpreted as an activity which takes place within the formal education system (UNESCO, 2005).

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a vital role in achieving sustainability, as they can contribute to it through education, research and operations, and provide learning for future decision-makers. However, change towards sustainability will require re-thinking the role of HEIs as a whole and changing thinking behind routine decisions (Hammond Creighton, 1998). There is a need to create learning opportunities where students and staff can develop their understanding and own responses to sustainability.

Research undertaken in the area of sustainability in Higher Education has been focused on: (i) campus management (Wright, 2006); (ii) formal curriculum; (iii) policy analysis; and/or (iv) development of theory (Wright, 2006). Although there has been substantial work on these areas, research in Higher Education has not contributed to understanding the relationship between learning for sustainability and institutional change within Higher Education itself.

Wals (2007) states that sustainability addressed as a social learning process is rooted in the life-worlds of people and the encounters they have with each other. Social learning provides an environment in which people from different backgrounds can meet; this generates more open, equitable and competent learning processes (Glasser, 2007). This research will consider the “learning by individuals that takes place in social settings and is socially constructed” (Parson and Clark, 1995, p.429). The present research builds upon this work on social learning, but will extend the concept framework to be applicable to HEIs.

This research is focused on the learning that occurs in HEIs within differing social contexts and how this learning contributes to shifting thinking and actions of staff (within the institution) in the area of sustainability. This research explores how and where opportunities for social learning for sustainability exist in HEIs. It also analyses the dialectical relationship that is likely to exist between social learning and institutional development for sustainability. The ultimate goal is to construct indicators which can assess and improve HEIs contribution of social learning in the attainment of sustainability.

The research is being conducted in three HEIs in the United Kingdom, which have made an explicit commitment to improving their sustainability performance and provide learning opportunities in sustainability for students and staff. These institutions are the University of Gloucestershire, the University of Bradford and the University of Bristol. The research seeks to capture and document lived experiences of staff (academic, administrative and support) on social learning for sustainability in these three HEIs. The study is interested in some of these lived experiences which are informed by social learning opportunities.

This research is located within a critical theory perspective which provides a deeper and critical understanding of the dynamics of social learning in Higher Education Institutions. Critical theory is used to expose how issues related to power, participation, structure and agency in Higher Education enable or constrain social learning and engagement regarding sustainability. Due to the socio-cultural nature of this study and its emphasis on analysing staff experiences on social learning, this study is conducted within a qualitative approach.

The core technique used in this study is collective memory-work. The research has involved a group of members of staff who have reflected on their stories about social learning for sustainability in each Higher Education Institution. Other research methods and techniques such as institutional documentary review, interviews to senior managers, key informant input and direct observations are used to identify opportunities and constraints to enable social learning processes regarding sustainability in Higher Education.

The data collected is currently being analysed using thematic analysis, which consists of identifying a manageable set of themes through a process of coding the data, comparing codes, and identifying broader themes to construct the narrative of findings. This approach entails a critical reflection on the assumptions and biases of the researcher, co-researchers and informants to reflect and interpret the emergent data from the research. The themes developed in the data analysis will be used by the researchers as the basis to construct indicators of social learning. A list of potential indicators will then be sent to an international advisory group who will give feedback and validate the process. These indicators are meant to be an inspirational tool for HEIs, rather than a “ticking the box” checklist. Recommendations on how to promote social learning in Higher Education
Institutions will be finally outlined.

The researchers are currently analysing the data emerging from the different research methods employed in this study and are constructing a potential list of indicators of social learning for sustainability. These indicators will be sent to the international advisory group in October 2010. Preliminary results and indicators will be presented at the GUNI Conference in November 2010.

01/01/2009; Activite