Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T03:57:56.614Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

How Academics in Undergraduate Business Programs at an Australian University View Sustainability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2015

Tania von der Heidt  and
Geoffrey Lamberton
Tania von der Heidt*
Affiliation:
Southern Cross Business School, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
Geoffrey Lamberton
Affiliation:
Southern Cross Business School, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Tania von der Heidt, Southern Cross Business School, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia Military Road, PO Box 157, Lismore NSW 2480, Australia. Email: tania.vonderheidt@scu.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article explores conceptualisations of sustainability and perceptions of its importance in curriculum held by business subject and program leaders. Results are reported from an empirical study of the first-year Bachelor of Business program at an Australian university. Research data was collected in 16 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with subject and program leaders over two teaching periods in 2011. Interview transcripts were analysed through the identification of key themes. The results reveal that teaching academics believe sustainability is something more dynamic and complex than they are able to feature in their subjects, reflecting the difficulty in appropriately conceptualising sustainability, as well as differences between the academics’ beliefs, intentions and actions. Few studies explore the conceptualisations of sustainability held by subject and program leaders. If business schools are to produce sustainability-savvy graduates, the teaching academics need to have a clear and, ideally, shared view of sustainability.

Keywords

sustainabilityeducation for sustainabilitycurriculummanagement education and developmentinterview method
Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , December 2014 , pp. 215 - 238
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Albinsson, P., Perera, B., & Sautter, P. (2011). Integrating sustainability into the business curriculum through e-learning. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 7, 117–127.Google Scholar
Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC). (2010). Assessing sustainability: Graduate skills — Standards of achievement. Retrieved from http://www.graduateskills.edu.au/sustainability/Google Scholar
Barlett, P.F. (2008). Reason and reenchantment. Current Anthropology, 49, 1077–1098.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnett, R., & Coate, K. (2005), Engaging the currriculum in higher education. Maidenhead, UK: SRHE and Open University Press.Google Scholar
Barnett, R., & Coate, K. (2007). Engaging the curriculum in higher education. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Barth, M. (2013). Many roads lead to sustainability: A process-oriented analysis of change in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 14, 160–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bates, C., Silverblatt, R., & Kleban, J. (2009). Creating a new green management course. The Business Review, Cambridge, 12, 60–66.Google Scholar
Biedenweg, K., Monroe, M., & Oxarart, A. (2013). The importance of teaching ethics of sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 14, 6–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boud, D. (2000). Sustainable assessment: Rethinking assessment for the learning society. Studies in Continuing Education, 22, 151–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brundiers, K., & Wiek, A. (2011). Educating students in real-world sustainability research: Vision and implementation, Innovation in Higher Education, 36, 107–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrch, C., Kearins, K., Milne, M., & Morgan, R. (2007). Sustainable ‘what’? A cognitive approach to understanding sustainable development. Qualitiative Research in Accounting and Management, 1, 26–52.Google Scholar
de Ciurana, A., & Filho, L. (2006). Education for sustainability in university studies. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 7, 81–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobson, H., & Tomkinson, C. (2012). Creating sustainable development change agents through problem-based learning. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 13, 563–278.Google Scholar
Down, L. (2006). Addressing the challenges of mainstreaming education for sustainable development in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 7, 390–399.Google Scholar
Dredge, D., Benckendorff, P., Day, M., Gross, M., Walo, M., Weeks, P., & Whitelaw, P. (2010, February). Conceptualising the perfect blend in the tourism and hospitality curriculum space. Paper presented at the CAUTHE Conference: ‘Creating the Perfect Blend in Tourism and Hospitality Education’, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.Google Scholar
Field, J. (2006). Lifelong learning and the new educational order. Oakhill, UK: Trentham Books.Google Scholar
Fien, J., & Tilbury, D. (1996). Learning for a sustainable environment: An agenda for teacher education in Aisa and the Pacific. Bangkok: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.Google Scholar
Fischer, J., & Bonn, I. (2010). Sustainability and Australian undergraduate management courses. Paper presented at the University Learning and Teaching Futures Colloquium 2010: Rethinking Learning in Your Discipline, Armidale, Australia.Google Scholar
Haigh, M. (2005). Greening the university curriculum: Appraising and international movement. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 29, 31–48.Google Scholar
James, R. (2002). Academic standards and the assessment of student learning: Some current issues in Australian higher education. Melbourne, Australia: Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.Google Scholar
Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2009). Interviews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing, second edn, SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA.Google Scholar
Leihy, P., & Salazar, J. (2011). Education for sustainability in university curricula: Policies and practice in Victoria. Melbourne, Australia: Centre of the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne Melbourne.Google Scholar
Macquarie University. (2009). Sustainability in the curriculum project. Sydney, Australia: Learning and Teaching Centre. Retrieved from http://www.mq.edu.au/ltc/pdfs/039_sust_in_curric.pdfGoogle Scholar
MacVaugh, J., & Norton, M. (2012). Introducing sustainability into business education contexts using active learning. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 13, 72–87.Google Scholar
McGregor, S. (2013). Communicating unconventional education and sustainability messages. Sustainability, 5, 3562–3580.Google Scholar
Miller, C., Cardinal, L., & Glick, W. (1997). Retrospective reports in organizational research: A reexamination of recent evidence. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 189–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naeem, M., & Neal, M. (2012). Sustainability in business education in the Asia Pacific region: A snapshot of the situation. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 13, 60–71.Google Scholar
Ornstein, A., & Hunkins, F. (2004). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.Google Scholar
Pratt, D., & Associates. (1998). The research lens: A general model of teaching. In Five perspectives on teaching in adult and higher education (pp. 3–13). Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing.Google Scholar
Pratt, D., & Collins, J. (2010). Teaching Perspectives Inventory: Summary of five perspectives on ‘good teaching’. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.teachingperspectives.com/tpi_html_summaries.htm/Google Scholar
Reid, A., & Petocz, P. (2006). University lecturers’ understanding of sustainability. Higher Education, 51, 105–123.Google Scholar
Rundle-Thiele, S., & Wymer, W. (2010). Stand-alone ethics, social responsibility and sustainability course requirements: A snapshot from Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Marketing Education, 32, 5–12.Google Scholar
Segalas, J., Muler, K., & Ferrer-Balas, D. (2012). What do EESD ‘experts’ think sustainability is? Which pedagogy is suitable to learn it? International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 13, 293–304.Google Scholar
Seidler, J. (1974). On using informants: A technique for collecting quantitative data and controlling measurement error in organization analysis. American Sociological Review, 39, 816–831.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sherren, K. (2008). Higher environmental education: Core disciplines and the transition to sustainability. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 15, 190–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, P., Collier, G., & Storey, H. (2011). As Aussie as Vegemite: Building the capacity of sustainability educators in Australia. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 27, 175–185.Google Scholar
Southern Cross University. (2011). Strategic Plan 2011–2015. Lismore, Australia: Author. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu.au/strategicplan/Google Scholar
Springett, D. (2005). ‘Education for sustainability’ in the business studies curriculum: A call for a critical agenda, Business Strategy and the Environment, 14, 146–159.Google Scholar
Sterling, S. (2002). A baker's dozen — toward changing our loaf. Trumpeter, Journal of Ecosophy, 18, 1–14.Google Scholar
Stubbs, W. (2013). Addressing the business-sustainability nexus in post-graduated education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 14, 25–41.Google Scholar
Thomas, J., & Benn, S. (2009). Education about and for Sustainability in Australian Business Schools - Stage 3: An action research program. Canberra, Australia: Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability (ARIES) for the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved from www.aries.mq.edu.au/Google Scholar
Tilbury, D., Crawley, C., & Berry, F. (2004). Education about and for sustainability in Australian business schools — Stage 1. Sydney, Australia: Australian Research Institute in Education for Sustainability and ARUP Sustainability for the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Heritage. Retrieved from www.aries.mq.edu.au/projects/ed_sustainability/Google Scholar
University of Sydney. (2009). Graduate destinations report. Sydney, Australia: Author. Retrieved from http://sydney.edu.au/careers/staff/gds/index.shtml/Google Scholar
von der Heidt, T., & Lamberton, G. (2011). Sustainability in the undergraduate and postgraduate business curriculum of a regional university: A critical perspective. Journal of Management and Organisation, 17, 672–692.Google Scholar
von der Heidt, T., Lamberton, G., Wilson, E., & Morrison, D. (2011). Embedding sustainability in first-year Bachelor of Business units at a regional university. Paper presented at the 25th Annual Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference (ANZAM), Wellington, New Zealand.Google Scholar
von der Heidt, T., & Quazi, A. (2013). Enhancing learning-centeredness in marketing principles curriculum, Australasian Marketing Journal, 21, 250–258.Google Scholar
Wilson, E., Harris, H., & Small, J. (2008), Furthering critical approaches in tourism and hospitality studies: Perspectives from Australia and New Zealand, Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Management, 15, 15–18.Google Scholar
Wilson, E., & von der Heidt, T. (2013). Business as usual? Barriers to education for sustainability in the Tourism curriculum, Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism: TEFI Special Issue, 13, 130–147.Google Scholar
Wooltorton, S., Palmer, M., & Steele, F. (2011). A process for transition to sustainability implementation, Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 27, 160–174.Google Scholar
Wright, T. (2007). Developing research priorities with a cohort of higher education for sustainability experts. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 8, 34–43.Google Scholar
Wright, T., & Horst, N. (2013). Exploring the ambiguity: What faculty leaders really think of sustainability in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 14, 209–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar