Education for sustainability shifting in a positive direction

Education for sustainability is heading in the right direction in Australia, according to the president of an organisation promoting integration of sustainability into tertiary education curricula and operations.

Leanne Denby heads Australasian Campuses Towards Sustainability (ACTS), a not-for-profit incorporated association that serves as the umbrella body for sustainability initiatives in the Australian and New Zealand tertiary sectors. Speaking after the 2010 annual conference, Ms Denby commented that there are countless examples of institutions taking positive steps towards the end goal of embedding sustainability in the curriculum.

“More and more, institutions are creating courses or units about sustainability to add into the existing curricula,” she explained. “While we’re not at the embedding stage just yet, there’s finally a recognition that universities should be at the forefront of society in our students getting the knowledge and understanding to deal with sustainability-related issues across an international scope.”

In April 2009, the federal government released Living Sustainably: the Australian Government's National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability, an initiative which aims to equip all Australians with the knowledge and skills required to live sustainably. Although many institutions had initiatives in place, this new policy has given the sector a push in the right direction, according to Ms Denby.

In fact, Ms Denby believes that sustainability education is much more prevalent than many people within universities may realise. “I think you’d find that there would be more people out there teaching concepts and knowledge around sustainability than they think.”

Ms Denby linked this to the fact that sustainability is no longer merely about resource efficiency. “It’s a lot more than that. The whole idea of teaching critical thinking skills or an understanding of what it means to participate and be ethical, it’s all of those things that add into sustainability as well, they just perhaps haven’t been identified as such.”

Gaining practical experience where students can apply theoretical knowledge in real world problem solving is another important element of educating for sustainability at Macquarie University, where Ms Denby heads a number of sustainability initiatives.

“Macquarie is currently a host of ‘Green Steps’, the Monash [University] Sustainability Institute program where selected students receive training and placement within an environmental context,” said Ms Denby. “There are also many units all across the campus that require placement with real world experience.”

From 2012, Macquarie University is introducing a participation unit so most students will be required to undertake some sort of community engagement. “While it may not be specifically sustainability related, the whole ethos behind participation is about learning about the community, assisting the community and learning basic skills that help you understand sustainability, even if it’s not labelled as such,” she said.

Dr Colin Hocking is the director of Iramoo@VU, a sustainability initiative that aims to foster connections between Victoria University, the community and global partners. He strongly agrees that students need the opportunity to work on practical projects to engage with sustainability education.

“Unless we get professionals who are able to get real outcomes for sustainability within their chosen trade or profession, we’re never going to achieve a broader sense of sustainability,” he said.

Iramoo@VU, now running for almost a decade, facilitates learning and teaching projects and community engagement, linking students across disciplines and faculties within universities, as well as TAFE students, to a variety of projects.

Similar to the plans at Macquarie, Victoria University policy requires 25 per cent of learning to be completed in a workplace or community setting. Iramoo can assist students to fulfil that part of their course.

“To get effective learning that gives students the knowledge, motivation and capabilities in their chosen area, you need practical opportunities,” Dr Hocking said. “Iramoo gives students from across disciplines opportunities where those sorts of integrated projects happen.”

The recent ACTS conference saw a reflection on the current state of sustainability within tertiary sectors and discussion about what will happen next.

Ms Denby remains confident that while there is a long way to go, there has definitely been a move away from focusing on sustainability in campus operations to embedding the concepts within the curriculum.

“I think the shift is finally happening,” she said. “I really think it’s looking positive.”