INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIP “TEACHING AND … · “Sustainable University”. In 2009,...

Knowledge Collaboration & Learning for Sustainable Innovation

ERSCP-EMSU conference, Delft, The Netherlands, October 25-29, 2010

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INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIP “TEACHING

AND LEARNING SUSTAINABILITY”

Implementing Higher Education for Sustainable Development

at the Universidad Técnica del Norte (Ecuador)

Matthias Barth1, Marco Rieckmann1, Patricia Aguirre2

1 Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication, Leuphana University of

Lüneburg, Scharnhorststr. 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany, [email protected],

+49 (0) 4131-677-2936

2 Postgraduate Institute, Universidad Técnica del Norte, Ibarra, Ecuador

Abstract

It can be considered a duty of all educational institutions from preschool to higher education

to deal intensively with matters of sustainable development. Education for Sustainable

Development (ESD) aims at developing key competencies that enable individuals to

contribute to sustainable development. Universities play an important role as promoters of

sustainable development. Embedding sustainable development in their curriculum poses a

new challenge to the academic system.

The Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany, has already a long experience in

implementing Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD); it considers itself as a

“Sustainable University”. In 2009, the Institute for Environmental and Sustainability

Communication of the Leuphana University and the Universidad Técnica del Norte (UTN),

Ecuador, built up the partnership “Teaching and Learning Sustainability” which is financed by

the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The objectives of this North-South

cooperation are especially the implementation of HESD at the UTN and the transfer of

knowledge between both universities. Key elements of the cooperation are a one-year

teacher training about HESD which has been implemented conjointly at the UTN as well as

student and teacher exchange.

This paper addresses the North-South partnership “Teaching and Learning Sustainability”

and in particular the implementation of the teacher training as well as results of a qualitative

analysis of the effects of this training program.

The 14th European Roundtable on Sustainable Production and Consumption (ERSCP)

The 6th Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU)

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Keywords

Higher Education for Sustainable Development, North-South cooperation, knowledge

transfer, teacher training, competence development

1. Introduction

Today, humanity is facing a range of global social, economic, cultural and ecological

changes which in the long term threaten the survival of the human species: “For the first time

in human history we have the potential to make irreparable changes to the entire global

fabric, including [...] climate, water distribution, land use and biodiversity” (Harris, 2007: 1).

The German Scientific Advisory Council on Global Environmental Change (WBGU, 1996)

describes these worldwide transformations as “Global Change”. This reflects the manner in

which global environmental change is closely intertwined with economic globalisation,

cultural change and a growing North-South divide.

Against the background of Global Change, the ideal of sustainable development has been

discussed since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Sustainable development involves and

requires fundamental societal transformations and can be understood as a societal process

of communication, learning and transformation (cf. Michelsen, 2007). Thus, it is only if as

many people as possible are actively involved that sustainable development can be realised.

Consequently, Agenda 21 (chapter 36) points to education as a key factor in achieving

sustainable development. The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable

Development (2005-2014), agreed upon by the UN General Assembly in December 2002,

can also be seen in this perspective (UNESCO, 2004b; Adomßent, 2005) as can the United

Nations Economic Commission for Europe Education for Sustainable Development strategy,

which was accepted in spring 2005 by over 50 countries, from North America to Europe to

Central Asia (UNECE, 2005).

The fundamental transformations in terms of sustainable development require a far-reaching

change of consciousness in individuals. This can only be brought about by learning (cf. Vare

and Scott, 2007). In order for individuals to be in a position to engage with sustainability-

related issues, a re-orientation towards “Education for Sustainable Development” (ESD) is

required.

In this context and given the described international developments of the past years, all

educational institutions – from preschool to higher education – can and should consider it as

their responsibility to deal intensively with matters of sustainable development and to foster

the development of sustainability-relevant key competencies. Universities play an important



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role as promoters of sustainable development. Embedding sustainable development in their

curriculum poses a new challenge to the academic system. During the last years, many

universities have realised activities in terms of Higher Education for Sustainable

Development (HESD) (Adomßent et al., 2007; Adomßent et al., 2009). However, it can be

asked how the implementation of Higher Education for Sustainable Development can be

facilitated.

Against this background, this article deals with: (i) the role of higher education for facilitating

sustainable development, (ii) the relevance of social learning for sustainable development,

and (iii) the importance of teacher training programmes for implementing Higher Education

for Sustainable Development. The empirical part of this paper presents a systematic

consideration of the extent to which the realisation of a teacher training programme in the

context of the North-South partnership “Teaching and Learning Sustainability” between the

Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication of the Leuphana University,

Germany, and the Universidad Técnica del Norte (UTN), Ecuador, has a positive effect on

the implementation of Higher Education for Sustainable Development at the Universidad

Técnica del Norte.

2 Higher Education for Sustainable Development

Sustainable development brings new challenges for higher education as the place where

future decision makers are educated. Against the background of global change and

increasing complexity, Higher Education for Sustainable Development aims at enabling

people to not only acquire and generate knowledge, but also to reflect on further effects and

the complexity of behavior and decisions in a future-oriented and global perspective of

responsibility. In order to be able to actively contribute to a more sustainable future, students

need to be able to deal with complexity, uncertainty, risks and the high velocity of societal

(global) change. Consequently, the main objective of Higher Education for Sustainable

Development is the development of key competencies that allow individuals to contribute to

sustainable development (cf. Barth et al., 2007; de Haan, 2006; Hopkins and McKeown,

2002).

Dealing with the development of sustainability key competencies in higher education,

however, introduces new demands on learning settings, such as problem-orientation,

interdisciplinarity and finally the reflection of different culture-related views and their

consequences. Hence, a new learning culture is essential, which does not confirm academic

tradition but examines its potential for a sustainable future, in an open-minded and

participative process. According to the UNESCO Higher Education Information Brief (2004):



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[T]he challenge for higher education in the context of DESD [United Nations Decade

for Education for Sustainable Development] is to innovate traditional learning

environments and learning processes in such a way that they not only support the

learning process of children and young adults in formal education, but life long

learning, training and informal learning as well. Higher education institutes are

challenged to co-operate together in networks that constitute a supportive

infrastructure for life long learners. (UNESCO, 2004a: 3)

Higher education understood as the answer to the outlined challenges, and focusing on the

development of key competencies needs a reorientation of learning processes and therewith

of one of its core tasks. For that purpose a new learning culture is necessary, which moves

away from a culture of learning based on the principle of indoctrination and is “enabling-

oriented, based on self-organisation and centred on competence” (Erpenbeck and

Rosenstiel, 2003: XIII). Arnold and Lermen (2006) in this context also deal with the necessity

of establishing an “enabling didactic”. The goal in this case, in addition to professional

training, is to promote personality development, enabling a person to be able to cope with

complex situations, to be able to act upon reflection and to make decisions. It is also about

being able to take on responsibility, to consider ethical standards when acting and to be able

to judge consequences. Learning processes which consider the requisites of such a new

learning culture can be characterised on the basis of three consequences:

(1) Competence-orientation. The focus of learning processes is on attaining relevant key

competencies. This requires a normative framework for the justified selection of such

competencies in the same way as an educational concept is necessary which offers

contents for developing competencies and helps to identify learning opportunities.

(2) Societal orientation. Learning for sustainable development is always also societal

learning. Learning takes place in real-life situations which question and change societal

living.

(3) Individual centring. Learning by the individual is seen to be active in the societal context.

For formal learning processes this means a shift from teacher to learner orientation.

Additionally, informal learning processes should be taken into consideration for developing

competencies, also and in particular at the university, because individuals not only learn in

formal settings; informal settings also play an important role.

A central constitutive element of sustainable development is its global orientation

(Kopfmüller et al., 2001). Sustainable development requires international dialogue and

exchange about possible societal transitions towards sustainability. What is crucial in this



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process is negotiation: without constant communication and exchange of ideas and

approaches on a global level, it will not be possible to cope with problems of unsustainability

in an adequate manner. To quote Harris:

Relationships, collaboration, trust and social capital are the keys to success in this

more complex technological, social, environmental and economic context in which

we all live. [...] there must be a strong dialogue between institutions and individuals in

a changing world. (2007: 5)

Consequently, universities are asked to cooperate with each other in the implementation of

Higher Education for Sustainable Development. In particular, cooperation among universities

from the North and the South can facilitate a change of perspective, a widening of horizons

and a fruitful exchange of experiences.

3 Implementing Sustainability in Higher Education as a Social Learning Process

Higher Education for Sustainable Development is implemented in very different ways at

different universities. Considering both the degree of innovation and the degree of

implementation, at least four different types of implementation may be distinguished.

The first, and most simple, form of integration consists of an inclusion of sustainability-

related topics in conventional learning settings like a lecture series. Such an approach offers

the opportunity to introduce new topics and in particular enables different disciplines to

contribute.

A closer integration of sustainable development in higher education, furthermore, needs new

learning approaches like self-directed and problem-oriented learning that supports

competence development. Taking into account the insight that knowledge cannot simply be

transferred but must be both individually generated in specific situations and is based on

previous experiences, conditions for self-directed knowledge generation must be provided.

While these two approaches allow for new topics as well as new methods, an even closer

implementation needs the development of independent courses such as specific study

programmes. These include approaches like project-oriented studies as well as

interdisciplinary programmes that are open to innovative didactical approaches as well as

topics that cannot be covered by a single discipline.

The most far-reaching approach with the highest degree of implementation comes with an

integration of sustainability in the general curriculum of the university. Thus, the aim may be



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a general orientation on the overall concept of sustainable development as a guiding

principle of higher education.

Arguing for the last two approaches, Jansen (2010: 42) states that universities should

integrate “sustainability into each discipline to give every student the ability to connect their

everyday work with sustainable ideas” as well as develop opportunities to “specialize in

sustainable development to educate sustainability leaders for the future”.

Within the last decade a number of different initiatives and pilot projects have been initiated

that consider sustainable development as an important issue of higher education.

Sustainability has been primarily adopted in the form of new study programmes and specific

courses that have sustainable development as their focus topic. Still, only a few higher

education institutions have dared to tackle the challenge of reorienting a university’s entire

educational concept (Sterling 2004). Such a change towards sustainability as a leading

principle needs a paradigm shift of the whole organisation towards a more sustainable

future, a process for which learning is said to be a crucial key.

Such learning may be described as a learning process that is as well social learning as

second order learning. First of all, social learning refers to learning “that takes place when

divergent interests, norms, values and constructions of reality meet in an environment that is

conductive to learning” (Wals and van der Leij, 2007: 18). Social learning both characterises

and contributes to a 'learning system' in which people learn from and with each other and, as

a result become individually and collectively more competent. The differences in views,

values and beliefs are not only accepted but key to the learning process. More and more

often, social learning is introduced in organisations and companies as a means to actively

involve people in change processes (Cramer and Loeber, 2007; Lund-Thomsen, 2007).

Thus, according to Keen et al. (2005: 4) social learning may be understood as “the collective

action and reflection that occurs among different individuals and groups as they work to

improve the management of human and environmental interrelations”.

As learning itself is a neutral process that can keep a system stable or enable it to change,

learning processes which utilises differences and depend on social interaction may also be

described as transformative or second order learning. According to Ison and Russell (2000:

229) second order learning is “change that is so fundamental that the system itself is

changed. In order to achieve (this) it is necessary to step outside the usual frame of

reference and take a meta-perspective.” Other than “default” first order learning such a



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learning process helps and starts questioning and re-ordering of (individual and collective)

assumptions.

Teachers or moderators in such learning processes have a crucial role as key agents for

change. Without teachers willing to reflect on their role in the learning process and to offer

opportunities to reflect and discuss on different values, norms and beliefs transformative

learning will not happen in higher education.

To enable teachers to contribute to such a change in higher education, they also need

learning opportunities and further education. In higher education a wide range of training

programmes can be found which deal with aspects of sustainability. However, their target

group typically consists of practitioners, in the majority of cases teachers of the own

institution are not considered. 1 First pilot programmes are the faculty training of

PROSPERNET in South-East Asia and the UNEP programme in Africa focusing on higher

education teachers as target group to initiate a system-wide change. By that, the main

objectives of such programmes move from a focus on individual effects to more general

outcomes. Such a movement goes in line with a more general ‘‘paradigm shift’’ from inputs

to outputs or from inputs to outcomes in teacher education (Schalock and Imig, 2000;

Schalock and Myton, 1988).

Considering the outcome as a main objective leads to a closer examination of at least three

different aspects:

Teacher’s individual competence

The first and probably most obvious outcome is connected with the individual learning

process of all participants and may be seen as the personal competence development.

Teacher training is aiming at a broader understanding and thus a growing knowledge about

sustainability-related aspects, but more than that, it also aims at reflection and discussion

about existing values, norms and assumptions. Thus, on the individual level the ability to

reflect upon the own practice as well as the ability to create and support learning processes

that enable competence development should be enhanced.

1 Among others see for example Berkeleys “Leadership in Sustainability and Environmental

Management” Programme (http://extension.berkeley.edu/spos/sustman.html).



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Professional performance

Closely linked to the question of teachers individual competence development is the

question about the change of teaching in their everyday working life. Further education in the

field of HESD is aiming at an integration of sustainability in teachers working routines and a

development of new and innovative didactical approaches.

Long term organisational impact

Finally and as more indirect outcome the general organisational development is of interest.

Teachers as key agents for change not only teach future multipliers but also function as

active players in the organisation and re-shape the organisational action.

4 Research Question and Context

Given this background, this paper examines the impacts of a teacher training programme on

the implementation of Higher Education for Sustainable Development at the Universidad

Técnica del Norte. The research question to be answered is whether a teacher training

programme which is realised in a North-South university cooperation would support the

implementation process. Given this focus of research, sub-questions according to the levels

of outcome may be defined:

● Which competencies, abilities and skills will be developed by the participating

teachers?

● Does such a training programme enable teachers to work in their teaching with the

concept of Higher Education for Sustainable Development?

● To what extent does the training programme contribute to the dissemination of

sustainable development as transversal topic in the university where the training

programme is implemented?

Additionally, the intercultural aspect brings about the particular effects the intercultural

organisation of the training programme may cause.

The research reported in this article focuses on the one-year teacher training “Higher

Education for Sustainable Development” which has been implemented at the Universidad

Técnica del Norte (UTN), Ibarra, Ecuador. This training programme emerged from the

partnership “Teaching and Learning Sustainability” between the Postgraduate Institute of the

Universidad Técnica del Norte and the Institute for Environmental and Sustainability

Communication of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany, which was built up in

2009 and is financed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).



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The Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany, has already a long experience in

implementing Higher Education for Sustainable Development and considers itself as a

“Sustainable University” (cf. Adomßent et al., 2007). Thus, the objectives of the North-South

cooperation among the two universities are especially the implementation of Higher

Education for Sustainable Development at the UTN and the transfer of knowledge between

both universities. Key elements of the cooperation are the one-year teacher training which

has been collaboratively developed and is implemented conjointly at the UTN as well as

student and teacher exchange. By implementing this teacher training, the cooperating

universities aim to contribute to the dissemination of the concept of sustainability and to train

teachers to integrate Higher Education for Sustainable Development in their teaching. In

other words, teachers are meant to become competent in offering courses in which students

deal with questions relevant for sustainable development and develop key competencies

which enable them to shape their societies towards (more) sustainable societies. Therefore,

teachers should be also trained in implementing innovative teaching-learning methods such

as inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, problem-orientation, virtual learning and

intercultural communication.

The teacher training has been designed as a one-year training programme

(‘especialización’) and is offered at the Universidad Técnica del Norte by the Postgraduate

Institute in cooperation with the Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication

of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg. The programme has been formally accredited by

the Ecuadorian Consejo Nacional de Educación Superior (National Council for Higher

Education).2

Objective of the first semester, covered in face-to-face courses and blended learning with a

workload of 480h in five modules (see Table 1), is a theoretical reflection of the concept of

sustainable development, the approach of Higher Education for Sustainable Development as

well as innovative learning-teaching methods. The second semester encompasses 360h and

covers a practical application of the learnt theoretical concepts in own study courses.

2 An aspect of special importance as only officially recognised programmes fully attract potentially

interested participants.



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Table 1: Modules of the first semester

Module Contents Methods Workload

Introduction to sustainable development (SD)

Global Change, history and central elements of SD, strategies and instruments for promoting SD, spheres of activity of SD

lectures, text reading, group work and discussions, presentations, exam

96

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)

relevance of ESD, Shaping Competence as central learning objective of ESD, didactic principles and approaches for competence development

lectures, text reading, group work and discussions, internet survey, presentations, development of the theoretical foundation for an ESD course

96

Methods of virtual learning in ESD

advantages and disadvantages of virtual learning, realisation of virtual seminars

lectures, text reading, group work and discussions, design of an own Moodle platform, description and reflection of the platform’s design

96

Methods of Education for Sustainable Development

methods and approaches of ESD, inter- and transdisciplinary methods

lectures, text reading, group work and discussions, presentations, working with different methods such as world café, syndrome approach etc., development of the concept for an ESD course

144

Information and Communication Technologies

technical opportunities of the internet and virtual learning platforms

working with the technical opportunities of the internet and virtual learning platforms (forums, chat, file sharing,...)

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total 480

In the second semester the participating teachers have to apply the learnt theoretical

concepts in own study courses. Each teacher has to realise at least one course for students

of one or different study programmes. In these seminars, students deal with topics of

sustainable development (e.g. climate change, biodiversity, agriculture, health) and work

with the innovative ESD methods which their teachers have worked on in the training

programme. The preparation, realisation and evaluation of the courses are accompanied by

two workshops. The first workshop takes place at the beginning of the second semester and

the second workshop at the end (see Table 2).



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Table 2: Modules of the second semester

Module Contents Methods Workload

First workshop Preparation and realisation of ESD courses

discussion and reflection of the course concepts, working with different ESD methods

120

Second workshop Evaluation of ESD courses discussion and reflection of the realisation of the ESD courses and their results, discussion of possible possibilities for improvement

120

The training programme is offered as a blended-learning course, designed for self-directed,

problem-oriented and collaborative learning. In the first semester, the teachers participated

in five face-to-face seminars, each with a duration of two days. These seminars were

realised by lecturers and research fellows of the Institute for Environmental and

Sustainability Communication of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg and the Postgraduate

Institute of the Universidad Técnica del Norte. Between the face-to-face seminars, the

participants worked in a Moodle-based e-learning environment which offers a number of

collaboration tools such as a Wiki, different discussion forums and tools for file exchange.

Via this learning environment they received messages and tasks they had to deal with.

In the second semester, the teachers participated in the two face-to-face workshops at the

beginning and the end of the semester and realised their own ESD courses, meanwhile they

could exchange experiences through the e-learning environment and could get support from

staff of both universities involved in the training programme.

After the training programme had been announced at the Universidad Técnica del Norte, 25

teachers from all faculties of the UTN enrolled voluntarily in the programme. Table 3 gives

some information about the 18 teachers who successfully completed the training

programme.

The student courses of the participants in the second semester covered a wide variety of

topics such as industrial security, sustainable tourism, biodiversity, renewable energies,

energy efficiency, education for sustainable development, climate change policy, textiles

production, sustainable management, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture.



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The training programme was taught in Spanish and in German with simultaneous translation

to Spanish. The essential study material was an introductory text about sustainable

development as well as further readings available on the e-learning platform, including texts

from European as well as Latin-American authors. Thereby, it could be ensured that the

programme’s participants learn from a wide range of perspectives, and a unidirectional

knowledge transfer from the North to the South could be prevented

Table 3: Teachers who passed the training programme successfully

Total number of participants 18

Home country Ecuador

Disciplines educational sciences (1)

tourism (5)

business studies (2)

natural resources (1)

agronomy (2)

electrical engineering (3)

mechanical engineering (1)

textile studies (1)

health studies (2)

Age 32-60 (average: 51)

Gender female (5), male (13)

5 Methodological Approach

The training programme described above was investigated and analysed qualitatively in an

exploratory case study. Given the research question, at least five different aspects needed to

be considered:

● participants’ feedback on the learning setting

● participants’ learning processes, with an emphasis on competence development

(individual competence development)

● implementation of HESD in the participants’ teaching (professional performance)

● dissemination effects beyond the programme in the narrower sense

(organisational change)

● the role of the intercultural dimension in such a learning setting



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Three empirical methods were used for the analysis. First, to obtain information about both

individual perceptions of the programme and its impacts and collaborative aspects, data

from three focus groups was collected. These focus groups were conducted with all 18

participants (six in each focus group) at the end of the first semester in February 2010.

Second, a questionnaire was used to get a detailed individual feedback about the motivation

for participating in the training programme and the satisfaction with the structure and

realisation of the programme also at the end of the first semester in February 2010. Third,

the implementation of the theoretical concepts in the own ESD courses was investigated

through an analysis of the final papers of all participants.

The qualitative analysis of the data (focus group transcripts, completed questionnaires,

participants’ final papers), oriented to the understanding and reconstruction of the processes

of learning as well as dissemination, was carried out based on the coding paradigm of

Qualitative Content Analysis according to Mayring (2000).

6 Results

6.1 Participant’s Feedback on the Training Programme

The participants’ feedback on the training programme and their personal learning outcomes

are generally very positive. Participants approve the general structure, highly agree with the

adequateness of the contents and methodology of the programme and evaluate very

positively the capacities and approaches of the teachers. Although assessed as adequate,

the velocity and the level of difficulty of the learning process show a little less approval than

other elements such as the general structure and the used learning material.

Data shows that participants came to know the programme particularly by information in

teacher meetings, personal invitation as well as by communication via television and posters.

Their motivation to participate in the training programme was especially grounded in their

interests in sustainability/sustainable development, environmental protection, educational

innovation, education for sustainable development, information and communication

technologies (ICTs) as well as personal development.

Concerning the topic of sustainability, the participants showed particular interest in the

following aspects: education, dealing with complexity, interdisciplinarity, methods and

approaches for dealing with sustainability-relevant questions, personal development,

development of projects, quality management, management of natural resources, ‘buen vivir’

(good living), consumption and production/economy (e.g. tourism, textile production),

biodiversity, health and equity.



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With respect to the development of the training programme, data shows that the participants

liked in particular the approaches (e-learning, team/group work, participative approach,

interdisciplinary approach, multi-perspective approach, problem orientation, practical

approach) and methods (e.g. project seminars, World Café, syndrome approach, scenarios,

four dimensions of sustainability, analysis of actors, calculation of ecological footprint) used

during the programme. ‘[...] the methods, because for us as teachers it is very important to

diversify the methods so that it is agreeable and then we apply them, the young people are

happy and enthusiastic’ (group discussion 03). Furthermore, participants also mention the

following positive aspects of the programme: the general structure of the programme, the

topics of the programme and their novelty, the teachers’ commitment with sustainability,

expertise and punctuality of the teachers, the opportunity of getting to know colleagues from

UTN, definition of quality criteria and competence objectives, getting to know experiences

from other countries and the learning and working material used during the programme.

As challenge of the programme, participants identify particularly difficulties with using and

managing the Moodle platform. ‘The issue of the ICTs is a very fascinating topic and it needs

studying as well as sustainability, but I believe that for next events it could be that the

participants get at least a basic course in informatics. Because this [lack of capacities] is

retarding, interfering, discouraging and people don’t manage it, it is discouraging, it is

frightening, but if we begin with a basic course on how to do it, much easier’ (group

discussion 03). Apart from more support for the management of the Moodle platforms,

participants propose for the improvement of the programme that more time should be

provided for deeper discussions and reflections in face-to-face sessions, more concrete case

studies and specific examples from Ecuador should be given during the theoretical phase

(first semester) and excursions should be realised. ‘It seems to me that […] there was a lack

of focusing a little bit more on practical examples’ (group discussion 02). Furthermore, a lack

of seriousness of some participants, a lack of clarity in some tasks and the fact that not all

tasks were assessed are mentioned as negative aspects.

Concerning intercultural communication between the German teachers and the programme’s

participants, it can be stated that in general the programme created a mutual process of

exchanging knowledge and an atmosphere of trust. Nevertheless, communication problems

became evident, when, for instance, participants understood tasks they had to deal with in a

different way than they were meant by the German teachers, or when they did not

understand them at all. Here, it became apparent that the cultures of Ecuadorian and

German higher education are different and that the Ecuadorian teachers were not used to



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learning processes with a high degree of autonomy and individual reflection, but much more

expected very detailed instructions what to do.

6.2 Development of the Participants’ Knowledge and Competencies

In respect of knowledge acquisition, data shows that in the course of the programme,

participants learned particularly more about sustainability (concepts, principles, dimensions,

history), environmental problems, approaches and methods of education for sustainable

development, the development and use of quality criteria as well as competence concepts,

competence development as educational objective, and the opportunities of blended and

virtual learning. They got aware of the importance of education for sustainable development:

‘On the basis of the basic definitions we dealt with in the first seminars I have understood

that based on education we can promote sustainable development in all areas and that we

have to be committed with all principles of sustainability‘ (group discussion 01). In the same

sense, they state that education is ‘a good alternative, a good opportunity to change the

attitude of the human beings towards the planet’ (group discussion 01).

Besides of knowledge acquisition, participants also question existing assumptions, for

instance on technological development: ‘I had a conception of the environment and we

thought that technology could not be in line in particular with nature, we thought that

technological development was always above any other activity, but thanks to this seminar I

began to re-frame all these ideas and to see that perfectly it is manageable by the

technological part, it is with sustainable development’ (group discussion 01). The programme

created, furthermore, opportunities to reflect generally on development models and to

change ideas about them: ‘Now there is the possibility to find a better argued explanation of

the topic for thinking precisely in another development model, equity and what we said

yesterday, equity, equality […] ‘ (group discussion 01).

In matters of competence development, participants state that they have further developed

and improved especially methodological competencies (e.g. teaching-learning methods,

working with quality criteria and competence concepts, ESD methods such as World Café,

syndrome approach, group work, workshops, future workshop, actor analysis, and

participation). ‘I think that all participants we have learnt new forms of working in the

classroom, for us for being able to work with our students’ (group discussion 02).

Participants perceive these methods especially as new forms to facilitate participation of

their students: ‘One aspect which motivated me is the issue of the methods. In a certain

moment, it was not very broad in order to permit people’s participation. [...] it seems to me



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that it is important that the students begin to participate and to generate, and the teacher

facilitates theses processes, because if not […], the learning of the young persons doesn’t

result in anything bigger […]. But when one gives the responsibility to the young person […],

they try to get ahead […]’ (group discussion 02).

Getting to know these new approaches and methods, also allowed teachers to see

education from a new perspective: ‘For me it was a very dynamic way of working, not only

new, but it has also permitted me to realise a big jump in the appreciation, in the conception

which I had of the educational process […]. We thought that the world would be all plain, but

now I see that there are also mountains and processes of change’ (group discussion 01).

Working with the Moodle platform in the training programme as well as in the individual

seminars contributed to participants developing their ICT capacities. ‘There was something

that was a challenge for all of us; I would say that it was the management of the platform in

the beginning. Some of us we have had certain resistance, however, time has passed, and

we have been getting used with the system of virtual education’ (group discussion 01).

For some of the participants already the basic use of the internet was knew and opened new

opportunities: ‘I personally tell you that I did not have internet, and I have used the

opportunity to have internet and to see the big possibilities which has the internet and the

possibilities which one has to work if it is possible with the virtual platform with the students,

the forums and so many things which has motivated us here. In the process of application, I

hope to further develop these capacities to work directly with the virtual world, with the

students and all that what we have learnt here in the course’ (group discussion 01).

Participants had to deal with complex problems of unsustainability and possible solutions,

which helped to improve their capacities for dealing with complexity and uncertainty as well

as critical thinking, their research capacities and to gain a multi-dimensional perspective.

‘Thus, the instruments which we have got to know here, in my case personally, permit me

[...] to reduce the level of complexity of sustainable development and it is the part which

most has been motivating me in this seminar’ (group discussion 01).

Furthermore the aspect of interdisciplinary was very important for the programme’s

participants. The participative approach of the seminars allowed them to get in touch with

colleagues from other faculties, to exchange ideas and to make interesting conclusions. ‘We

have worked with interdisciplinary methodologies, what created a very interesting dynamic

and precisely it has facilitated developing the capacities which perhaps in the beginning

where not well defined or which we didn’t understand’ (group discussion 01). By working



17

together in interdisciplinary teams, participants learnt to respect the other’s perspectives and

to change perspectives. Moreover, the participating teachers have understood also the

relevance of transdisciplinarity and its use for the solution of problems related with

sustainable development.

Lastly, a number of soft skills were addressed such as capacity in team work and

communication, capacities in presenting and moderating as well as tolerance.

6.3 Development of the Participants’ Professional Performance

All 18 teachers who successfully participated in the training course realised an own seminar

on topics related with sustainability for students of their faculty in the second semester of the

programme. In these seminars, they gave their students an introduction to sustainability and

dealt with questions of sustainable tourism, climate change or biodiversity, for instance.

However, they used not only the knowledge gained in the training programme, but also their

new methodological competencies. Most of the seminars were designed as project

seminars, and, hence, students had to deal with real-life problems of unsustainability and to

find possible solutions. In some seminars, teachers applied even a transdisciplinary

approach by facilitating cooperation between their students and local communities or actors.

Furthermore, at least some teachers worked with Moodle in their seminars so that their

students had to participate in online discussions, upload documents etc. Nevertheless, many

teachers had still problems with managing an e-learning environment and therefore could

not yet use the full set of opportunities which offers virtual or blended learning.

In the face-to-face sessions of their seminars, teachers used also methods they had got to

know in the programme, such as the World Café, the calculation of individual ecological

footprints or structuring a topic with the four dimensions of sustainability (ecology, society,

economy, culture). Thereby, they created much more diverse and participative learning

settings than they were used to do before.

Data shows furthermore that teachers also changed their practice not only in the one student

seminar which was part of their work for the training programme, but also in other study

courses during the first and the second semester of the training programme where they also

applied new methods and/or introduced issues of sustainability. Thus, it can be estimated

that in the UTN some hundred students got in touch with sustainability during the duration of



18

the training course. Furthermore, a teacher who also teaches in a college also applied some

of the learnt methods in this college, for instance.

Moreover, at least some teachers have also begun to reflect their own life styles and

consumption patterns: ‘A good impact in a personal way is that it has generated more

consciousness and responsibility in each every day practice which is realised individually or

with the family, with the saving of water, we have there a place where we can recycle, [...]’

(group discussion 01)

6.4 Organisational Impacts of the Programme

The results presented in the previous section have already shown that the training

programme has had a lot of impacts at the Universidad Técnica del Norte, especially on the

level of education. However, data furthermore shows that the programme also influenced on

education administration: ‘Well, I, for instance, had the opportunity to make the Strategy Plan

of the FICA, [...], thus, in this [plan] today I put in already the use of ICTs as transversal

issue, for all subjects and I put in the transversal issue of sustainability’ (group discussion

03). Furthermore, participating teachers talked with colleagues about contents of the training

programme and thus disseminated the idea of sustainability in their faculties. One teacher

mentions that students of him will work in the area of sustainability and new media in their

thesis.

Moreover, the teachers experienced the richness of interdisciplinary work and got to know

colleagues from other faculties. Consequently, there are not only better able to work in

interdisciplinary teams, but also know better who they could contact with in another faculty.

Additionally, the training course facilitated a new perspective on the university itself: ‘It [the

programme] allowed me to understand that the university has to be a centre of debate [...].

Here in the university we have, as teachers, the mission to facilitate that the university is a

centre of debate of the community and in this respect we have a lot to do’ (group discussion

01).

Last but not least, it should be mentioned that other activities about sustainability resulted

form the training programme. In June 2010 at the UTN, there was realised a discussion

forum about “Andean Indigenous Cosmovision and Sustainable Development”, in July 2010

an international conference about “Quality Management and Sustainable Development in



19

Higher Education”, and for September 2010 a conference about “Higher Education for

Sustainable Development” is planned.

7 Conclusion

Against the background of global change and an increasingly complex world, higher

education has to address a number of new challenges. As a place where future decision-

makers work and learn together, higher education should enable people to develop

competencies to deal with these challenges. Higher Education for Sustainable Development

offers a theoretical framework for implementing sustainability issues and new learning

approaches in higher education.

However, to enable teachers to contribute to such a change in higher education, they also

need learning opportunities and further education. Against this background, the teacher

training programme “Higher Education for Sustainable Development” was implemented at

the Universidad Técnica del Norte (UTN), Ibarra, Ecuador, in cooperation with the Institute of

Environmental and Sustainability Communication of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg. It

was set up as an effort to implement Higher Education for Sustainable Development at the

Universidad Técnica del Norte. The research question to be answered in this paper was

whether and how a teacher training programme which is realised in a North-South university

cooperation would support this implementation process.

The qualitative analysis of the training programme shows that the training programme firstly

facilitated the personal competence development of the participating teachers and provided

them with a broader understanding and more knowledge about sustainability-related

aspects. Teachers have begun to question their existing values, norms and assumptions,

and their ability to reflect upon their own practice was enhanced.

Secondly, on the level of professional performance the results of the exploratory case study

show that teachers have changed their own practice. They realised not only pilot courses on

sustainability-relevant topics but also integrated new teaching and learning approaches,

innovative methods and questions dealing with sustainable development in other courses or

even in other contexts of their work.

Thirdly, the results of data analysis show that the training programme influenced also the

general organisational development of the UTN. The idea of sustainability was disseminated

beyond the limits of the training programme and has become a transversal topic in the UTN.



20

The intercultural organisation of the training programme came with some challenges, but in

general facilitated the creation of a very innovative, interdisciplinary and intercultural setting

of learning, debate and exchange of experiences. Not only the participants of the training

programme learnt a lot, but also the German teachers could widen the horizons and learn

from Ecuadorian experiences.

In conclusion, it can be said that this training programme highlighted the potential benefits of

university teacher training programmes for higher education for sustainable development. At

the Universidad Técnica del Norte, a next step could be to implement a study programme in

which students can specialise on sustainability, for instance a Master’s programme on

sustainable development which could be offered by teachers who participated in the training

programme. While the additional benefits for highly motivated teachers, who enrolled

voluntarily in the training course and were willing to deal with the challenges faced during the

learning process, have been shown, the question remains how teachers could be reached

who are not interested in participating in training programmes on higher education for

sustainable development.



21

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