Suchergebnisse

In this talk/paper I will try to link the three themes of this conference by discussing and, indeed, critiquing, education in the context of sustainable development (ESD) from a perspective of critical thinking and transformative learning. I will argue that our quest for a more sustainable world requires a sense of place and identity as well as decolonizing pedagogies and socially responsible knowledge co-creation. The search for sustainability cannot be limited to classrooms, the corporate boardroom, a local environmental education center, a regional government authority, etc. Instead, learning in the context of sustainability requires 'hybridity' and synergy between multiple actors in society and the blurring of formal, non-formal and informal education. A good example of such hybridity can be found in the so-called 'whole school approaches to sustainability' where schools establish linkages between questions around food, energy and health and the curriculum (both espoused and hidden and the community of which it is part). Opportunities for this type of learning expand with an increased permeability between units, disciplines, generations, cultures, institutions, sectors and so on. At the same time we must beware of the use of sustainability and sustainability education in a-critical ways that, albeit intentionally or unintentionally, lead to a consolidation of current hegemonic (economic) systems and educational practices thereby amplifying unsustainability. I will base my argument on a review I did for UNESCO of the kinds of learning that are emerging in the context of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.Keywords: transformative learning, transformative learning, emerging educations.

This article seeks to understand how immigrants' premigration political socialization experiences shape their views of the new polity, the extent to which this imported socialization affects their degree of postmigration political engagement, and how long the content of immigrants' political suitcases remains consequential during their civic lives in America. The author offers tests utilizing unique survey data of Mexican immigrants residing in the United States. Results reveal that attachment to a Mexican political party heightens the prospects for political engagement in the American context, and trust in the Mexican government corresponds with trust in the U.S. government. Adapted from the source document.

This article seeks to understand how immigrants' premigration political socialization experiences shape their views of the new polity, the extent to which this imported socialization affects their degree of postmigration political engagement, and how long the content of immigrants' political suitcases remains consequential during their civic lives in America. The author offers tests utilizing unique survey data of Mexican immigrants residing in the United States. Results reveal that attachment to a Mexican political party heightens the prospects for political engagement in the American context, and trust in the Mexican government corresponds with trust in the U.S. government.

People's electoral behavior is understood as political predispositions and attitudes in specific institutional contexts. Recent scholarly work has included personality as a key explanatory factor in individual-level models of political participation. In this paper we build upon these recent efforts. We utilize the Big Five approach to assess the effects of different personality traits on people's likelihood of political engagement during the 2012 presidential election in Mexico. We focus on the effects of personality on voting in the election and on individual views about the integrity of the electoral process. We use post election survey data collected for the Comparative National Elections Project in the 2012 Mexican presidential election. Our findings show that extraversion is a critical individual-level factor accounting for the propensity to turnout in this election as well as to encourage political discussion with family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify components and educational design principles for strengthening sustainability competence in and through higher education.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper that uses an exemplary autobiographical empirical case study in order to illustrate and support a line of reasoning.FindingsA number of "Gestalts" of mind‐sets of sustainability competence and key elements of the learning processes needed for developing such competence have been identified.Originality/valueThis is one of the first papers to consider sustainability competence from a transformative social learning perspective. The value of the paper lies in its potential to help teachers of university courses in re‐designing their educational processes with sustainability competence in mind.

It is higher education's responsibility to continuously challenge and critique value and knowledge claims that have prescriptive tendencies. Part of this responsibility lies in engaging students in socio‐scientific disputes. The ill‐defined nature of sustainability manifests itself in such disputes when conflicting values, norms, interests, and reality constructions meet. This makes sustainability – its need for contextualization and the debate surrounding it – pivotal for higher education. It offers an opportunity for reflection on the mission of our universities and colleges, but also a chance to enhance the quality of the learning process. This paper explores both the overarching goals and process of higher education from an emancipatory view and with regard to sustainability.