Orana Sandri and Sarah Holdsworth
This paper aims to draw on an in-depth qualitative case study of an undergraduate sustainability education course to show the extent of pedagogical reflection and teaching…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to draw on an in-depth qualitative case study of an undergraduate sustainability education course to show the extent of pedagogical reflection and teaching capability demonstrated in lived practice to support transformative, systemic and capability building learning processes, as advocated in the literature, for effective sustainability education.
Design/methodology/approach
Transformative learning and capability building are an essential part of sustainability education according to the growing body of literature. This approach to education, however, necessitates critical, learner-centred pedagogies which challenge traditional transmissive modes of teaching.
Findings
This paper finds that pedagogy which supports the learning experiences and outcomes advocated in sustainability education literature requires significant reflection on behalf of the educator and also motivation, capability and experience to do this, thus more research and academic support is needed which focusses on pedagogical development within sustainability education.
Originality/value
Literature on sustainability education often assumes that teachers are capable of reflecting on and transforming their pedagogical practice, and therefore, the pedagogical implications of sustainability education are often understated in research findings. This paper highlights why pedagogical reflection plays a crucial role in the effective implementation of sustainability education.
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Michelle Turner, Christina Scott-Young and Sarah Holdsworth
Resilience development during university can increase the likelihood of positive employment outcomes for project management graduates in what is known as a stressful profession…
Abstract
Purpose
Resilience development during university can increase the likelihood of positive employment outcomes for project management graduates in what is known as a stressful profession where the prevalence of project failure, job insecurity, and burnout is high. However, a focus on student resilience in project management education is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by establishing a baseline profile of resilience for project management students, identifying priority areas of resilience development and exploring the relationship between resilience and well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 292 Australian students undertaking project management studies completed a survey comprising of the Resilience at University scale, the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale and an item assessing sleep adequacy.
Findings
A resilience profile for undergraduate, postgraduate, male and female project management students was calculated. The resilience profile identified differences according to gender, and between undergraduate and postgraduate students. Mental well-being and adequate sleep were found to be significantly related to resilience.
Practical implications
Findings support the call for a greater emphasis on resilience development in the project management curriculum for undergraduates and postgraduates. One priority area likely to facilitate resilience is the ability to maintain perspective. As well as supporting academic achievement, it will assist graduates to navigate through complex, uncertain and challenging project environments.
Originality/value
This is the first known study of resilience for students undertaking project management studies in higher education.
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Orana Sandri, Sarah Holdsworth and Ian Thomas
The purpose of this paper is to highlight both the need for measurement of graduate capabilities post-degree completion and the challenges posed by such a task. Higher education…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight both the need for measurement of graduate capabilities post-degree completion and the challenges posed by such a task. Higher education institutions provide an important site of learning that can equip future professionals with capabilities to manage and respond to complex sustainability challenges in their careers. Measurement of graduate uptake and application of sustainability capabilities is an important part of advancing sustainability curriculum and pedagogy to educate the twenty-first century sustainability capable graduates.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper explores the nature of capabilities and reviews existing approaches to capability assessment.
Findings
The nature of capabilities and their assessment post-degree completion pose a number of challenges for the development of assessment and measurement tools, which is why sustainability capability assessment methods are deserving of specific research attention.
Research limitations/implications
The assessment and application of capability in graduates’ professional contexts are an important part of closing the loop between learning and teaching in higher education and professional application of this learning. It is imperative that more research be undertaken on the methodology of graduate assessment, given the need to understand graduate learning outcomes as they apply in professional settings for graduate employability, promoting sustainability and developing effective sustainability pedagogy.
Practical implications
Given that there is significant overlap between employability skills, generic graduate attributes and sustainability capabilities, this paper has relevance beyond the measurement of sustainability capability to the measurement of uptake and professional application of generic capabilities more broadly.
Social implications
The measurement of graduate capability offers potential to enhance learning for sustainability. Measurement of graduate capabilities is a critical part of closing the loop between workplace expectations, graduate learning outcomes, learning and teaching and curriculum development during degree programs.
Originality/value
The review provided in this paper highlights a critical gap in research on methodologies to undertake measurement of workplace application of graduate capability. The paper explores considerations for measurement of graduate learning outcomes, specifically the difference between measuring competencies, skills and capability and the necessity for the measurement of the latter in the context of sustainability education for future professionals.
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Guinevere Gilbert, Michelle Turner and Sarah Holdsworth
In Australia, it is estimated that volunteers provide over $14.6 billion of unpaid labour to not-for-profit organisations. Much of the work that volunteers undertake is within a…
Abstract
Purpose
In Australia, it is estimated that volunteers provide over $14.6 billion of unpaid labour to not-for-profit organisations. Much of the work that volunteers undertake is within a project context, yet the impact of a project and its environment on volunteer commitment is unknown. A conceptual model proposes three categories of factors that impact volunteer commitment to a project: purposeful, emotional and contextual. The purpose of this research is to empirically explore the conceptual model of volunteer commitment with volunteers working on projects in order to seek support for, and refine, the model.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design was exploratory and Q methodology was used as a framework to collect and analyse data. Forty-one Australian volunteers engaged in project-based tasks participated in the study.
Findings
Refinement of the initial conceptual model of volunteer commitment is required. The three categories that influence volunteer commitment to a project should be labelled “my contribution”, “relationships” and “the project”. The revised model shows early evidence that the project itself is the main commitment building factor.
Originality/value
Whilst volunteer retention is not a new field of knowledge, research such as this further informs not-for-profit organisations in their volunteer recruitment and retention practices.
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Sarah Holdsworth, Carina Wyborn, Sarah Bekessy and Ian Thomas
This paper seeks to report research undertaken to assess the extent to which Australian universities were engaged in professional development (PD) activities focusing on the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to report research undertaken to assess the extent to which Australian universities were engaged in professional development (PD) activities focusing on the development of education for sustainability for their academics.
Design/methodology/approach
This web‐based survey seeks to identify the existence of PD programs and teaching induction programs within universities, or where programs in tertiary teaching that included any sustainability education content were offered.
Findings
While the vast majority of universities had information about PD available, only one offers a PD course designed to introduce academics to sustainability and teaching sustainability. This is despite the high number of Australian universities that have signed sustainability education declarations, which include commitments to achieving sustainability literacy in staff and students.
Research limitations/implications
The survey focused only on information contained on web sites, and information that would not have been identified by this methodology such as informal programs, forums and workshops, and anything on secure staff “intranet” sites.
Practical implications
This research indicates that in Australia there is only very limited PD activity, which provides one explanation for the limited extent to which education for sustainability is evident in universities.
Originality/value
There is little information about PD activity in universities generally, and especially in Australia. This research provides a starting‐point investigation into activity that may have been missed by the research. More importantly, it provides a base for the exploration of PD programs that will be the most effective and efficient in facilitating education for sustainability.
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Once a week, almost one in ten Swedish children moves between two homes, replacing the routines and practices of one household with those of another. They are children in dual…
Abstract
Once a week, almost one in ten Swedish children moves between two homes, replacing the routines and practices of one household with those of another. They are children in dual residence arrangements, dividing their time equally between two households after parental separation. Being on the move physically, as well as emotionally and relationally, is a part of their everyday lives. In this chapter, the author addresses children’s perspectives on living their everyday lives in two households and belonging to two homes and how they make sense of regularly shifting between different locations and (perhaps) contrasting family practices, rules and routines. Children’s accounts reveal how moving becomes a routine everyday practice, yet the regular change is perceived differently by different children. While highly valued by some, others find it difficult to handle the emotional stress of constantly leaving one parent behind, or the practical juggling of packing and moving. In the children’s accounts, they reveal how they take part in shaping their dual family lives, post-separation. The chapter draws on qualitative interviews with 20 children and young people living in dual residence arrangements. By using family practices as the analytical focus when analysing children’s accounts, the aim is to understand how everyday life is shaped by mobility. It is argued that the practices associated with dual residence are deeply embedded in physical, emotional and relational dimensions of mobility.
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Damien Mather, John Knight and David Holdsworth
Aims to conduct research on consumer willingness to buy genetically modified (GM) foods with a price advantage and other benefits, compared with organic and ordinary types of…
Abstract
Purpose
Aims to conduct research on consumer willingness to buy genetically modified (GM) foods with a price advantage and other benefits, compared with organic and ordinary types of foods, employing a robust experimental method. The importance of this increases as the volume and range of GM foods grown and distributed globally increase, as consumer fears surrounding perceived risk decrease and consumer benefits are communicated.
Design/methodology/approach
In contrast with survey‐based experiments, which lack credibility with some practitioners and academics, customers chose amongst three categories of fruit (organic, GM, and ordinary) with experimentally designed levels of price in a roadside stall in a fruit‐growing region of New Zealand. Buyers were advised, after choosing, that all the fruit was standard produce, and the experiment was revealed. Data were analysed with multi‐nomial logit models.
Findings
Increasing produce type and price sensitivity coefficient estimates were found in order from organic through ordinary to spray‐free GM produce, requiring market‐pricing scenario simulations to further investigate the pricing implications.
Practical implications
The real market experimental methodology produced robust, useful findings.
Originality/value
It is concluded that, when the GM label is combined with a typical functional food benefit, GM fruit can indeed achieve significant market share amongst organic and ordinary fruit, even in a country where the GM issue has been highly controversial; GM fruit can gain a sustainable competitive advantage from any price reduction associated with production cost savings; and market shares of organic fruit are least sensitive to pricing and the introduction of GM fruit.
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Young people’s choice of higher education institution and subject are often assumed to take place in a social vacuum, ignoring the influence of family and friends. Despite a shift…
Abstract
Young people’s choice of higher education institution and subject are often assumed to take place in a social vacuum, ignoring the influence of family and friends. Despite a shift away from state funding of undergraduate higher education towards a cost-sharing model (Johnstone, 2004), little research has been carried out on family attitudes to debt, particularly in Scotland where home students do not pay tuition fees. This chapter explores how higher education decisions are made by Scottish domiciled students in the context of their families and the ways in which such decisions are mediated by social class.