Sustainability Literacy Counts: Raising Awareness through a Preparatory University Program

The International Journal of

Sustainability Education

ONSUSTAINABILITY.COM

ERST CARMICHAEL AND NEERA HANDA

VOLUME 9 ISSUE 4

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Sustainability Literacy CountsRaising Awareness through a Preparatory University

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION

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Sustainability Literacy Counts: Raising Awareness through a Preparatory University

Program Erst Carmichael, University of Western Sydney, Australia

Neera Handa, University of Western Sydney, Australia

Abstract: At a new age metropolitan university, which caters to one of the most diverse commencing student populations in Australia, sustainability is the content theme of a literacy-based preparatory program: UniStep. Sustainability is a significant issue because of the serious environmental and social impacts of global warming and climate change. This has been acknowledged by governments around the world and has been predicted by many renowned scientists. In this paper, we focus on the effect of using sustainability as the topic for teaching academic literacy, in particular its influence on student thinking, learning, and lifestyles. We draw on findings from a case study of 103 students who participated in the program. Online surveys and telephone interviews provided quantitative and qualitative data. The analysis of findings indicates that over half the students engaged with the topic of sustainability, such that it affected aspects of their thinking, learning, and/or behaviour. This paper argues that introducing students to the topic of sustainability early in their university studies is an important first step in developing sustainability education in the higher education sector. We conclude by suggesting that the UniStep program could be used as a model for preparatory and foundation courses in a wider context for developing students’ critical literacy and sustainability literacy. Likewise, a sustainability subject can also develop students’ critical thinking and academic literacy.

Keywords: Sustainability Literacy, Critical Thinking, Higher Education, Academic Literacy

Introduction

he front page of the University of Western Sydney (UWS) Office of Sustainability site states that: “UWS aims to incorporate a focus on sustainability in all of its activities - in research, learning and teaching, engagement with its region and in its campus operations”

(UWS 2013). This reflects the global commitment of universities to embed sustainability into the higher education curriculum in keeping with the United Nations Decade of Education for the Declaration of Sustainable Development and with UWS’ signatory status to the international Talloires Declaration. It aims to provide students with an opportunity to develop a sense of global civic responsibility with regard to sustainability in their professional practice and in their own lives. The present research explores whether the UniStep course impacts in a positive way on students’ understanding about sustainability, on their learning and behavior. The paper will initially examine the literature regarding sustainability and sustainable development, the relationship of these concepts to education and in particular to higher education in Australia. The case study will provide information about the participants, the methods of research, findings and discussion of findings. The paper concludes with suggestions for developing sustainability and critical literacies.

Background

UWS is a multicultural university which has one of the highest numbers of students from a low SES background in Australia and in excess of 50% are the first in their families to attend a university (UWS 2014). These students are the new generation of an expanding and economically developing area of Sydney. Notably 70% of the students at UWS live in Western Sydney, which is a rapidly growing area of Sydney (NSW Government 2014), yet “the higher

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education participation rate is 3.2 percent, compared with 5.3 percent for the rest of Sydney" (UWS 2011).

With such a complex demographic, especially in the context of the widening participation and massification of higher education, many commencing students at UWS require and seek academic literacy support. The 40 hour UniStep preparatory program is offered to develop students’ academic literacy and study skills, such as critical thinking, which are important aspects of university learning (Moon 2008). Another aim of the program is raising students’ awareness of the importance of sustainability in their personal and future professional lives. The readings supplied for the course are academic texts which provide background information and relate sustainability to broad disciplinary areas including education, business and health. In addition they also provide content for developing students’ critical literacy as they adopt “an explicitly active and critical role in the process of learning” (Endres 2001, 403) while also developing their sustainability literacy in not simply ‘knowing about’ sustainability but being able to act on that knowledge locally, and with awareness of the global context (Dale and Newman 2005, 355). A lecture by a guest academic with expertise in the field of sustainability reinforces this theme.

The students self-select to attend the UniStep enabling program before they commence their degree studies. They are enrolled students but do not gain credit for attending UniStep, which aims to assist in their transition into the university environment. Most participants are first year students, though a small percentage are second or third year students who have been encouraged to attend by academic staff because of their writing issues. The students are enrolled in various degree programs, and large numbers of the cohort study in the disciplines of Business, Nursing, Education, or Arts.

Previous feedback from students who have attended the UniStep pre-semester program indicated high levels of student satisfaction (Farrell 2006; Handa and Carmichael 2007). Students comment on the benefits of the academic skills they have learned, the non-threatening learning environment, and the benefits of the topic of sustainability. Research data demonstrates that they also have high levels of retention and progression throughout their degrees (Farrell 2006; Handa and Carmichael 2007).

To create the context for this research a literature review, focusing on the issues of sustainability terminology, the relationship to higher education and the situation in Australia follows.

Sustainability or Sustainable Development?

Sustainable development or sustainability are terms often used interchangeably to mean development which does not endanger the intergenerational viability of human welfare in terms of environmental, social and economic systems. The most common definition of sustainable development comes from the United Nations Brundtland Report on Environment and Development (WCED 1987, 41), “the type of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In this definition, whether sustainable development relates to social, economic or ecological development has been purposefully left out to encourage the term sustainability to be interpreted according to “specific socio-geographic situations” (Dale and Newman 2005, 352) In these three elements of sustainable development, that is social, economic and environmental, social or human welfare has been considered above environmental or ecological development (Lafferty 1996).

A subsequent world Earth Summit resulted in the member nations agreeing to set up educational programs to prepare both school and higher education students for “sustainable livelihoods” (United Nations Agenda 21 1992, sec 36-18). This promise was again reiterated at another world conference in 2002 where all the member nations promised to take collective responsibility for sustainability at all levels from the local to the whole world. In 2005, the

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CARMICHAEL & HANDA: SUSTAINABILITY LITERACY COUNTS

United Nations declaration of a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014) finally put a stamp of approval on sustainability education. This was also the beginning of many initiatives taken by education institutes all over the world for providing education for sustainability or developing sustainability literacy, meaning “an appropriate way to think about the purpose of teaching for a sustainable future” (Skamp 2009, 56).

Education and Sustainable Development

According to the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development Agenda 21, education has a crucial role in building a society’s capacity for bringing about changes (Tilbury and Wortman 2004), especially in the way society prepares itself to address environmental issues. Education for sustainability transforms minds as it “equip[s] people with the skills necessary to be leaders and engagers in the process towards sustainability” (Tilbury and Ross 2006, 164). The importance of education for finding sustainable solutions to global issues was affirmed at the 2009 UNESCO World conference on education for sustainable development, when it committed to:

education that empowers people for change. Such education should be of a quality that provides the values, knowledge, skills and competencies for sustainable living and participation in society (Bonn Declaration 2009).

Since sustainability or sustainable development has become an important term to be applied in education, the question about what an educational response to sustainability means also needs to be determined. At this point it must be noted that this well theorised area of sustainability education and its key elements will not be covered in depth in this paper. However, the role education plays in clarifying the very purpose and application of an approach to sustainability that raises students’ awareness of their social and ecological responsibilities towards the planet (Fien and Tilbury 2002) will be discussed. For example, it is important to clarify how in terms of education and sustainability whether this “education [is] about sustainable development” or “education for sustainable development” (Hopkins and McKeown 2002, 13, emphasis added). Hopkins and McKeown explain these two different ways of looking at sustainability education in terms of a continuum of understanding sustainability, for example gaining “an awareness and [understanding of] different interpretations” of sustainability first and then making “use of education as a means to encourage sustainability” (Hopkins and McKeown 2002, 13).

Sustainability education therefore does more than environmental education might do in terms of providing knowledge about sustainability; it makes learners aware of their impact on the environment and encourages them to find means to minimise it. Thus education for sustainability is not only about providing knowledge of the issues of sustainability for bringing “social change towards sustainable development” (Tilbury and Wortman 2004, 4). Hence, a capacity to reflect and think critically which plays a major part in bringing such behavioural changes in learners is at the heart of sustainability education. Other key elements of good practice in education for sustainability are imagining a better future, participation in decision-making, partnerships and systemic thinking (Tilbury and Wortman 2004). Building capacity for developing these attributes in students is at the core of education for sustainability in both formal and informal learning settings.

Sustainability in Higher Education

In higher education, initiatives to incorporate sustainable development as an educational aim were rolled out by the Talloires Declaration in 1990. The declaration was signed by more than 200 higher education institutions in five continents for taking action and developing initiatives which help “in creating an equitable and sustainable future for all humankind in harmony with

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nature” (University Leaders for a Sustainable Future 1990, 1). With this and subsequent declarations and plans, higher education has come to take its responsibility towards education for a sustainable world through sustainable practices and education for sustainability, or Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) (Australian Government 2009). In the light of these practices and declarations it has been argued that “Higher education has a pivotal role to play in helping society to develop sustainably” (Otter 2007, 43). The concept of sustainability in higher education however can be confusing for universities trying to incorporate a sustainability agenda; sustainability sometimes has been taken to mean ‘greening’ campus operations, for example planting trees on campus. The point to be emphasised is that sustainability education is not just for operations but it “incorporates a focus on social, cultural, economic and environmental sustainability in the curriculum, research and engagement activities” (Scott 2011, 1).

This requires an understanding that the best approach towards sustainability has to be “Systemic thinking” as the sustainability of the planet “requires people to think systemically, holistically, integratively, and in a futures mode” (Milbreth cited in Tilbury and Wortman 2004, 93). In this regard systemic or systems thinking means understanding the complexity of the inter-related and interdependent nature of various systems of this universe as a unified whole (Nieto 1996; Sterling 2004). In universities, this approach has to be translated in creating “inter-disciplinarity, trans-disciplinarity and cross-disciplinarity” (Dawe, Jucker and Martin 2005, 12) to integrate sustainability education in both the curricula and the learning experiences provided to students. Quoting the blue print for a green campus, Haigh (2005, 34) states that “a green campus is one that integrates environmental knowledge into all relevant disciplines, improves environmental studies course offerings, provides opportunities for students to study campus and local environmental problems” among other things.

Education for Sustainability in Australia

The two Australian National plans: the Action Plan for Education for Sustainability 1992, and the Action plan for Living sustainability 2009, have put the education for sustainable development at the centre of education plans for Australian education institutes. With Australian higher education taking its role as a “major driver to society's efforts to achieve sustainability” (Australian Vice Chancellors Committee 2010, 1) sustainability was incorporated in both its practices and education programs. At many universities in Australia, in addition to specific programs that teach about the environment, for example environmental science, environmental engineering and environmental studies (Thomas 2004), there is also an emphasis on including sustainability in various other disciplines. For instance, sustainability education has been incorporated in Accounting (Hazelton and Haigh 2004), Business Management, Tourism, Journalism and teacher Education among other disciplines (Tilbury and Wortman 2004). The argument has been made that education for sustainability needs to be included in mainstream education programs (Steele 2010). This paper examines one case study which endeavoured to do this, albeit in an enabling preparatory academic writing course offered to all first year students as a voluntary transition to university program.

Aim of the Study

Previous research into UniStep (academic literacy) has focused on student acquisition of skills and satisfaction with the course. The aim of this study was more specifically to investigate the impact of the content topic of sustainability in the course on students’ thinking, learning and behaviour, which indicates deeper learning (Biggs and Tang 2011). The research questions, which focus on the sustainability topic included:

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1. Has there been an increase in students’ awareness of sustainability issues?2. How helpful was the sustainability theme for students’ discipline learning?3. Have students made changes to their personal behaviour to reduce their ecological

footprint?

Methods

This section of the paper overviews the procedures undertaken to acquire the information to answer the research questions and provides an overview of the participants in the case study.

Procedures

The research used numerical analysis and a qualitative case study approach (Denzin and Lincoln 2003). It involved triangulation (Creswell 2009) of online questionnaire responses for both the 2011 and 2012 UniStep cohorts, and in-depth telephone interviews with the subset of 2011 mid-year intake students. Questions included general background information, such as whether the student was first in their family to attend university, what language/s are spoken at home, and what was their entry level or pathway for tertiary studies. The students were asked a general question about how useful the UniStep course had been as well as questions about the development of their academic literacy skills, including their understanding of independent learning and critical thinking. More specific questions about the impact of the sustainability theme were included, particularly in the telephone interviews. The responses to the sustainability questions are the main focus of this paper.

Except for one student, all students in the 2011 mid-year subset gave permission for their interviews to be recorded. The interviews were based on the same questions as the online questionnaire and a research assistant who had no previous involvement with these students conducted the interviews. However, the research assistant had a background in sustainability such that he could ask more in-depth questions where appropriate. Notes were taken and interview recordings were transcribed. Questionnaire responses were analysed according to a 5 point Lickert scale, with positive responses (4 and 5) combined numerically and represented as a percentage. Comments on the questionnaires and interview transcripts were analysed and coded thematically (Flick 2009).

Participants

Students who attended the UniStep course at the commencement of 2011 and 2012 were sent an invitation to participate in an online questionnaire in mid-2012. From a total of 354 students attending UniStep in 2011, 38 questionnaires were returned (11%). In 2012, 48 questionnaires were returned from a cohort of 362 (13%). The low response rate to questionnaires requires a cautious approach to generalization of findings, however a sample of 86 respondents is sufficient to indicate the potential impact of the course. In addition the 2011 mid-year intake classes were a target group for semi-structured telephone interviews with 17 students participating from a total of 50 attendees (34%).

Approximately 50% of the two commencing student groups who responded to the questionnaire were the first in their family to attend university, whereas 35% of the mid-year intake group identified as first in family. Of the commencing groups 45% were culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) while 71% of the mid-year group identified as CALD. Both the commencing and the mid-year intake students had predominantly gained entry to university via alternative pathways with only 24% having entered via the final assessment at high school. Thus many of these students would perceive themselves to be at some degree of educational disadvantage.

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Findings

Student responses to the questionnaire relating to the sustainability topic were analysed quantitatively, as percentages, and qualitatively, in themes, according to whether they were ratings or comments and explanations. These are grouped into 3 distinct themes: students' increased awareness of sustainability issues; impact of the topic on learning for degree course; impact on behaviour. The relevant questions asked of the students are provided.

Students’ Increased Awareness of Sustainability Issues

To ascertain participating students’ perceptions of the impact of the sustainability content theme in terms of awareness students were asked three key questions, which were also related to their essay question.

1. How useful were the supplied readings for understanding the concept ofsustainability?

2. How useful was the lecture for understanding the concept of sustainability?3. How useful was the entire course for understanding the concept of sustainability?

The responses to these questions were analysed numerically and provided information relating to the first research question. There were 29 students who answered these questions from the 2011 group and 39 responses from the 2012 group (see Table 1). For all three questions the 2012 group’s responses were markedly more positive. However, the large majority of both groups of students (n = 68) found the course to be useful in terms of gaining an understanding of the concept of sustainability (see Table 1). Furthermore, 10/17 (59%) of those interviewed were positive about the value of the sustainability topic.

Table 1: Students’ awareness about sustainability from 2011 and 2012 questionnaire responses Awareness of Sustainability 2011 (N=29) 2012 (N=39)

Usefulness of readings 68% 87%

Usefulness of lecture 61% 92%

Course as a whole 81% 92%

Qualitative theme analysis of comments from questionnaires and interviews provide more detail. The following comments are from questionnaires and relate to the first theme and first research question.

…CO2 emitted into the atmosphere causes global warming. Sustainability is aresponsibility…to maintain our ecology and…reduce carbon footprints through recycling, use clean energy, grow more plants and raise the awareness by talking about it to the community.

Well I didn’t really know anything, but I gained a better understanding.

The sustainability topic gave a greater awareness and knowledge…and how we can make a difference, which I did not know much before attending the course.

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It educated me about a subject which I was previously unconcerned with…

Sustainability is a concept that everyone should become familiar with.

Examples of this theme from interviews provide more detailed information about the impact of the sustainability topic on student awareness. For instance, one student, who was studying Hospitality and worked in the industry, appeared to have benefitted in terms of the development of his critical analysis regarding sustainability. He stated that the readings and the course ‘gave a better sense of sustainability…perhaps…the global implications of sustainability…the bigger picture’ and made him want ‘to access more information about it rather than the information that is supplied by consultants’. In this comment he acknowledged that it had affected his thinking.

In terms of his lifestyle he stated that he ‘certainly do[es] eat less meat…[because of the issue of ] the consumption of beef in the world’. A Humanities student stated that: ‘I have already read about sustainability so when I went to the lecture…because they were experts…it helped me to analyse what I already knew’. Another who was studying psychology reported that ‘[it] made me question my own views, which is good’. He added that ‘ a girl…I was talking to said I hate talking about this subject…I said I’ve got my own opinion, the challenge is to present …[an] argument…and she sort of went away thinking’.

Impact of the Topic on Learning for a Degree

A question asked of students in questionnaires is as follows: ‘To what extent did completing the assignments in UniStep assist your understanding of sustainability in relation to broader issues and your course?’ The answer was not in a rated format but gave students an opportunity to comment. Qualitative theme analysis of comments from the questionnaires and interviews indicate that a number of students could appreciate the benefits of having sustainability as a content topic in UniStep for their degree studies. The following examples illustrate this and relate to the second research question.

I was already environmentally conscious but the sociological aspects on a global scale were new to me and have continued to be enriched through my course.

…it taught me that sustainability is an important issue…[and] it has also helped me inmy course…

It gave me the motivation to advance my skills in sustainability and I am now undergoing a course in sustainability.

Feedback and guidance from the essay writing and research process for sustainability improved skills prior to uni course’ and ‘it gave me a focus to initiate research’.

A similar theme emerged from interview data to those found in the comments submitted through the online questionnaires. Students found they developed critical thinking and writing skills, and it helped them to reduce their carbon footprint. Students appreciated the opportunity to debate and discuss sustainability concepts in class, which had quite a strong impact on their thinking and ability to develop an argument. For others it became more relevant as they progressed through their degree courses. These themes are demonstrated in the examples below:

Two Education students from primary teaching gained from completely different aspects of the UniStep course. One student thought sustainability was a ‘good topic…and [I] still have the readings. The whole thing provided me with a rethinking about sustainability that I didn’t previously know’. He also pointed out that for ‘the transition into [the subject] Contemporary

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Society… [gave me] a bit of an advantage’. The other couldn’t ‘remember attending anything about sustainability’ yet found her overall skills and confidence, especially regarding essay writing, had increased a lot.

An Accountancy student admitted that ‘at the time it wasn’t of interest but I guess now a lot of my topics have talked about sustainability in triple bottom [line] accounting so I think it’s relevant. I think it’s the future’. Similarly another Accountancy student explained that ‘everyone has to do their part…it has to be done on a regular basis all the time. And then we can make a difference’. A Business student found that the topic of sustainability gave him an advantage in his course as ‘sustainability is a big part of understanding economics…it has made me think about the wider issues and even at home I try to reduce my carbon footprint, so it’s made me more socially aware of environmental issues – I try to recycle, use less water, buy things that don’t take a lot of energy to produce’.

Sustainability Topic Impact on Behaviour

The final sustainability question students were asked was: ‘Has learning about sustainability in any way impacted on your learning at university or your lifestyle?’ Again this did not require a rated response but provided space for comment. Questionnaire comments indicated that a number of students had made some changes to their lifestyles and everyday behaviour as a result of learning about sustainability issues. This theme relates to research question three. Examples of individual reduction of ecological footprint are listed below:

I have increased recycling, save a lot of my work electronically and only print what is required.

I am now actively participating in Earth Hour. It has impacted on me - I don’t waste paper, I save energy, I don’t litter, I go green as much as possible. I educate others about sustainability based on what I have learned in UniStep and my research.

Yes, it has helped me to conserve resources.

I prefer to go to the park for a little walk more than to go to the city’s shopping centre now…

More detailed examples occurred in the in-depth interviews with explanations of why behavioural changes were made. For example: one Engineering student explained that UniStep made a difference on his lifestyle such as: ‘I buy… products that support a long term sustainable future in the country and in the world…everything I do and think has this sustainability in my mind’. He attributed this to the discussions in class. Several students described sustainability in terms of managing their own lives, for example: ‘managing myself I guess’ and ‘getting my work done’. However, the latter comment was made by a Health science student who also added that the UniStep course: ‘gave me an idea of what I need to know… environmental factors we need to take care of… saving wildlife… conserving electricity… opening windows instead of putting on the fan…do our best as a nation, like with health and a better environment for everyone…wherever we are’. One Nursing student explained that she already had an understanding of sustainability but that the course had made her more careful with limited resources.

While some students said the topic of sustainability had no impact on their studies or behaviour, this was mostly explained in terms of not remembering the content of the readings or lecture from the previous year. Two were critical of the topic itself. One of these students thought the lecture material was biased, but on the other hand it made him think more deeply because the

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lecturer was a ‘professional in his field’. This is an example of how the topic itself can challenge student thinking.

Discussion

The course, and the topic of sustainability, had an impact on students’ thinking. Of the three groups of students in this study, a total of 103 altogether, 84% found the course to be useful or very useful. This finding has been demonstrated in previous research studies (Farrell 2006; Handa and Carmichael 2007) and relates particularly to the students’ development of academic literacy skills. Academic literacy involves critical thinking and this is also important for sustainability literacy (Tilbury and Wortman 2004) as well as generally in higher education (Moon 2008). Over 75% of participating students in the case study perceived that their critical thinking had improved and one of the interviewed students emphasised how useful this was in his professional situation. Comments were also made about the suitability of the topic of sustainability to debate and discussion about concepts and ideas. This research also indicated that the sustainability content of the course had an effect on student learning and behaviour.

The case study demonstrates that sustainability can be embedded into a course on academic literacy development. It has been shown that many of the participating students gained some understanding of sustainability from this topic in UniStep, with over half actively engaging with the topic. This was noticeable in many students’ descriptions of behavioural changes they made as a result of the program. Those students who were positive about the sustainability content also acknowledged the effect on their thinking, notably critical thinking, and their learning. These were mostly described in terms of the benefits of having an introduction to the concepts and debates within sustainability and the relationship of the topic to the degree courses they had undertaken.

Many students referred to behavioural changes such as increased recycling and reduced consumption of energy and resources. Several students referred to actions taken with regard to educating others, or becoming involved in community or workplace actions to improve sustainability. This reaction is more closely aligned with “education for sustainable development” (Hopkins and McKeown 2002, 13) where a change in behaviour is required.

When these students encounter the topic of sustainability in their ongoing degree course this reinforces its relevance. Thus the UniStep program provides an introductory experience of direct relevance, for example in Accounting (Hazelton and Haigh 2004). This was also noted by students studying in the fields of Humanities, Education, Business and Health. The connection between UniStep and a number of discipline areas adds meaning to the incorporation of sustainability as a topic for students and is what the Australian government intended in its 2009 National Action Plan (Australian Government 2009). The aim of the plan was to encourage institutional adoption of sustainability education. This could be further enhanced by disciplines working together to develop sustainability curricula encompassing interdisciplinary approaches to education for sustainability.

Sustainability is a complex current topic that, in the UniStep course, developed students’ critical analysis, academic writing and awareness of the role of argumentation in their university study. For example, even those participating students who were critical about the ‘irrelevance’ of the topic were demonstrating critical thinking skills in their ability to look at the potential bias inherent in the readings and the lecture. Moreover, those students who said that they had not actively engaged with the topic were those who could not remember the topic from one to two years ago. This could be because the focus of these students at that time was on learning how to write an academic essay, regardless of the topic it addressed. Their pre-occupation with improving their academic literacy for university study was dominant in their thinking. Furthermore, any negativity towards the topic, from a small number of students, can be viewed in the context of the long lead up period to the Australian government introducing a price on carbon

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pollution in mid-2012. This period was dominated in the media by information from skeptics and those who either denied climate change or that humans are responsible for it. This provided opportunity for debate and discussion within the UniStep course and the lecture presented such views with possible counter views.

Conclusion

When students are introduced to concepts within sustainability education early in their university experience, there is a greater opportunity to develop education for sustainable development, which requires behavioural change. A significant number of the students in the case study did incorporate sustainable actions into their personal lives, perceived that their thinking had changed, and/or that their learning was affected by the topic. Thus, it is possible to embed a complex issue in a preparation course and students can be expected to learn from it. The students who participated in the case study also demonstrated that they enjoyed the topic and engaged with it.

UniStep is a multipurpose model that can be adapted across institutions as either a pre-tertiary preparatory course or core foundation subject. If the sustainability theme in UniStep develops critical thinking, then critical literacy can also be incorporated into sustainability subjects. From the beginning, sustainability issues can be built on and become a theme in interdisciplinary degree courses, ensuring that university education fulfills the expectations of the Talloires Declaration and the UN Decade of Sustainability. Furthermore, teaching approaches used in UniStep can also be adapted into sustainability subjects to develop students’ academic literacy skills.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Erst Carmichael: Lecturer, University of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia

Dr. Neera Handa: Academic, University of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia

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The International Journal of Sustainability Education

is one of four thematically focused journals in the

collection of journals that support the Sustainability

knowledge community—its journals, book series,

conference, and online community.

The journal explores teaching and learning about

human relations to the environment. It also investigates

community education and the challenge of raising

public awareness about sustainability.

In addition to traditional scholarly papers, this

journal invites presentations of practice—including

documentation of curricular practices and exegeses

analyzing the effects of those practices.

The International Journal of Sustainability Education

is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal.

ISSN 2325-1212

Sustainability Literacy Counts: Raising Awareness through a Preparatory University Program

Documents

Transcript of Sustainability Literacy Counts: Raising Awareness through a Preparatory University Program