Mission Impossible Sustainability and steps towards transformative change: the Plymouth experience C

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Mission Impossible? Sustainability and
steps towards transformative changethe Plymouth
experienceCentre for Sustainable Futuresat the
University of PlymouthESD CETLwww.csf.plymouth.
ac.uk
Dr Stephen Sterling Schumacher Reader in
Education for Sustainability
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Reinventing the university

• it is pre-eminently in the universities that we
  should be thinking hardest about the implications
  of this whole world-system for our common life
  and its future, and bringing the best of our
  available intelligence to bear on the necessary
  changes. If not there, where? If thats not the
  business of universities in the early
  twenty-first century, what on earth are they
  for?
• John Foster, 2007
• From review of Michael MGonigles Planet U
  Reinventing the University

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Barriers

• Cited factors
• Crowded curriculum
• Irrelevance
• Limited staff awareness and/or expertise
• Limited institutional commitment
• Limited commitment from external stakeholders
• Too demanding

• Types of barriers
• Paradigmatic/psychological
• Policy/purpose related
• Structural (governance, compartmentalisation etc)
• Resource/information deficiency

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Make it relevant

• My perception that universities have pretty
  well isolated themselves from society, through
  their academic detachment, and thats the way
  theyve made themselves rather irrelevant to
  current issues of sustainability, which are
  absolutely critical. .
• Andso Ive felt that university education has
  to go radically localised, in the sense of
  integrating student learning with the local
  community. Universities have to become dedicated
  in service to their community..
• thats something that I see emerging quite
  strongly nowthis is going to radicalise
  University education, and make it relevant.
• - Academic, University of Plymouth, 2005

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Towards sustainable institutions

• FROM

• TOWARDS

• Human scale
• High connectivity
• Open community
• Learning organisation
• Systemic coherence and synergy
• Microcosm of sustainable society?

• Incoherence and fragmentation
• Large scale
• Poor connectivity
• Closed community
• Teaching organisation
• Microcosm of unsustainable society

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Two arenas of learning

• Structured learning
• - intentioned learning amongst students in
  formal education which arises from educational
  policies and practices

• Attendant learning
• - the social learning response to sustainability
  in organisations, institutions and
• their actors

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Organisational change

• Systematic
• - policies, strategies, rules, procedures,
  assessment, evaluation, structures etc

• Systemic
• - emergence, collegiality, social learning,
  informal networks, collective intelligence,
  ethos, self-organisation etc

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Melding paradigms?

• Delivery Meaning
• Prescriptive Participative
• Performance valued Emergence valued
• Instructive Constructive
• Dialogue
• Invitational
• Mentored engagement
• Facilitative

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Keywords C words

• Connection
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Coherence
• Consistency
• Congruency

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Goal of CSF

• The Goal of this CETL is to transform the
  University of Plymouth from an institution
  characterised by significant areas of excellence
  in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) to
  an institution modelling university-wide
  excellence and, hence, able to make a major
  contribution to ESD regionally, nationally and
  internationally

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Centre for Sustainable Futures

• Has a mandate for transforming the University of
  Plymouth into an institution modelling
  university-wide excellence in SD/ESD
• Aims to have all students engage critically with
  sustainability agendas and their personal,
  ethical, professional and personal implications
• Seeks to embed ESD into curriculum, learning and
  teaching across all schools
• Undertakes pedagogical and institutional change
  research so development is research-informed
• Aims to play a key role nationally by engaging
  with HEIs, Higher Education Academy and Subject
  Centres, HEFCE, EAUC etc

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One-liner Response

• To develop the transformative potential of
  higher education at the University of Plymouth
  and beyond for building towards a sustainable
  future

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Key structures
Core team
Centre Fellows
Director Asst Director Reader Research Fellow
Centre Manager Two Research Assistants Support
staff Student placements
20 Centre Fellows across Schools and Faculties
Environment Committee
IWG
Interdisciplinary curriculum working group
Fora
Steering Group

Reps across UP and external partners
Campus Community Curriculum
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Wave model of change
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The 4C model
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The four C model
CAMPUS
CURRICULUM
To enhance student and staff experience through
embedding sustainability across the curriculum
To embed sustainability practice across the UoP
campus
COMMUNITY
CULTURE
To contribute to the regional sustainability
agenda through university / community partnerships
To engage with a cultural backcloth and
attendant practices that feed unsustainability
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UP Sustainability Strategic Action Plan
Curriculum component Aim To engage students at
all levels with sustainability concepts and
issues through their formal and informal
learning Objectives include To develop the
sustainability literate graduate To engage
students with both disciplinary and
interdisciplinary perspectives on
sustainability To build the capacity of staff
for sustainability related teaching and
curriculum development
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CSFs curriculum related work includes

• UP Sustainability Policy and Action Plan
• Indicative generic module key concepts,
  outcomes
• Developing Common Module
• Building in sustainability dimension to Learning
  and Teaching Policy
• Building in sustainability to Skills Plus
  policy
• Integrating ESD into LTHE programme
• Staff wiki site on ESD resources and practice
• CPD, website, resource centre and support
• Supporting curriculum development and pedagogic
  innovation and research
• Schumacher College Scholarship Scheme

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Possible curriculum responses

• Minor modifications to existing programmes
• New podules (infusionism)
• Generic modules (electives)
• New modules
• New programmes
• Common module
• Cross-disciplinary events and cooperation
• Extra-curriculum initiatives and events

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What are your unique selling points?

• Only CETL set up specifically to engage in whole
  system change
• Working to crack the curriculum nut
• Research emphasis research about and as
  change- nine strands, evaluation and meta
  research
• Four C model
• Centre Fellow model
• Implementing systemic change approach
• Student support
• Chancellery support
• Partnership with Schumacher College

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Advantages of CSF

• Well funded. Some prestige as CETL
• Well connected, knowledgeable staff
• Chancellery support Corporate plan
• Unusual status in university, belonging to no
  faculty, and no previous baggage
• Free rein and encouragement from HEFCE to be
  innovative
• Fairly fertile ground levels of interest and
  awareness
• Funded connection with HE Academy ESD Project
• Context sustainability profile in HE and wider
  society
• Reputation in wider field and expectations on UP

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Disadvantages/issues

• All CSF staff were imports to Plymouth campus
• All CSF staff have educational background
• Student body hard to engage
• Evidence of some resistance
• Large university
• Chancellery support now uncertain

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Lessons

• Dont overreach your capacity
• Marketing is important
• Attract allies and support them
• Create spaces for discussion, exchange and trust
  building
• Make connections that wouldnt otherwise exist
• Dont assume too much
• Slow is the new fast
• Balance systematic and systemic aspects
• Invitation not exhortation
• Find out about, and value what exists
• Learn how the organisation works
• Be exemplary as far as reasonable
• Ensure feedback

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How is your CETL engaging with the wider HEI
community?

• Regional networking Partner colleges SW ESD
  Coalition
• HE Academy ESD Project
• Papers and articles, book forthcoming, CPD
  workshops, conference presentations, website,
  wiki
• Projects with other HEIs
• Links to HEFCE, EAUC, Forum for Future etc
• All our Futures conference planned for Sept 08
• International links IMESD, UNESCO, GHESP,
  OECD, Tbilisi plus 30 conference etc

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Centre for Sustainable FuturesKirkby
LodgeUniversity of PlymouthDrake CircusDevon
PL4 8AA01752 238890csf_at_plymouth.ac.ukESD
CETLwww.csf.plymouth.ac.uk
Building the future!