From Awareness to Action: Transformative Education for Sustainability at Australian Universities

Ehssan Sakhaee ()
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Ehssan Sakhaee: University of Canberra

Chapter 13 in The Sustainable Organization, 2025, pp 265-273 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter explores the critical role of sustainability education in fostering a sustainable future, emphasizing the importance of inner development goals alongside traditional educational approaches. It highlights the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) framework (see https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org ), which complements the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; see https://sdgs.un.org/goals ) by focusing on essential personal and collective skills. The chapter reviews the evolution of sustainability education from its early ecological focus to a more holistic approach that includes complex global challenges such as climate change, poverty, and pandemics. It discusses the integration of sustainability education into higher education through innovative pedagogical techniques like project-based learning and systems thinking within an awareness-based framework that was introduced in the previous book of this series (see Sakhaee, E., “The AAUL Framework of Leadership in Times of Crisis: Awareness, Acceptance, Understanding Leadership (AAUL) Framework in the Context of Self, Others, and the Wider VUCA Organization, Society, and the World.” In Wollmann, P.; Kempf, M.; Kühn, F., Püringer, R. (Eds.): Organization and Leadership in Disruptive Times (2021) (pp. 97–108). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63034-8_8 ). The chapter also presents a case study of a sustainability course at an Australian university, detailing its impact on students’ understanding and attitudes toward sustainability. Reflections from students underscore the transformative potential of sustainability education that combines intrinsic motivation, mindfulness, and a comprehensive understanding of sustainability issues. The findings advocate for a dual emphasis on inner and outer development in sustainability education to prepare future leaders capable of addressing global challenges effectively.

Keywords: UN sustainable development goals (SDGs); Inner development goals (IDGs); Sustainability education; Higher education; Project-based learning; Systems thinking; AAUL framework (awareness; acceptance; understanding leadership); Intrinsic motivation; Mindfulness; Comprehensive understanding of sustainability issues (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-89549-4_13

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