Embedding sustainability: what next?

1

19 April 2023

Hannah Tweddell, Ash Tierney, Chris WillmoreEsd-team@bristol.ac.uk, Google: ESD at Bristol

What is Education for Sustainable Development?

• There is no universal model of ESD and there will be differences based on local contexts, priorities and approaches

• The University has based its understanding on the UNESCO definition which covers four main areas:

social and economic justice; cultural diversity; human rights of future generations; the protection and restoration of the Earth’s ecosystems.

2

19 April 2023

Located in , disciplinary & ESD values/ discourses Choice of language - from engineering to classics Institutional drivers: Ethics, CSR, sustainable development……Which national articulation of audit?

What does ESD mean to you?

3

19 April 2023

Q What would a wordle of your understanding of your discipline show? Would a wordle of your unit documents show the same?

4

19 April 2023What we look at ……..

…. How we look at them

HolisticIntegrated into our disciplinesEnables interdisciplinarityDevelops long term perspectivesLinks action and consequences; theory and practiceAddresses valuesInterdisciplinary conversationsFuture thinking, critical thinking and problem solvingParticipatory Locally relevant

5

19 April 2023

“Integrate environmental and sustainability principles into the University’s operational procedures, educational activities and research endeavours, promoting best practice at every level.”

UOB Sustainability Strategy

6

19 April 2023

Aim: “To ensure all students have an opportunity to develop an understanding of sustainability and have an integrated experience of theory and practice in their formal, informal and subliminal curriculum.”

UOB ESD Strategy

The institutional view ….

What are we aiming to achieve?

That Bristol graduates understand •every action has consequences: •think long term;•responsibility to others;•collaboration;•can envisage a future world and their role in creating it;•that different disciplines bring different things to the table;•can have interdisciplinary conversations;•the link between theory and practice:

7

19 April 2023

walk the walk or talk the talk ?

Education for

Sustainable

Development (ESD)

What is ESD?

•Not asking you to do something different, but to do what you do differently •What we learn, and how we learn •Theory and practice •Formal and informal curriculum •Bottom up not top down •It does not require every module to include lectures on sustainability •Or include elements that are irrelevant to the subject.•It is about thinking about how your discipline can affect sustainability – and making that link explicit

9

19 April 2023Thinking about our teaching

10

19 April 2023

SOCIAL JUSTICE

SYSTEMS THINKING

• Everyone is in their own box. Lecturers know their area and won’t discuss others. SD is broader than that and needs an interdisciplinary approach.

• Some schools claim to be interdisciplinary but are actually insular

• Some academics seem scared to approach SD, or don’t understand it, sticking to the basics and never examine it critically or in any depth

• SD is viewed as an alternative and abstract thread – tree hugging. It needs to be academically rigorous

• Some modules are seen as token ways to address Sustainable Development issues

• Want more project work to make SD more concrete and embedded

• Want new paradigms to be offered, e.g. reimagining how economics is studied

• Informal curriculum opportunities could be incorporated into the curriculum e.g. Green Impact or Engineers Without Borders

• Disconnect between theory and application e.g. much attention is given to the philosophical aspects but this is not applied to the real world

• Some faculties focus on a narrow perspective of SD e.g. business/legal aspects. These are repeated in different units rather than building and broadening the knowledge base

11

19 April 2023What students say…..

Current Thematic Open Unit•UNIV10001 Sustainable Development•Taught by academics from 5 Faculties•Open to all students who can taken a level 4 open unitWinner of Times Higher Award and Green Gown Award

Ideas for new onesoEthicsoInternationalisationoGlobal Citizenship………

Can offersome start up fundinggovernance supportFuturelearn 3rd MOOC slot still open

12

19 April 2023Separate provison

Embedded provison

• Medicine• Global environment and

Human Health• 8 week student selective

• Vertical theme: ‘disability, disadvantage and diversity’

• National initiative: sustainable healthcare

13

19 April 2023

What support is available?

• Materials to prompt debate• Faculty Videos

• Online tutorials• Resource sets and links by School/discipline• Toolkits:

• Self assessment: Mapping your engagement• Shedding external light:

• Contextualised Baseline review • Programme Approval; APR; FQET visits

14

19 April 2023

Education Excellence Seminars 2013

15

19 April 2023

Contextualised Baseline

16

19 April 2023

Faculty % ESD of all Units

%Students experiencing

ESD

% ESD of Core Units

%Students on Core Units with

ESD

% ESD of Open Units

%Students on Open

Units with ESD

Arts 35% 35% 35% 28% 40% 7%Engineering 17% 9% 16% 8% 10% 1%

Medical & Veterinary Sciences 13% 15% 13% 15% 0% 0%Medicine & Dentistry 56% 52% 56% 52% 0% 0%

Science 19% 17% 20% 12% 39% 5% Social Sciences & Law 39% 37% 37% 32% 26% 5%

Average for all Faculties 30% 28% 30% 25% 19% 3%

Department ESD-related Units(ESD Baseline

Review)

ESD-related Units(Humanities Review)

Classics 12% 54%English 23% 70%History 59% 86%History of Art 44% 81%Religion & Theology 46% 69%Average 36.8% 72%

Analysis of what you say about your units: what would YOU say yourself?

17

19 April 2023

Next steps?

• Preparing for European Green Capital 2015• Engaged University Theme 2013/14

• Green Apple Spotlight Initiative: 8 Jan deadline

• Bristol hosting Two HEA national workshops:• 9 Jan Embedding sustainability and Enterprise thinking• 12 May ESD in the Curriculum

(sign on at http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/detail/2014/Seminars/Themes/

• Go Green Project Conference: Ann Rippon & UEA – January 2014

18

19 April 2023

Keeping in touch

• Join the University ESD Network

• GOOGLE: ESD at Bristol for resources and contacts

19

19 April 2023

Link to us:https://www.facebook.com/BristolESD

https://twitter.com/BristolESD

http://www.youtube.com/user/BristolESD

Email esd-team@bristol.ac.uk