Assessing Sustainability Curriculum: From Transmissive to Transformative Approaches

Autor/inn/en	Gaard, Greta C.; Blades, Jarod; Wright, Mary
Titel	Assessing Sustainability Curriculum: From Transmissive to Transformative Approaches
Quelle	In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 18 (2017) 7, S.1263-1278 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1467-6370
DOI	10.1108/IJSHE-11-2015-0186
Schlagwörter	Curriculum Evaluation; Sustainability; Environmental Education; College Curriculum; College Faculty; Teacher Surveys; Course Descriptions; Curriculum Development; Teacher Workshops; Barriers; Self Evaluation (Individuals); Case Studies; Statistical Analysis; Qualitative Research; Georgia (Atlanta) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Curriculum; Evaluation; Curriculumevaluation; Lehrplan; Rahmenplan; Evaluierung; Nachhaltigkeit; Umweltbildung; Umwelterziehung; Umweltpädagogik; Fakultät; Kursstrukturplan; Development; Curriculumentwicklung; Entwicklung; Case study; Fallstudie; Case Study; Statistische Analyse; Qualitative Forschung
Abstract	Purpose: This paper aims to describe a two-stage sustainability curriculum assessment, providing tools and strategies for other faculty to use in implementing their own sustainability assessments. Design/methodology/approach: In the first stage of the five-year curriculum assessment, the authors used an anonymous survey of sustainability faculty and requested data that would verify the survey's self-reporting: updated sustainability syllabi, and answers to the question, "where have you integrated the three aspects of sustainability--biological systems, social systems, economic systems--into this course?" Finding that the self-reporting results did not match the evidence on the syllabi, the authors interrogated their methods from the faculty workshop trainings for sustainability curriculum transformation. Findings: The authors' workshops had not provided clear definitions for "sustainability" and the learning outcomes expected in sustainability courses. They had also not addressed the role of transformative pedagogy in teaching a holistic approach to sustainability. The research identified and transcended five key barriers to implementing sustainability curriculum: an over-reliance on faculty volunteers, unclear and unenforced expectations about sustainability implementations, a failure to recognize and circumvent institutional and philosophical barriers to teaching sustainability's interdisciplinary approach through disciplinary-based curriculum, conceiving of sustainability pedagogy as transmission rather than transformation, and overlooking the ecology of educational systems as nested within the larger sociopolitical environment. Research limitations/implications: This study confirms the limitations of faculty self-reporting unless augmented with verifiable data. Practical implications: Sustainability educators can use this research to devise curriculum or program assessment on their campuses: the mixed-methods approach to data collection, the inquiry into sustainability workshop trainings, the elements required on sustainability syllabi for building a coherent sustainability studies program, the resources for practicing a transformative sustainability pedagogy, and the barriers to sustainability implementation along with strategies for surmounting these barriers will all be of use. Originality/value: This paper explores and combats root causes for an all-too-common disconnection between positive faculty self-assessment and syllabi that do not fully integrate sustainability across the disciplines. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01