Par$cipaon*in*Sustainability*Ini$aves:** Top7down,*Bo ... · capacity buiding & empowerment...
Transcript of Par$cipaon*in*Sustainability*Ini$aves:** Top7down,*Bo ... · capacity buiding & empowerment...
Par$cipa$on in Sustainability Ini$a$ves: Top-‐down, Bo<om-‐up, a Mix or Something Else?
Antje Disterhe,, UAb / UC, Portugal
I expect you all to be independent, innovative, critical thinkers who will do exactly as I say!
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UGAF workshop Freie Universität Berlin
26th of March 2015
Inves$ga$ng par$cipa$on 2
• Sustainability declara)ons • Improving opera)ons (e.g.
Environmental management systems / Green Buildings etc.)
è o,en top-‐down strategies, or a mix, and someGmes also boHom-‐up Par)cipa)on and related
theories to higher educa$on for sustainable development
Related theoreGcal concepts 3
Sustainability in Higher Educa$on Educa$on for
Sustainable Development Concept of par$cipa$on
Systems theory
Organisa$onal theory
Stakeholder theory
Theories of democracy
Representa$ve democracy
Direct democracy
Governance
Social theory
Cri$cal theory
Theories of knowledge
Construc$vis$c learning theories
Par$cipa$on on different societal levels
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Fig. 1: Societal levels of parGcipaGon (adapted from UNCED 1992)
Sustainability
ini$a$ves in
universi$es
Forms of par$cipa$on
Individual par)cipa)on: choices and ac$ons individuals make as part of their life and that are statements of the society they want to live in
Social par)cipa)on: collec$ve, civil or community ac$vi$es in which individuals are involved in on a regular basis
Public par)cipa)on: the prac$ce of consul$ng and involving members of the public in the agenda seXng, decision making and policy forming ac$vi$es of organiza$ons or ins$tu$ons
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Arnstein’s ladder of par$cipa$on (1969) 6
the prac)ce of doing something in order to make people believe that you are being fair and including all types of people and issues when this is not really true
Fig. 5: French student poster (in Arnstein (1969)); Text: I parGcipate/ You parGcipate / He parGcipates / We parGcipate / You parGcipate / They profit Fig. 4: Ladder of parGcipaGon (Arnstein, 1969)
Some insights from my qualita$ve research
• What do sustainability prac))oners consider as cri)cal success factors for par)cipatory processes in sustainability ini)a)ves?
Data sample: * Focus groups consisted of 8-‐12 parGcipants and were relaGvely balanced in gender and working experience
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Par)cipants in interviews and focus groups*
N=51 (Interviews N=15; Focus groups N = 36)
• 55% female, 45 % male
• Mostly in the age groups of 30-‐39 years (31%) and 50-‐59 years (22%)
• Mostly with a post-‐graduate degree (59% with PhD, 33% with a master, 8% with a bachelor)
• Average working experience in sustainability of 8 years
• Par$cipants came from 22 different countries
capacity buiding& empowerment
stimulating positive feeling raising champions
communication
identification with goals
listening
non-judging attitudegiving feedback
to find out what people are caring about
appreciation
experience
intuition
personal strengthand persistence
flexibility
authentic interest & credibility
avoid frustration
support of top management
tangibleobjectives
strategy witha clear goal
give a voice to relevant stakeholders
to have an institutional impact
can be
enough time and availability can be
can beranked
veryimportant
important
still important,but less
specific dispositions, skillsand (participatory) competencies
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Fig. 1: Cluster of criGcal success factors for parGcipatory processes within sustainability iniGaGves (Disterhe, et al. 2014)
Selected findings
Selected findings (conGnued)
• Regarding cri$cal success factors for par$cipatory approaches, the research underlined (Disterheg et al., 2014):
Ø Empowerment and capacity building as principal desired outcomes Ø The interdependence with structural ins$tu$onal condi$ons and the
way persons engage Ø Ideally, the management supports the ini$a$ve and shows authen$c
interest Ø The importance of the role of the facilitator Ø The importance of developing par$cipatory competencies (referring to
all stakeholder groups of the academic community), with emphasis on listening and a non-‐judging aatude
Ø Humour and fun are cri$cal success factors J
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Fig. 4: Loops of learning (adapted from Argyris and Schoen (1978) and Holmgren (2011))
Par$cipatory processes as a transforma$ve learning experience
ParGcipatory processes as a transformaGve learning experience (conGnued) “Transforma)ve learning involves: Ø “a deep structural shig in the basic premises of thought, feelings and
ac$ons; Ø “a shig of consciousness that drama$cally and permanently alters our way
of being in the world. Ø a shig involves our understanding of ourselves and our self-‐loca$on: our
rela$onships with other humans and with the natural world” (Morrell & O’Connor, 2002, p.xvii)
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…reflec$ng on par$cipa$on…. 12
“EducaGon either funcGons as an
instrument which is used to facilitate integraGon of the younger generaGon into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the pracGce of freedom, the means by which men and women deal criGcally and creaGvely with reality and discover how to parGcipate in the transformaGon of their world.”
Paulo Freire (1972)
Sustainability in Higher EducaGon: Just “equipping people to become more effecGve vandals of the earth”?
David Orr (2004)
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Broadening par$cipa$on 14
“The volume of educa)on has increased and con$nues to increase, yet so do pollu)on, exhaus)on of resources, and the dangers of ecological catastrophe. If s$ll more educa)on is to save us, it would have to be educa)on of a different kind: an educa$on that takes us into the depth of things” (Schumacher, wriHen 1974, published 1997)
Par$cipatory processes as an ecological
impera$ve 15
v Perceiving our world as a whole and ourselves as part of it (system thinking, the web of life (Fritjof Capra))
v Implying an extended sense of rela$onality (Reason, 1998), including all living beings
v Par$cipatory processes that s$mulate all forms of knowing (cogni$ve, emo$onal, aesthe$cal)
v Par$cipatory processes that are in service of the Earth community
v Including the natural world in the process as it was THE MAIN stakeholder
Re-‐connec$ng to the natural world 16
Final remarks
Sugges)ons for answering our ques)on: ² Going beyond ‘power struggles’ and ba<le of hierarchies ² Perceiving the university as a community of prac$ce ² Engaging head, hands and heart (not only knowledge that shall lead to ac$ons, but
emo$ons that give purpose and foster mo$va$on) ² Universi$es as learning ins$tu$ons (from teaching insGtuGon towards a learning
community) ² Including the inner and outer dimension of par$cipa$on : personal (cri$cal)
reflec$on on how do I (want to) relate to my fellow-‐beings (including those from the natural world)?
² Remembering some cri)cal success factors ² Ideally, the management supports the ini$a$ve and shows authen$c interest ² The importance of developing par$cipatory competencies (referring to all
stakeholder groups of the academic community), with emphasis on listening and a non-‐judging aatude
² The importance of the role of the facilitator ² Humour and fun are cri$cal success factors J
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Thank you very much for your aNen)on!
[email protected] References: Argyris, C., & Schoen, D.A. (1978). OrganizaGonal learning: A Theory of AcGon PerspecGve. Reading, MA: Addison-‐
Wesley. Arnstein, Sherry R. (1969). A Ladder Of Ci$zen Par$cipa$on. Journal of the American Planning AssociaGon, 35(4),
216-‐224. doi: 10.1080/01944366908977225 Davidson, Sco<. (1998). Spinning the wheel of empowerment. Planning(3), 14-‐15. Disterheg, Antje, Caeiro, Sandra, Azeiteiro, Ulisses M., & Leal Filho, Walter. (2014). Sustainable universi$es – a study of
cri$cal success factors for par$cipatory approaches. Journal of Cleaner ProducGon(0). doi: h<p://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.01.030
Habermas, Juergen. (1985). The Theory of CommunicaGve AcGon, Volume1: Reason adn the RaGonalizaGon of Society. Translated by Thomas Mc Cathy. Boston: Beacon Press.
Holmgren, Mark (Producer). (2011, 05-‐05-‐2014). About Learning. Retrieved from h<p://www.slideshare.net/markholmgren/about-‐learning-‐8100291
Mezirow, J. (1997). Transforma$ve learning: Theory to prac$ce. New DirecGons for Adult and ConGnuing EducaGon, 74, 5-‐12.
Morrell, A., & O’Connor, M. (2002) Introduc$on, in: O’Sullivan, E., Morrell, A. & O Connor, M. (eds) Expanding the Boundaries of Transforma$ve Learning: essays on theory and praxis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.xv-‐xx.
Reason, P. (1998). Poli$cal, epistemological, ecological and spiritual dimensions of par$cipa$on. Studies in Cultures, OrganizaGons and SocieGes, 4, 147-‐167.
Schumacher, E.F. (1997) ‘This I believe’ and other essays. Dar$ngton: Green Books, (essay first published in 1974) UNCED. (1992). Agenda 21, the United NaGons Programme of AcGon from Rio. New York, NY: UN Department of Public
Informa$on.
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19 Davidson’s Wheel of par$cipa$on (1998)
Fig. 5: W
heel of p
arGcipaG
on (D
avidson, 1998)
Mezirow’s ideal discourse (1997) (based on Habermas’ ideal dialogue (1985))
“Par)cipants are – allowed full access to informa$on, – free from coercion, – allowed equal opportunity to assume various roles of the discourse, – encouraged to become cri$cally reflec$ve of assump$ons, – empathic and open to other perspec$ves, – willing to listen and to search for common ground of synthesis of
different points of view, and – willing to make a tenta$ve best judgement to guide ac$on.”
!" Changing our habits of mind and points of view
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