M. Stauffacher, A.I. Walter, D.J. Lang, A. Wiek and R.W. Scholz
The purpose of this paper is to present the transdisciplinary case study (TCS) as a learning framework based on what we call functional socio‐cultural constructivism and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the transdisciplinary case study (TCS) as a learning framework based on what we call functional socio‐cultural constructivism and project‐based learning (PBL). In doing so, the paper attempts to illustrate the applicability of TCS to learn competencies and skills necessary to research problems of sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
TCS is considered a learning framework based on the principle of self‐regulated learning; i.e. students must actively deal with the requirements as well as plan and execute their project work within their own worldviews and goals. TCS methods are essential as we tackle complex real‐world problems.
Findings
The paper discusses challenges and obstacles of such an approach and present lessons learned since 1994, on both the viewpoints of students and of teachers. It conclude that case study learning is a demanding task, especially in a transdisciplinary context where more challenges emerge than in PBL, since goals of teachers, case agents, and students have to be balanced.
Practical implications
TCS or courses like it are important for universities at the present time. Under present budget restrictions and a wide‐ranging mistrust of society toward universities, there is a necessity for a new contract between society and research: students should learn to take over responsibility in societal contexts and be able to communicate beyond the “ivory tower”.
Originality/value
The learning goals of TCS differ from the goals of most university courses. They are more comprehensive and include complex problem solving, societal context, and group processes. The ambitious goal is that students become enabled to tackle complex, real‐world problems.
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Anne-Karen Hueske and Caroline Aggestam Pontoppidan
During the last two decades, there has been increasing emphasis on higher education institutions as agents promoting and advancing sustainability. This chapter addresses how…
Abstract
During the last two decades, there has been increasing emphasis on higher education institutions as agents promoting and advancing sustainability. This chapter addresses how sustainability is integrated into management education at higher education institutions. It is based on a systematic literature review that teases out governance, education, research, outreach and campus operations (GEROCO) as key elements for embedding sustainability in management education. In addition, it identifies the important role of having an overall governing strategic direction that serves to anchor sustainability. The chapter highlights that sustainability and responsible management education initiatives are interconnected and are complex to embed through the university system.
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Jordi Peris Blanes, Oksana Udovyk, Fermín Cerezo, Guillermo Palau, Iván Cuesta, Dionisio Ortiz Miranda, Jose Luis Alapont, Débora Domingo, Carla Montagud, Ana Escario Chust, Sergio Segura Calero and Pablo Aranguiz Mesias
City–university partnerships (CUPs) are emerging as dynamic collaborations addressing urban challenges in various cities. This chapter delves into the transformative dynamics of…
Abstract
City–university partnerships (CUPs) are emerging as dynamic collaborations addressing urban challenges in various cities. This chapter delves into the transformative dynamics of the CUP in Valencia, particularly within the framework of the European Union (EU) Cities Mission. Valencia, a recognized leader, achieved the EU Mission Label in 2023, showcasing the success of its collaboration with the Polytechnic University of València (UPV). The Valencian CUP functions as a multi-faceted entity, serving as a knowledge powerhouse, an innovation catalyst in urban policies, and a vital educational space. The exploration unfolds various dimensions of the CUP’s impact, emphasizing its contributions to the city’s development model, innovation in urban policies, and transdisciplinary education. Examining collaborations and transformations leading to CUP creation and effective functioning through the multi-level perspective (MLP) framework illuminates a complexity of the CUP in Valencia. It also highlights the catalytic role of the EU Cities Mission in shaping CUP creation. In conclusion, the CUP in Valencia stands as a beacon of inspiration and a blueprint for global urban centers navigating the path toward climate neutrality. This chapter contributes valuable insights to the broader discourse on the transformative potential of CUPs, acknowledging the narrative as ongoing and calling for further research to uncover their full potential in shaping resilient and sustainable urban landscapes.
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Lakshmi Charli-Joseph, Ana E. Escalante, Hallie Eakin, Ma. José Solares, Marisa Mazari-Hiriart, Marcia Nation, Paola Gómez-Priego, César A. Domínguez Pérez-Tejada and Luis A. Bojórquez-Tapia
The authors describe the challenges and opportunities associated with developing an interdisciplinary sustainability programme in an emerging economy and illustrate how these are…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors describe the challenges and opportunities associated with developing an interdisciplinary sustainability programme in an emerging economy and illustrate how these are addressed through the approach taken for the development of the first postgraduate programme (MSc and PhD) in sustainability science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). The purpose of this paper is to outline an approach that has a potential for application in other parts of Latin America and perhaps more broadly in other world regions sharing some of the same challenges and opportunities as found in Mexico.
Design/methodology/approach
The implemented collaborative framework enabled a transformation of disciplinary research and teaching at UNAM into a postgraduate programme designed to generate cutting-edge educational and research capabilities. The approach to curriculum and programme design emphasized the process and methodological framework for curriculum development as much as the outcome itself. It entailed three primary elements: theory on collaborative processes; the curriculum design approach; and a formative and summative evaluation.
Findings
Several of the challenges faced were related to the nature of the institution (mainly because of the complexity of its organization and the emphasis in maintaining disciplinary boundaries), as well as to the curriculum development and design approach (acceptance of a competency-based programme appropriate for the MSc but considered restrictive for the PhD). The experience the authors relate in this paper exemplifies how to cope with such challenges. The approach enabled the emergence of a shared vision that was appropriated by all the participants. This ultimately empowered them in the presentation of the curriculum to their disciplinary peers. Furthermore, the approach facilitated the creation of a programme that remained salient along the process, while increasingly gained legitimacy and credibility among the academic community.
Social implications
In Mexico, the number of sustainability practitioners and scientists is still insufficient, and there is a clear lack of capacities in key themes and tools. UNAM combines a strong scientific tradition and a foundational mandate to serve both the country and humanity and is, thus, a natural platform for developing a higher education programme in sustainability science. The approach taken in the development of UNAM’s programme has useful lessons for the development of similar programmes in other developing nations facing similar educational and institutional challenges.
Originality/value
This model not only resulted in an innovative and novel programme in sustainability education but also, in the process, strengthened the competencies of diverse stakeholders through a systematic collaborative framework that fosters sustainability as a social learning process. Such experience illustrates the advantages of implementing a collaborative approach to enable the emergence of a critical mass capable to handle the diversity presupposed by a curriculum in sustainability science. It also shows how such a collaborative process can be implemented to overcome the limited resources, lack of experience in sustainability education and strong disciplinary focus that hampers the advancement of higher education in institutions similar to UNAM.
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Hagen Wäsche, Richard Beecroft, Helena Trenks, Andreas Seebacher and Oliver Parodi
The aim of this paper is to present a research approach that can contribute to a sustainable development of urban spaces for sports and physical activity, comprising theoretical…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to present a research approach that can contribute to a sustainable development of urban spaces for sports and physical activity, comprising theoretical reflections and directions for applied research.
Design/methodology/approach
This research builds on an urban real-world lab in a city district. It is based on principles of transdisciplinary research and intense processes of participation.
Findings
Five projects with regard to sport and physical activity development were implemented. The projects resulted in exchange and learning of citizens and other stakeholders as well as transformations of the social and built environment.
Research limitations/implications
Instead of top-down research and planning this approach enables bottom-up processes in which affected citizens and stakeholders can contribute to sport and physical activity development.
Practical implications
The approach can help to integrate sport and physical activity development and transformative processes of sustainable development in urban areas.
Social implications
Through participation and involvement, citizens can be empowered and social capital can be generated.
Originality/value
Urban real-world labs are a new approach for sport and physical activity development. This approach opens up the possibility to include sport and physical activity development in processes of city development. Hence, urban real-world labs are able to address an integrated urban and sport development process and can be used for city marketing purposes.
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Guido Caniglia, Beatrice John, Martin Kohler, Leonie Bellina, Arnim Wiek, Christopher Rojas, Manfred D. Laubichler and Daniel Lang
This paper aims to present an experience-based learning framework that provides a bottom-up, student-centered entrance point for the development of systems thinking, normative and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present an experience-based learning framework that provides a bottom-up, student-centered entrance point for the development of systems thinking, normative and collaborative competencies in sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
The framework combines mental mapping with exploratory walking. It interweaves mapping and walking activities with methodological and theoretical inputs as well as with reflections and discussions. The framework aligns experiential activities, i.e. mental mapping and walking, with learning objectives, i.e. novice-level sustainability competencies. The authors applied the framework for student activities in Phoenix/Tempe and Hamburg/Lüneburg as part of The Global Classroom, a project between Arizona State University in the USA and Leuphana University of Lüneburg in Germany.
Findings
The application of the experience-based learning framework demonstrates how students started developing systems thinking (e.g. understanding urban systems as functional entities and across different domains), normative (e.g. using different sustainability principles) and collaborative (e.g. learning across disciplinary, social and cultural differences) competencies in sustainability.
Originality/value
The experience-based learning framework contributes to the development of curricular activities for the initial development of sustainability competencies in introductory-level courses. It enables students from different disciplinary, social and cultural backgrounds, e.g. in international education, to collaboratively start developing such competencies. The framework can be adapted to different educational contexts.
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Arnim Wiek, Angela Xiong, Katja Brundiers and Sander van der Leeuw
The article aims to describe the problem- and project-based learning (PPBL) program and the institutional context at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability (SOS)…
Abstract
Purpose
The article aims to describe the problem- and project-based learning (PPBL) program and the institutional context at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability (SOS), with the goal of offering experience-based guidance for similar initiatives in sustainability programs around the world.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study presents the diverse PPBL activities that SOS offers on the undergraduate and the graduate levels and examines the institutional structures in place that support these activities. Data were collected through literature and document reviews, observations, interviews, student evaluations and faculty surveys.
Findings
The review of the PPBL program at SOS illustrates a case of successfully inaugurating a PPBL program in sustainability at a major university in the USA. Yet, a key challenge for this program and similar programs around the world is how to maintain the institutional momentum and make advances after the initial takeoff. SOS is attempting to address this issue by developing greater program cohesion and coordination, synthesizing past products and learning, monitoring and evaluating impacts, and developing PPBL training programs for faculty and graduate students.
Practical implications
The experiences and findings presented can help other programs to articulate the benefits of a PPBL initiative, anticipate implementation challenges and successfully support their own PPBL initiatives through adequate institutional structures. The review points to the fact that the major impact on both student learning and outcomes for partner organizations is achieved through a concerted effort by the organization as a whole. Successful PPBL programs require both top-down commitments from the administration and bottom-up drive from interested faculty and students.
Originality/value
This case study discusses the PPBL program at SOS. The findings can inform and support the ongoing transformation in sustainability education with the ultimate objective to build students’ capacities to address and solve wicked sustainability problems in the real world, competently collaborating with partners from government, business and civil society.
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Jantje Halberstadt, Jana-Michaela Timm, Sascha Kraus and Katherine Gundolf
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on how service learning approaches are able to foster social entrepreneurship competences. The aim of the paper is to formulate a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on how service learning approaches are able to foster social entrepreneurship competences. The aim of the paper is to formulate a framework of key competences for social entrepreneurship and to give first insights in how service learning actually has an impact on change in students’ set of competences.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative data collectionmethods of learning diaries of the students and semi-structured interviews, including 40 master’s students studying at a German university in interdisciplinary learning settings and five instructors from the same universities. Analysis was carried out by means of qualitative content analysis.
Findings
This paper provides empirical insights about the competences that are being fostered by service learning. From these, a framework for social entrepreneurship competences is being derived.
Research limitations/implications
The set of competences should be further investigated, as it was derived out of a small data set. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to use the set of competences for social entrepreneurship as a basis for future research and on a longer-term perspective, which lead to substantial implications for educational practice.
Practical implications
This paper includes implications for new perspectives on service learning in the light of the development of a relevant framework for social entrepreneurship competence, having significant implications for educational practice in social entrepreneurship education.
Originality/value
With this paper, the authors fulfill the need of a framework of social entrepreneurship competences that serves as a foundation for educational practice and further research in the context of service learning and beyond.
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Roland W. Scholz, Daniel J. Lang, Arnim Wiek, Alexander I. Walter and Michael Stauffacher
This paper aims at presenting the theoretical concepts of the transdisciplinary case study approach (TCS), which is a research and teaching approach developed and elaborated at…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at presenting the theoretical concepts of the transdisciplinary case study approach (TCS), which is a research and teaching approach developed and elaborated at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), as a means of transition support.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reveals the historical roots of case studies, transdisciplinarity and sustainable development as teaching and research paradigms. The TCS approach is presented, which has been developed at ETH for supporting transition management of regional, urban, and organizational systems. This approach is entrenched by an ontology that reveals the basic characteristics of ill‐defined transition problems, an epistemology that refers to Probabilistic Functionalism and distinguishes between multi‐layered systemic and normative epistemics, a methodology that includes a set of methods for case representation (including modelling and projection), assessment, and strategy building, and a project management model that refers to more than a dozen TCSs in the field of sustainable development. Problems of validity of TCSs as a research methodology are discussed.
Findings
Three major strengths of the TCS approach presented in the paper are: that it is based on three sound paradigms, which focus on different, relevant characteristics of complex, human‐environment systems; i.e. the case study approach, transdisciplinarity and sustainable development, that it is strictly organized according to an elaborated and consistent theoretical framework that includes ontological, epistemological, methodological, and organizational considerations, and that it is itself subject to an ongoing inquiry and adaptation process. All theoretical considerations of the paper are clarified be elaborated examples from the more than 10 years experience with TCS of the authors.
Practical implications
The paper gives a comprehensive overview of the theoretical foundation of TCS that might assist other scientists engaged in case study research and teaching to further develop their approaches. Additionally, relevant topics for further research in the field of TCS are presented which hopefully induce an inspiring discussion among case study researchers.
Originality/value
As far we know, this paper is one of the first that presents a comprehensive and theoretically sound overview of applying transdisciplinary case studies as means of sustainability learning. Thus, it can be seen as a first, crucial step for establishing the new research field of TCS research and a sound research community of complex, transdisciplinary problem solving towards sustainability learning.
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Abhishek Behl and Pankaj Dutta
The purpose of this paper is to understand the interlinkages between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and crowdfunding in the context of disaster relief operations (DRO). It…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the interlinkages between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and crowdfunding in the context of disaster relief operations (DRO). It intends to explore how information quality moderates the relationship of CSR and crowdfunding to achieve financial and social stability. The study also controls variables such as type of disaster, size of the firm and sector to which the firms belong while drawing implications.
Design/methodology/approach
The study collects empirical data in an Indian context through a structured questionnaire. The respondents belong to organizations which made a financial contribution toward DRO during the past decade (2008–2018). The sample size for data analysis is 232 responses belonging to different industries like plastic, chemical, textile and apparel, automotive parts and electronics, and construction. The study employs partial least squares structural equation modeling for testing the hypothesis.
Findings
Results indicate a positive effect of CSR activities on donation-based crowdfunding to achieve financial and social normalcy in a DRO. CSR can thus be used as an alternate way to support DRO. Results also reveal that quality of information positively impacts the relationship between crowdfunding and social aid as well as financial aid offered to the victims of the disasters. It is further observed that the type of disaster accounts for the inflow and frequency of funds made by companies as a part of their CSR activities.
Research limitations/implications
The study restricts its analysis to CSR contributions made by Indian firms for DRO in an Indian context. While the study is centered in an Indian context, it holds strong implications by offering guidelines and framework for integrating funds of the government, CSR contributions of companies and donations made by citizens. The outcome also provokes thoughts on testing the results with multiple disasters across the globe in order to validate the findings and possibly extend them.
Originality/value
The approach of the study holds a unique slot in understanding concepts relating to CSR, crowdfunding and information science literature in the context of DRO. The study offers unique contribution in making the readers aware how CSR funds, when guided through a donation-based crowdfunding platform can help achieve social and financial aid for the victims of natural disaster.