Students between Science and Society: Why Students' Learning Experiences in Transformative Spaces Are Vital to Higher Education Institutions

Autor/inn/en	Trechsel, Lilian Julia; Diebold, Clara Léonie; Zimmermann, Anne Barbara; Fischer, Manuel
Titel	Students between Science and Society: Why Students' Learning Experiences in Transformative Spaces Are Vital to Higher Education Institutions
Quelle	In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 24 (2023) 9, S.85-101 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1467-6370
DOI	10.1108/IJSHE-09-2021-0407
Schlagwörter	Science and Society; Transformative Learning; Trust (Psychology); Learning Experience; Classification; Self Efficacy; Change Agents; Informal Education; Student Attitudes; Social Integration; Empowerment; Sustainable Development; Student Projects; Active Learning; Grounded Theory; Social Change; Higher Education; Program Descriptions; Foreign Countries; College Students; Switzerland + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Pädagogische Transformation; Lernerfahrung; Classification system; Klassifikation; Klassifikationssystem; Self-efficacy; Selbstwirksamkeit; Informelle Bildung; Nichtformale Bildung; Schülerverhalten; Soziale Integration; Nachhaltige Entwicklung; Schulprojekt; Aktives Lernen; Sozialer Wandel; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Ausland; Collegestudent; Schweiz
Abstract	Purpose: This study aims to explore how the boundary between science and society can be addressed to support the transformation of higher education towards sustainable development (HESD) in the sense of the whole institution approach. It analyses students' learning experiences in self-led sustainability projects conducted outside formal curricula to highlight their potential contribution to HESD. The students' projects are conceived as learning spaces in "sustainability-oriented ecologies of learning" (Wals, 2020) in which five learning dimensions can be examined. Design/methodology/approach: Using an iterative, grounded-theory-inspired qualitative approach and sensitising concepts, 13 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted exploring students' learning experiences. Interviews were categorised in MAXQDA and analysed against a literature review. Findings: Results revealed that students' experiences of non-formal learning in self-led projects triggered deep learning and change agency. Trust, social cohesion, empowerment and self-efficacy were both results and conditions of learning. Students' learnings are classified according to higher education institutions' (HEIs) sustainability agendas, providing systematised insights for HEIs regarding their accommodative, reformative or transformative (Sterling, 2021) path to sustainable development. Originality/value: The education for sustainable development (ESD) debate focuses mainly on ESD competences in formal settings. Few studies explore students' learnings where formal and non-formal learning meet. This article investigates a space where students interact with different actors from society while remaining rooted in their HEIs. When acting as "change agents" in this hybrid context, students can also become "boundary agents" helping their HEIs move the sustainability agenda forward towards a whole institution approach. Learning from students' learnings is thus proposed as a lever for transformation. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01