My latest review essay is now published in EER: Exploring a transformative orientation to sustainability in universities: a question of loose and tight framings. It is available here c/o Taylor & Francis.
This is the Abstract:
This review essay examines three new books on higher education and sustainability. It explores a number of the issues raised in the books, in particular, the meaning of a transformative orientation towards sustainability. The idea of loose and tight conceptual framings of sustainability is employed. A tight framing is where an institution embodies a vision, values and values-informed practices that have been shifted to fit a particular conceptualisation of sustainability which gives meaning, not just to what that institution does, but also to what it is trying to become. A loose framing is where an institution takes sustainability seriously in what it does, without having in place values, dispositions and orientations, and an appropriate conceptually grounded vision. It is argued:
(i) that the essential distinction here is between that of doing sustainability, and a shift to being sustainable as a whole institution;
(ii) that any developmental journey to a tight framing would need to be a deliberate one;
(iii) that changes to curriculum, management, leadership and governance would need to be in place before this can start; and
(iv) that an important step on the journey will involve institution-wide deliberations on the conceptual framing(s) to adopt.
Respond