Student-Led Sustainability Transformations: Employing Realist Evaluation to Open the Black Box of Learning in a Challenge Lab Curriculum

Autor/inn/en	Holmén, Johan; Adawi, Tom; Holmberg, John
Titel	Student-Led Sustainability Transformations: Employing Realist Evaluation to Open the Black Box of Learning in a Challenge Lab Curriculum
Quelle	In: International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 22 (2021) 8, S.1-24 (24 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1467-6370
DOI	10.1108/IJSHE-06-2020-0230
Schlagwörter	Sustainability; Environmental Education; Learning Processes; Social Environment; Teaching Methods; Outcomes of Education; Sociocultural Patterns; Ethnography; Student Attitudes; Self Concept; Transformative Learning; Authentic Learning; Student Leadership; Interdisciplinary Approach; Leadership Training; Graduate Students; Laboratories; Program Descriptions; Foreign Countries; Masters Theses; Sweden + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Nachhaltigkeit; Umweltbildung; Umwelterziehung; Umweltpädagogik; Learning process; Lernprozess; Soziales Umfeld; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Soziokulturelle Theorie; Ethnografie; Schülerverhalten; Selbstkonzept; Pädagogische Transformation; Studentenwerk; Fächerübergreifender Unterricht; Fächerverbindender Unterricht; Interdisziplinarität; Führungslehre; Graduate Study; Student; Students; Aufbaustudium; Graduiertenstudium; Hauptstudium; Studentin; Laboratory; Laboratorium; Ausland; Schweden
Abstract	Purpose: While sustainability-oriented education is increasingly placing importance on engaging students in inter- and transdisciplinary learning processes with societal actors and authentic challenges in the centre, little research attends to how and what students learn in such educational initiatives. This paper aims to address this by opening the "black box" of learning in a Challenge Lab curriculum with transformational sustainability ambitions. Design/methodology/approach: Realist evaluation was used as an analytical frame that takes social context into account to unpack learning mechanisms and associated learning outcomes. A socio-cultural perspective on learning was adopted, and ethnographic methods, including interviews and observations, were used. Findings: Three context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations were identified, capturing what students placed value and emphasis on when developing capabilities for leading sustainability transformations: engaging with complex "in-between" sustainability challenges in society with stakeholders across sectors and perspectives; navigating purposeful and transformative change via backcasting; and "whole-person" learning from the inside-out as an identity-shaping process, guided by personal values. Practical implications: The findings of this paper can inform the design, development, evaluation and comparison of similar educational initiatives across institutions, while leaving room for contextual negotiation and adjustment. Originality/value: This paper delineates and discusses important learning mechanisms and outcomes when students act as co-creators of knowledge in a sustainability-oriented educational initiative, working with authentic challenges together with societal actors. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA, UK. Tel: +44-1274-777700; Fax: +44-1274-785201; e-mail: emerald@emeraldinsight.com; Web site: http://www.emeraldinsight.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01