Exploring Faculty Conceptualizations of Sustainability in Higher Education: Cultural Barriers to Organizational Change and Potential Resolutions

Paul Sylvestre, Tarah Wright and Kate Sherren
Additional contact information
Paul Sylvestre: Paul Sylvestre is Master of Environmental Studies student at the School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, Canada. Email: p.a.sylvestre@dal.ca
Tarah Wright: Tarah Wright is Associate Professor with the Environmental Sciences Programme at Dalhousie University, Canada. Email: tarah.wright@dal.ca
Kate Sherren: Kate Sherren is Assistant Professor at the School of Resource and Studies, Dalhousie University, Canada. Email: kate.sherren@dal.ca

Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 2013, vol. 7, issue 2, 223-244

Abstract: It is often suggested that for institutional change efforts towards sustainability to bear fruit a common vision for sustainability in higher education (SHE) is necessary. Given the contested nature of the concept and the complexity of academic institutional culture, seeking broad consensus around sustainability presents a significant challenge to those seeking organizational change for sustainability. This article describes a research project that explored professors’ conceptualizations of SHE in the case study of Dalhousie University. We identified a number of divergent and conflicting conceptualizations around not only the concept of sustainability but also the role of the university in education for it, and promoting sustainability outside of its walls. Given the nature of the tensions in this study in particular and how they relate to important debates in the field of SHE generally, we propose embracing a vision of sustainability rooted in plurality and dialogue.

Keywords: Sustainability in higher education; divergent conceptualizations; pluralism; organizational change; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0973408214526491 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jousus:v:7:y:2013:i:2:p:223-244

DOI: 10.1177/0973408214526491

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Education for Sustainable Development
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().