Turning GreenStories of environmental

learning and leadership in

a public sector workplace

Nina WhiteBachelor of Adult and Vocational Education

HonoursUniSA Mawson Lakes

How the story begins

Lifelong love of nature and learning

A desire to synergise these passions

Expansion of academic focus

Interest in the learning about and practice of sustainability, both personally and professionally

How the story begins

Greening of government

Public sector agency, responsible for sustainable economic development of primary industries

Green economists

Environmentalism in a personal and professional sense

Learning experiences

Role of leadership

Research question

“What has contributed to the team’s greening culture, how is it experienced and how is it expressed?”

Approach

Methodology – Constructionist, naturalist-interpretative(Somekh & Lewin, 2005; Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000)

Research Methods – Observation, interviews and a focus group session(Berg, 2004; Wilkinson & Birmingham, 2003)

Analytical Techniques – Emergent themes and interconnections reviewed against theoretical concepts(Trahar, 2006)

Approvals – Ethics and permissions

Emergent Themes

Participant backgrounds

Social contexts

Professional context

Workplace culture

Theoretical Lenses

Social ecology (Conn, 1991; Hill, 2000; Weinsten & Schuck, 2011)

Social practice theory (Hargreaves, 2011)

Socially constructed learning (Illeris, 2011; Høyrup, 2010; Hager, 2004; Illeris, 2002; Wenger, 1998)

Leadership (Chan & Scott-Ladd 2004; Dubrin, Dalglish & Miller, 2006; Raelin, 2011)

Organisational and Workplace Learning(Illeris, 2011; Fenwick, 2008; Chan & Scott-Ladd, 2004)

Critical Insights

Implicit, socially constructed learning

Leadership, and leadership in practice

Ecological nature of individual, team, community, organisation, culture, practice, philosophy, profession and learning

Conclusions

Non-universal

Depth and richness

Interconnectedness

Potential of social benefit as a motivator

Future Research

Internalising sustainability in the public sector

Connections between environmental action, environmental evidence and organisational characteristics

Application of social ecology to organisational research and organisational development

ReferencesSomekh, B. & Lewin, C. (2005), Research methods in the social sciences, eds, SAGE Publications, London.Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2000), Research methods in education, 5th ed, RoutledgeFalmer, London.Berg, B., (2004), Qualitative research methods for the social sciences, 5th ed, Pearson Education, USA.Wilkinson, D. & Birmingham, P. (2003), Using research instruments: A guide for researchers, RoutledgeFalmer, London.Trahar, S. (2006), Narrative research on learning: comparative and international perspectives, eds, Bristol Papers in Education, No.2, Symposium Books, UK.Conn, E. (1991), The ecological organisation: A new perspective, Management Learning, 22(3).Hill, S. (2000), Social ecology, A social ecology journal, University of Western Sydney.Weinsten, M. & Schuck, B. (2011), Social ecology and worksite training and development: Introducing the social in instructional system design, Human Resource Development Review, 10.Hargreaves, T. (2011), Practice-ing behaviour change: Applying social practice theory to pro-environmental behaviour change, Journal of Consumer Culture, 11.Illeris, K. (2011), The fundamentals of workplace learning: Understanding how people learn in working life, Routledge, Oxon.Høyrup, S. (2010), Employee-driven innovation and workplace learning: basic concepts, approaches and themes, Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 16.Hager, P. (2004), Conceptions of learning and understanding learning at work, Studies in Continuing Education, 26(1).Illeris, K. (2002), The thee dimensions of learning, Rothkilde, Rothkilde University Press.Wenger, E. (1998), Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Chan, C. & Scott-Ladd, B. (2004), Organisational learning: Some considerations for human resource practitioners, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 42(3).Dubrin,A., Dalglish, C. & Miller, P. (2006;), Leadership, 2nd Asia Pacific Edition, John Wiley & Sone, Australia.Raelin, J. (2011), From leadership-as-practice to leaderful practice, Leadership, 7.Fenwick, T. (2008), Understanding relations of individuals – collective learning in work: A review of research, Management Learning, 39(3)

Questions?