Get documents about "ESD Survey
Document Sample
Sustainability @ NTU
Richard Howarth
For HE after Bone and Agombar (2011)?
• Need for a national working definition of Sustainable Development and its
component aspects to enable practical progress to be made and measured.
• It is suggested (by Bone and Agombar, 2001) that the following definition of
SD in HE, used by the 2008 HEFCE Strategic Review, is adopted as a
starting point (i.e. as a defintion of SD in HE), with subsequent opportunities
for review in the light of developing experience and knowledge:
Teaching (or research) that is significant for sustainable development will include a significant
element related to either or both of the natural environment and natural resources, PLUS a
significant element related to either or both of economic or social issues.
For report see: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/ourwork/sustainability/FirstYearAttitiudes_FinalReport.pdf
15 August 2012
The S Word(s)?
• In general lots of discussion…
• 100s of definitions of Sustainable Development (SD) and sustainability
• The ‘Brundtland’ and WCED definition of SD (the most common?):
‘Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.’
• Securing the Future (DEFRA, 2005):
‘enabl[ing] all people throughout the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a
better quality of life, without compromising the quality of life of future generations’
• ‘Greenest’ government yet (DEFRA, 2011):
‘The coalition Government is committed to sustainable development (SD). This means
making the necessary decisions now to realise our vision of stimulating economic
growth and tackling the deficit, maximising wellbeing and protecting our
environment, without negatively impacting on the ability of future generations to do
the same.’
15 August 2012
The S thing(s)?
• Related to definitions, DEFRA (2011) also note:
‘Sustainable Development recognises that the three ‘pillars’ – the economy, society and
the environment – are interconnected.’
• Which brings us onto the whole area of visual representation(s) too!
Also see for example: http://computingforsustainability.wordpress.com/2009/03/15/visualising-sustainability/
15 August 2012
Interpreting and doing?
• The guiding principles for Securing the Future (2005) are:
Interpreting and doing?
The way we see, value and
understand things (i.e. the
environment, economy and
society and related needs and
sustainability), and thus what
we mean by ‘development’, Assessment of progress
potentially affects how things and ‘relative’ performance
are done (and the means to as related back to
achieve our outcomes; understanding and
including how we do business interpretation of problems
and the role of the and their (re)solution
environment, society and
economy here) and the relative
success of the process?
Also see for example: http://www.undp.org/fssd/
Sustainability and HE
• Tailloires Declaration (1992):
‘Universities educate most of the people who develop and manage society's
institutions. For this reason, universities bear profound responsibilities to increase the
awareness, knowledge, technologies and tools to create an environmentally
sustainable future.’
• Copernicus Charter (1994:
‘Universities and equivalent institutions of higher education train the coming
generations of citizens and have expertise in all fields of research, both in technology
as well as in the natural, human and social sciences. It is consequently their duty to
propagate environmental literacy and to promote the practice of environmental ethics
in society, in accordance with the principles set out in the Magna Carta of European
Universities and subsequent university declarations, and along the lines of the
UNCED recommendations for environment and development education.’
• Earth Charter (final point as regards to what to do; rather than why):
‘Integrating the knowledge, values and skills needed for a sustainable way of life into
formal education and lifelong learning.’
Sustainability in HE
• UN Decade of Education for SD (runs till 2014)
‘Education for sustainable development (ESD) is not a particular programme or
project, but is rather an umbrella for many forms of education that already exist, and
new ones that remain to be created. ESD promotes efforts to rethink educational
programmes and systems (both methods and contents) that currently support
unsustainable societies.’
• UNESCO pillars, to ensure quality in/of ESD:
–learning to know,
–learning to do,
–learning to live together,
–learning to be
–learning to transform oneself and society (the extra ‘SD’ pillar).
Sustainability in HE
• Related to the pillars, and recently (UNECE, 2011), it is noted that…
‘The UNECE Strategy for ESD aims to equip people with knowledge, skills, understanding, attitude and values
compatible with sustainable development.’
• And here it (the UNECE strategy) calls specifically for the development of educators’
competences in order for them to engage in ESD .
• The policy view seeks to engage formal and informal education at the international,
regional, national, subnational and organizational level(s)
• In doing this, it offers recommendations for:
–professional development in education
–governance and management of institutions
–curriculum development
–monitoring and assessment
• And it maps the 5 pillars against the following characteristics to view competences:
–a holistic approach and integrative thinking and practice
–envisioning change and exploration and engagement of/with the past, present and future; and
–achieving transformation of people, pedagogy and systems.
See for: http://www.unece.org/env/esd/SC.Meet.htm
Sustainability in HE
• Securing the Future (DEFRA, 2005) clearly identifies the role and
impact of educators and esp. HEIs
• There has been (as is the case with the overall agenda) a move from
‘greening’ and the environment to the wider concept and
consideration of SD (and action based on this) and a desire to
integrate ESD in FHE professional education programmes
• Clear focus here on (i.e. what we do and how we do it):
– Leadership and governance
– Estates and operations
– Curriculum and outcomes
– Partnerships and ‘connectedness’
• Work related to PSF in context of the above and ESD too
Also see for example: http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/stibbe-handbook-of-sustainability
Discussion: http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2011/jun/22/green-league-table-live-chat
Widening: http://insight.glos.ac.uk/SUSTAINABILITY/UNESCOCULTURE/Pages/default.aspx
Context of Sustainability at NTU
Economic Pressures Social Pressures Environmental Pressures
Employers’ Interest
StudentForce Survey
Role of HE
funding’
Links toHEFCE
NUS Survey Insight
‘Sustainability
concerns are significant in students’
university choices’, ‘SD is nebulous’,
Policy, PSF Consultation definition needed. Bone and Agombar, 2011
‘sustainability literacy’, Green
Academy, etc Student Interest
HEA
SHED Network Sustainability at
NTU
ESD Survey Insight
Staff Interest
EAUC
Understanding and appreciation of
social, economic or environmental
sustainability issues
NTU and share
Develop Strategy knowledge of
Government Policy education for sustainable development
for each discipline, or multi-disciplinary
context drawing on previous work (yr 1-4,
prioritised to schedules of approvals and
UUK etc reviews in the first instance)
QAA etc UTC
Universities That Count: NTU Performance – 09/10
Low score for NTU curriculum-related SD
Source: UTC NTU Feedback Report, 2009/10
Overview to Research
• Research built on SPUR project by engaging NTU academic staff
directly to offer insight(s) into:
– Sustainability related activities and practices within the NTU curricula
– Related drivers for and barriers to sustainability activities and practices.
• The following objectives guided the study and survey content:
– Identify sustainability activities currently being carried out across the NTU
curricula (including within physical and virtual spaces );
– Using staff views, identify which (if any) organisational processes and structures
inhibit or promote the implementation of ESD (Education for Sustainable
Development);
– Gauge staff knowledge of and interest in sustainability; and
– Offer recommendations on how to further embed ESD across NTU.
Overview to Research
• 481 NTU staff accessed the survey and 201 completed it;
– 71% city staff, 22% Clifton staff and 7% Brackenhurst staff.
– 72% of those who completed the survey classed themselves as academic staff
• a 12% overall response rate from NTU academics; a good overall response to the survey
– a particularly good response from certain schools
• E.g. ARES, NBS, SSS and ADBE
– 80% of the respondents had module leadership roles, suggesting close knowledge
of module content & possibly some involvement in module development but also
the potential to influence the future?
– With heterogeneity of disciplines across NTU and within schools some caution is
needed with interpretation; are the responses from interested individuals?
Summary of findings
• Current situation:
– there are, overall, positive attitudes towards sustainability and ESD from
staff related to current activity.
• subject, programme and module level
• for work in this area and inclusion in the curricula in general and at NTU
– it is reported that students are interested in ESD and external agencies
(e.g. employers and professional bodies) are also interested; this
supports earlier external studies of the sector
– there is much activity outside the formal curricula and thus there is
potential for sharing of information and experience with and between
staff, students etc
– there is also much current activity within the curricula (and wider area of
research) that can also be shared internally and/or externally.
• research currently being addressed (E.g. via portal)
• sustainability is primarily environment
Comment on findings
• It is evident, however, that there are some areas for clarity/development, E.g:
– It is reported that most activity does not come as a result of NTU policy or
requirements at present,
– Academic staff are unclear:
• what NTU expects in this area
• how NTU defines ESD/sustainability
• how this area relates to others (for example, global citizenship)
– ESD-related activity occurs apparently in an uncoordinated way across different:
‘levels’ of study; disciplines; schools and/or colleges.
• although sustainability will have varied/various interpretations and relevance; can
however, also be related to the above and below
– Currently no formal NTU-wide processes for promoting and assuring ESD content
and development(s); and in the case of the above why developments have or have
not occurred?
– Overall issues of quality/quantity therefore?
Summary and Options
Risk?
Summary
• Offered comment on sustainability and sustainability @ NTU
• Provided a basis for further discussion and following presentations
• Sustainability in curriculum at NTU is part of a bigger picture
– curriculum
– life and study at NTU and beyond
– important specific and overall role to play?
Related docs
Other docs by ewghwehws
Control system for dynamoelectric machines with differentially excited fields
Views: 0 | Downloads: 0
