Leading for sustainability in higher education: Exemplars from

Australian contexts Dr Sue Elliott

Senior Lecturer, School of Education, University of New England and Vice President Australian Association for

Environmental Education

Overview

1. The Australian higher education context and sustainability

2. A focus on three exemplars:

A. Interdisciplinary projects

B. Action research approaches

C. Vocational links and possibilities

3. Strategies for leading change

1. The Australian higher education context and sustainability

• Talloires Declaration (1990) An international

10 point action plan for sustainability in higher education

• UN Decade Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) Reorientation underway in terms of system thinking, new pedagogies and real-world challenges and vocational green skilling (UNESCO, 2012)

• Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS) (2006) ‘We aim to inspire, promote and support change towards best practice sustainability within the operations, curriculum and research of the tertiary education sector’

• Living Sustainably: National Action Plan (DEWHA, 2009)

Principles for working towards sustainability:

– transformation and change

– education for all and lifelong learning

– systems thinking

– envisioning a better future

– critical thinking and reflection

– participation

– partnerships for change

2. A focus on three exemplars:

A. Interdisciplinary projects at Queensland University of Technology

Project 1: Teacher education students undertook an integrated arts and education for sustainability unit over one semester with a focus on exploring identity through the arts and in relation to one’s place in the world. The intent was to promote ‘alternative ways of viewing issues and, therefore, learning about sustainability while at the same time underscoring the power of the Arts as a language for communication’ (O’Gorman, in press)

Student Comment

This subject certainly seems to have moved us all! I have learned the importance of nurturing a strong sense of connection between ourselves and other life forms/nature. I think we often see ourselves as 'above' or 'apart from' mother nature, but if we can change our perceptions, really accept that humans are in fact just one more link in the chain, perhaps we will take caring for that chain more seriously! I think the Arts is one way to help us build this understanding (O’Gorman, in press).

Project 2: From the ground up: Embedding sustainability in a real-world context through a multi-disciplinary approach to engaging with business

• Participants included staff and students across design and early childhood education

• Students subjects and assessments linked to a real-world scenario

• Studies and publication by research students and staff within the project

• Potential other partners such as health

• Model for multi-disciplinary and business/community partnerships

• Learning outcomes for everyone involved….in a collaborative atmosphere with cute koalas!

B. Action research approaches

• Action research is about action for change, a critically reflective and transformative process for all participants

• Kemmis (2009) describes participants as thinking, acting and relating differently with potential to also transform others through action research in education for sustainability

• Somekh (2006) identifies the location of action research ‘in an understanding of broader historical, political and ideological contexts’, facilitating reflection beyond immediate settings and prompting engagement with global understandings of sustainability

Action research in facilitating partnerships for change

‘I just think when we first started this ……..

……………we are getting excited about education for sustainability’ (Elliott, 2012)

Action research for promoting ‘thinking, acting and relating

differently’ with tertiary students

• Identify an action priority for change in their own lives

• Investigate, plan, implement the action priority

• Maintain a journal and evaluate the action priority

Student journal excerpts

• The way I think about sustainability has transformed from something I just do, to something I now know the importance of…

• I feel my conscience is awakened and my mind is set toward sustainability…

• Working with the children and making the centre more sustainable, I really began to feel the effects of what a small number of people can have on the environment…

• Not only were the children engaged in recycling, it was a stepping stone to much bigger things…

C. Vocational links and possibilities

• National VET Sector Sustainability Policy and Action Plan 2009-2012 a national framework to support the development of a productive workforce as industry, government, individuals and the wider community move to a sustainable economy.

• Green Skills Agreement (2010-2013) A Governmental Agreement to build the capacity of the VET sector to deliver the skills for sustainability required in the workplace and to enable individuals, businesses and communities to adjust to and prosper in a sustainable, low-carbon economy.

Broad objectives of the Green Skills Agreement

• Develop national standards in skills for sustainability

• Upskill VET Practitioners to ensure effective knowledge and training

• Review all Training Packages to embed sustainability knowledge, skills and principles

• Implement a transition strategy to re-skill vulnerable workers in transition to a low-carbon economy

Specific outcomes to date

• All Training Packages now include skills for sustainability

• Dual Diploma option, study a vocational and sustainability diploma concurrently

• VET Practitioners government funded training program ‘Sustainable Practice Skill Set units’

3. Strategies for leading change drawing on these exemplars

• Systemic approach to change

• Professional networks and collaborative partnerships

• Transformative teaching and learning pedagogies

• Resourcing and researching change

In the confrontation between the rock and stream, the stream always wins

not through strength but through persistence….Buddha

References Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (2006). Retrieved from http://www.acts.asn.au/ Commonwealth of Australia Department of Environment Water Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) (2009). Living Sustainably: National Action Plan. Canberra: Department of Environment Water Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved from http://aries.mq.edu.au/pdf/national_action_plan.pdf Elliott, S. (2012). Sustainable outdoor playspaces in early childhood centres: Investigating perceptions, facilitating change and generating theory. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of New England, Armidale, NSW. Green Skills Agreement (2010-2013). Retrieved from http://www.innovation.gov.au/Skills/SkillsTrainingAndWorkforceDevelopment/Documents/GreenSkillsAgreement.pdf Kemmis, S. (2009), ‘Action research as a practice-based practice’, Educational Action Research, 17 (3), 463-474. National VET Sector Sustainability Policy and Action Plan 2009-2012. Retrieved from http://www.innovation.gov.au/skills/SkillsTrainingAndWorkforceDevelopment/ClimateChangeAndSkillsForSustainability/Pages/NationalVetSectorSustainabilityActionPlan.aspx O’ Gorman, L. (in press). The Arts and education for sustainability: Shaping student teachers’ identities towards sustainability in J. Davis & S. Elliott, Research in Early Childhood Education for Sustainability: International perspectives and provocations, London: Routledge. Somekh, B. (2006). Action research: A methodology for change and development. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Talloires Declaration (1990). Retrieved from http://talloiresnetwork.tufts.edu/what-is-the-talloires-network/talloires-declaration/ UNESCO (2012). Shaping the education of tomorrow 2012 Report on the UN Decade Education for Sustainable Development. Paris: UNESCO. Refer p. 41-48.

Acknowledgement

Thanks to the tertiary students and academics, children and families who have participated in the

studies described here and/or shared their expertise.

For further information about

Project 2: From the ground up: Embedding sustainability in a real-world context through a multi-disciplinary approach to engaging with

business, please contact Assoc. Prof. Julie Davis at j.davis@qut.edu.au