Journal development, scholar development and quality
- Authors: Rosenberg, Eureta , Togo, Muchaiteyi
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/67314 , vital:29072 , https://doi.org/10.4314/SAJEE.V.33I1.1
- Description: publisher version , In reflecting on the contributions to Volume 33, it is evident that a variety of theories about learning and social change inform the scholars in environmental education, ranging from behaviourist, to social behavioural, constructivist and social constructivist learning theories, social and critical realism, and more. What unites these papers is a shared concern about learning in relation to the future well-being of the planet and its people. New scholars entering the field of environmental and sustainability education have the task of mastering not only the social– ecological subject matter of the field, but also their chosen learning theories. In this regard, drawing on the back copies of the SAJEE can be of great value. Much research and writing has already been done on curriculum, education and learning inside and outside of formal institutions, yet many more questions remain. The field is best advanced by noting and building on, challenging and advancing past studies and existing scholarship. The fact that all 33 Volumes of the SAJEE are available online, just a ‘few clicks away’ from any student or supervisor with Internet access, is therefore an enormous boon. We encourage readers and future authors to draw on the work in this and other environmental education journals as they conceptualise, design and reflect on their own studies.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Exploring a systems approach to mainstreaming sustainability in universities: A case study of Rhodes University in South Africa
- Authors: Togo, Muchaiteyi , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182857 , vital:43886 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2012.749974"
- Description: This paper explores the use of systems theory to inform the mainstreaming of sustainability in a university’s functions as it responds to sustainable development challenges in its local context. Offering a case study of Rhodes University, the paper shows how the use of systems models and concepts, underpinned by a critical realist ontology and an understanding of morphogenetic change processes, have the potential to enable universities to mobilise their operations to respond to local sustainability challenges. In this instance, the success of such an approach is shown to depend on commitments from the university community and the availability of enabling inputs, such as financial and human resources. The paper concludes with reflections and recommendations to inform further development of a newly emerging systems approach in sustainability mainstreaming at Rhodes University, and other institutions pursuing similar approaches and goals.
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- Date Issued: 2013
A systems approach to mainstreaming environment and sustainability in universities : the case of Rhodes University, South Africa
- Authors: Togo, Muchaiteyi
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Rhodes University Education, Higher -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- South Africa Universities and colleges -- Environmental aspects -- South Africa -- Case studies Environmental education -- South Africa -- Case studies Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4768 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007175
- Description: This study is influenced by the objectives of the Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability in African Universities Partnership which aims to enhance the quality and relevance of university education through implementation of Environmental Education and sustainability across university functions and operations. It contributes to Education for Sustainable Development through the development of tools to assess sustainability in higher education, investigating sustainability practices in universities and proposing strategies for improving mainstreaming of sustainability. It also contributes to systems approaches in mainstreaming contextual sustainability challenges in university functions and operations. The aim of the study was to investigate how universities can mainstream sustainability in their functions and operations in response to contextual sustainability challenges in a changing environment using a systems approach. The research was a case study of Rhodes University in South Africa, which is situated in the impoverished Eastern Cape Province. The study involved 12 teaching departments (representing all faculties at the university), four research units and institutes, five managements units, the Estates Division and the Student Representative Council. The theoretical framework of the study draws from a critical realist ontology and systems thinking epistemology. Systems thinking emphasises the interdependencies of phenomena, thus providing the methodology and tools for a systems view of relationships between education and the environmental context in which it is embedded. Critical realism was employed as an underlabourer to systems thinking as it provides for some of the dimensions absent in systems thinking including its depth ontology which facilitates isolating causal factors influencing empirical reality. It recognises that explanation of phenomena can be embedded in history and acknowledges the fallibility of knowledge. The data collection methods employed in the study include a sustainability assessment using a Unit-based Sustainability Assessment Tool developed as part of the study, interviews, content analyses and observations. Data analyses were performed through employing morphogenetic analysis, and inductive, abductive and retroductive modes of inference. The morphogenetic analysis of social transformation/reproduction was employed to trace the historical emergence of sustainability initiatives at Rhodes University. Induction facilitated reorganisation of the data into themes which particularly represent the main sustainability activities at Rhodes University. Abduction, through recontextualising data in a systems thinking framework, enabled further insights into the phenomena. In the study, it enabled use of systems lenses as a framework and led to identification of systemic issues affecting mainstreaming and later, the development of systems thinking approaches in mainstreaming sustainability. Retroduction enabled identification of causal mechanisms which influenced the emergence of sustainability initiatives at the university. The study established that the emergence of sustainability initiatives at Rhodes University followed the 1990 Talloires Declaration and paralleled international institutional developments in relation to environmental and sustainability challenges. Since then, sustainability initiatives have continuously been emerging in various operational dimensions of the university in line with emerging sustainability challenges which resulted in a morphogenetic cycle. The study revealed that Rhodes University has mainstreamed sustainability across the functions and operations of most of the departments/divisions/units forming part of the study, especially in functions like teaching, research, community engagement and operations. There were a few exceptions like the Human Resources Division and to an extent the Research Office/Management Division which are not yet considering sustainability in their operations. While most of the teaching departments had sustainability initiatives in teaching, research and community engagement, there was diversity in the dimension(s) of sustainable development that the departments addressed and this seemed to relate to the disciplinary content of their subjects. In the Estates Division sustainability initiatives included sustainable landscaping, campus environmental management, water and energy conservation initiatives, waste recycling, use of biodiesel, to mention a few. Students were also involved in various sustainability activities especially through voluntary community engagement initiatives. Sustainability initiatives at the university were also discovered to be embedded within and responding to sustainability challenges of the immediate university environment of Makana District. The study unearthed the causal mechanisms enabling and constraining mainstreaming activities at the university. These were found to be embedded in the history and context within which the university is operating, and other factors related to university structures and agency of lecturers, other employees and students. Examples of these factors are unsustainable patterns in society, policies and the need to redress past inequalities. The study noted the existence of systemic issues at the university which need to be addressed to enable and enhance the promotion of a systems approach to mainstreaming: notably, complexity owing to diversity of approaches employed in mainstreaming, the absence of clearly defined university sustainability goals, problems of institutional support and in some cases, disciplinary governing rules which do not leave room for mainstreaming sustainability. The study established the possibility of improving mainstreaming of sustainability through the adoption of more explicit systems approaches. It suggests use of systems models including the systems-environment model, the functions/structure model and the motion picture model in the process. It recommends making the goal of mainstreaming more upfront, developing a shared understanding of sustainability and mapping out/defining contextual sustainable development issues to grapple with. The study also recommends adopting a holistic approach in mainstreaming, making it a campus-wide initiative, involving all students and developing interdisciplinary curricula. It suggests setting up of supporting mechanisms to strengthen, extend and spearhead mainstreaming and enhancement of collaborative work in sustainable development issues.
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- Date Issued: 2009
Students as Agents of Social Change-Student Initiatives at Rhodes University, South Africa
- Authors: Togo, Muchaiteyi
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/386561 , vital:68151 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/122830"
- Description: Rhodes University has a diversity of sustainable development initiatives meant for students and in a range of cases activities are initiated by students themselves with the support of the university. Results of a sustainability assessment revealed the involvement of students in environmental societies, environmental awareness campaigns, campus sustainability initiatives and community sustainability projects. Though most of the projects are still in their infancy and some challenges are yet to be overcome, the sustainability initiatives are gaining momentum and have contributed to improving the overall picture of sustainability at the university. Based on the results of the Rhodes University case study, the underpinning viewpoint in this paper is that university students are not merely recipients of Education for Sustainable Development but have the capacity to become agents for social change.
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- Date Issued: 2009
The unit-based sustainability assessment tool and its use in the UNEP mainstreaming environment and sustainability in African universities partnership
- Authors: Togo, Muchaiteyi , Lotz-Sisitka, Heila
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , book chapter
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/437409 , vital:73376 , ISBN 978-1-4020-8194-1 , https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02375-5_15
- Description: This paper reports on the development and use of a Unit-based Sustainability Assessment Tool (USAT) for establishing the status of Education for Sustainable Development initiatives and sustainable development practices in universities. The tool was developed for use in the Swedish/Africa International Training Programme (ITP) on ‘Education for Sustainable De-velopment in Higher Education’ and complements the UNEP Mainstreaming Environment and Sustainability into African Universities (MESA) ‘Education for Sustainable Development Innovations Programmes for Universities in Africa’ materials. The USAT facilitates a quick assessment of the level of inte-gration of sustainability issues in university functions and op-erations, both to benchmark sustainability initiatives and identi-fy new areas for action or improvement. It is based on a unit-based framework which allows for sustainability assessments to be done per division, unit, department, or faculty within uni-versities. Collectively, the unit-based assessments provide for development of an institution wide picture of university sus-tainability.
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- Date Issued: 2009
Sustainability assessment using a unit-based sustainability assessment tool: The case of three teaching departments at Rhodes University, South Africa
- Authors: Togo, Muchaiteyi
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/386863 , vital:68182 , xlink:href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajee/article/view/122776"
- Description: A sustainability assessment study was performed with three teaching departments at Rhodes University – Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Anthropology, and Accounting. The assessment used a Unit-based Sustainability Assessment Tool (USAT) and was guided by systems thinking and the ontological framework provided by critical realism. Results of the study showed that the Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science had a higher integration of sustainability issues in its activities than the other departments sampled, with Accounting having the lowest integration. Interviews conducted with departmental heads and content analyses of documents revealed differences in sustainability issues addressed and in approaches used in tackling them among these departments. The study is intended to inform the Mainstreaming of Environment and Sustainability in African (MESA) Universities Partnership, which promotes mainstreaming environment and sustainability in universities during the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The study does not provide answers to mainstreaming activities, but opens up space to debate and deliberate how to deal with the mainstreaming of sustainability in universities. It identified some of the challenges to be addressed in university-wide mainstreaming work, and affirmed the need for systems thinking in bringing about change at institutional level to extend changes taking place in individual teaching contexts.
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- Date Issued: 2008