Stefan T. Siegel
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Stefan T.
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Confessions of an Early Sustainability Educator: Autoethnographic Reflections on Myths in and About Sustainability Education in Higher Education

2024-06-05 , Stefan T. Siegel

This paper explores the initial challenges and misconceptions faced by an early sustainability educator. Explicitly articulating my positionality (e.g., educational researcher & lecturer with foci on educational theory and sustainability education), I autoethnographically (Anteliz et al., 2023) reflect on my recent personal journey in better understanding the field and phenomenon of sustainability education (Jones et al., 2010). Based on relevant literature in the fields of teaching and learning in higher education (e.g., Brookfield, 2017), educational-psychological myths (de Bruyckere et al., 2020), and sustainability education (Jones et al., 2010), I discuss my initial (questionable) beliefs. Entering the field of sustainability education (SE) as a novice, it is quite common to harbor misconceptions. I will present a theory and model-based classification of these misconceptions relating them to key elements of teaching and learning in higher education such as intended learning outcomes or learning activities (Biggs, 2014; e.g., “Sustainability Education is about teaching someone sustainable, i.e., “the right” values, attitudes, knowledge, and behavior”; “Direct Instruction is inferior to active and experience-based methods in sustainability education”). Additionally, I will elaborate on their potential negative consequences and show that they can hinder the advancement of higher education ecosystems that serve to enable learners to think integratively and act responsibly. Confessions (Mazur, 2009) about our misconceptions point to our fallibility, the ability to recognize and address our own misunderstandings. In my talk, I will encourage educators and academic developers stepping into sustainability education to adopt a similar reflective stance, participate in professional development activities, and not fear to challenge their own beliefs. This way, they will not only enhance their understanding but also become more effective sustainability educators, inspiring lecturers, and learners in higher education to create more sustainable ecosystems of teaching and learning. Through increased reflection, these misconceptions can undergo conceptual change (Vosniadou, 2013), which is a crucial process, not only on an individual level, but also collectively, fostering a community of educators with shared understanding of sustainability education. (Selected) References Anteliz, E. A., Mulligan, D. L., & Danaher, P. A. (Eds.). (2023). The Routledge international handbook of autoethnography in educational research. Routledge. De Bruyckere, P., Kirschner, P. A., & Hulshof, C. (2020). More urban myths about learning and education: Challenging eduquacks, extraordinary claims, and alternative facts. Routledge. Mazur, E. (2009). Farewell, Lecture? Science, 323(5910), 50–51. Jones, P., Selby, D., & Sterling, S. (Eds.). (2010). Sustainability education: Perspectives and practice across higher education. Earthscan

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