Training students for complex sustainability issues: a literature review on the design of inter- and transdisciplinary higher education
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
ISSN: 1467-6370
Article publication date: 7 July 2022
Issue publication date: 5 January 2023
Abstract
Purpose
To prepare students to address complex sustainability issues, they need to be trained in inter- and transdisciplinarity. This paper aims to contribute to better understanding how to do this, by providing insight into design elements and strategies deployed in inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability education.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature search was conducted to select inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability programmes. Through deductive and inductive qualitative analysis, design elements and strategies were identified and defined.
Findings
Eleven inter- and transdisciplinary programmes were identified. A comprehensive overview of their design elements and strategies is provided. Moreover, three patterns emerged: students were often only involved in the execution, but not in the preparation and evaluation stages of projects, and thus not trained in these; many programmes relied on diverse student representation for interdisciplinary learning and did not explicitly train interdisciplinary integration; and the societal value of transdisciplinary collaboration received little attention in the evaluation of outcomes and impacts.
Research limitations/implications
Follow-up research into the effectiveness of design elements and strategies for inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability education is needed, because the field seems to be understudied.
Practical implications
The comprehensive overview of design elements and strategies for inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability education holds the promise to inform design of novel programmes with similar ambitions. Moreover, the findings urge additional attention for explicitly training interdisciplinary integration and safeguarding the societal value of transdisciplinarity.
Originality/value
This review presents new insights into strategies and design elements for inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability education.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Ralph de Vries from the VU University library for his support in developing the search strategy for this literature review, including the search criteria and search string. The authors would also like to thank Suzan el Safti for her assistance in the early phases of abstract screening. The search string was developed by AH and the experienced librarian Ralph de Vries. Abstract and full text screening was performed by AH and AS. Data extraction and synthesis was performed by AH and AS. AH was responsible for writing the manuscript, with assistance from AS and EU. AS, EU and MZ read several versions of the manuscript and provided feedback and suggestions regularly. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by The Netherlands Initiative for Education Research (NRO) [project number 405.18865.703].
Citation
Horn, A., Scheffelaar, A., Urias, E. and Zweekhorst, M.B.M. (2023), "Training students for complex sustainability issues: a literature review on the design of inter- and transdisciplinary higher education", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-03-2021-0111
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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