scholarly journals Facilitating Collaborative Partnerships in Education Policy Research: A Case of Multi-Stakeholder, Co-Investigation for Monitoring and Evaluation of Education for Sustainable Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2787
Author(s):  
Robert J. Didham ◽  
Paul Ofei-Manu
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Monitoring And Evaluation ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Strengthening the research-policy interface is dependent on conducting good research, as well as the appropriateness and applicability of identified policy options. The involvement of relevant stakeholders in collaborative research efforts to co-produce knowledge and recommendations to advance policies is one approach that can arguably improve this interface. This paper provides a practical instance of a research process on education for sustainable development (ESD) to develop a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework, which was conducted in the Asia region with participants from seven countries. This research process is presented as a pragmatic case study of how a collaborative research partnership was facilitated, and it examines how the interaction between researchers, policymakers and practitioners can be structured to support mutual learning in the field of sustainability education. The paper examines the wider debates regarding the research-policy interface, and it identifies the learning features that were achieved in this collaborative partnership, as well as the benefits this had for the research and knowledge co-generation. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges and issues M&E raises about the relationship between research and policy in ESD and suggests ways to address them.

scholarly journals Collaborative research as boundary work: learning between rice growers and conservation professionals to support habitat conservation on private lands

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Hardie Hale ◽  
Christopher C. Jadallah ◽  
Heidi L. Ballard
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Boundary Work ◽  
Central Valley ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Migratory Bird ◽  
Bird Conservation ◽  
Private Lands ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

AbstractMulti-stakeholder initiatives for biodiversity conservation on working landscapes often necessitate strategies to facilitate learning in order to foster successful collaboration. To investigate the learning processes that both undergird and result from collaborative efforts, this case study employs the concept of boundary work as a lens to examine learning between rice growers and conservation professionals in California’s Central Valley, who were engaged in a collaborative research project focused on migratory bird conservation. Through analysis of workshop observations, project documents, and interviews with rice growers and conservation professionals, we identified five distinct factors of the collaborative research process that influenced learning amongst these two groups: having mutually beneficial goals, sharing ownership of the collaborative research process, building trust, integrating knowledge, and institutional alignment. We also examined and identified learning outcomes for both rice growers and conservation professionals, which included new knowledge of the social-ecological system, new practices around farming and collaboration, and shifting identities. Our findings suggest that applying these factors and outcomes for learning when structuring collaborative research, and other multi-stakeholder initiatives, can foster learning amongst diverse stakeholder groups to support new approaches for balancing resource use and adaptive management.

Education for Sustainable Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Meghna Tare
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Informal Education ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

In 2003, in response to the United Nations (UN) Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, the United Nations University (UNU) Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability launched a global multi-stakeholder network of Regional Centers of Expertise (RCEs) on education for sustainable development (ESD). RCEs facilitate multi-sector collaboration and utilize formal, non-formal, and informal education to address sustainable development challenges in local and regional communities. In essence, RCEs are a tool for transformation to a more sustainable society, combining education and action for sustainable development. As we enter the new "ESD for 2030" decade, RCEs will continue to construct platforms for cross-sectoral dialogue between regional stakeholders and actors to promote and strengthen ESD at the local level. RCEs have committed to helping advance the five priority areas of action established in the Global Action Program on ESD and the new UN decade "ESD for 2030": advancing policy by mainstreaming ESD, transforming learning and training environments using whole-institution approaches, building capacities of educators and trainers, empowering and mobilizing youth, and accelerating sustainable solutions at the local level. RCEs are uniquely positioned to serve as shepherds in the realization of the new "ESD for 2030" decade. As of January 2019, 174 RCEs have officially been acknowledged by UNU worldwide, with eight RCEs in the United States: Georgetown, South Carolina; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Greater Atlanta, Georgia; Greater Burlington, Vermont; Greater Portland, Oregon; North Texas, Texas; Salisbury, Maryland; and Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. RCEs serve an essential role in the achievement of "ESD for 2030" goals by translating global objectives into the local contexts of our communities.

scholarly journals Exploring the Connections of Education for Sustainable Development and Entrepreneurial Education—A Case Study of Vocational Teacher Education in Finland

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 11887
Author(s):  
Eveliina Asikainen ◽  
Annukka Tapani
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Entrepreneurial Education ◽  
Teacher Students ◽  
Vocational Teacher

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Entrepreneurial Education (EE) are quite abstract and demanding concepts for teacher students. Yet, Key Sustainability Competences and Entrepreneurial Competences entail important qualities of future citizens and workers, and teacher students should become prepared to accommodate education for these competencies in their teaching practice. This paper explores teacher students’ process of sense-making of sustainable development and how becoming a teacher who practices ESD connects with entrepreneurship. EE serves as a good mirroring surface to ESD as they both have their roots in Transformative Learning (TL) but pursue transformation towards different goals. The case study follows the vocational teacher education (VTE) students’ sensemaking of Sustainable Development as a part of teacher’s work during one semester which included integrated Thematic Studies of Sustainable Development. The qualitative content analysis of students’ texts focused on signs of transformative learning and was guided by the dimensions of sustainable development and learning goals set for teacher’s sustainability competences in the VTE curriculum. The results indicate that transformative learning is possible. Furthermore, they address the importance of certain entrepreneurial capabilities in the actualization of change agency.

scholarly journals Education for Sustainable Development through International Collaboration. A Case Study on Concepts and Conceptual Change of School‐Students from India and Austria on Gender Equality and Sustainable Growth

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Dür ◽  
Lars Keller
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Development Goals

Dealing with the great challenges of the 21st century requires far reaching changes in the lifestyle and perceptions of humans to ensure an appropriate quality of life for all, now and in the future. To provide people with the necessary competencies, the UN initiated the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) program. The two-year research-education, cooperative project ‘AustrIndia-4QOL’ aims to contribute to the goals of ESD. It is based on a collaboration between students from schools in Austria and India on the topics of quality of life, sustainability and global justice. The purpose of this particular case study is to explore the effects of a weeklong face-to-face collaboration in the final part of the AustrIndia-4QOL project. Therefore, it is examined whether or not Austrian and Indian students’ concepts regarding the Sustainable Development Goals ‘Gender Equality’ and ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’ change as a consequence of encountering differing perspectives. Short texts written by the students at the beginning and at the end of this collaboration, according to guiding questions, form the basis for a qualitative content analysis. The findings illustrate that the students’ awareness increased and their evaluation of topics related to the discussed sustainable development goals changed.

scholarly journals Moving (Reflexively within) Structures. The Governance of Education for Sustainable Development in Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandy Singer-Brodowski ◽  
Janne von Seggern ◽  
Anika Duveneck ◽  
Nadine Etzkorn
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Policy Networks ◽  
Relational Agency ◽  
Case Comparison ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

The educational governance discourse aims at capturing how different actors, participating in a specific political process, coordinate their actions while working together within multi-actor policy networks. In Germany, such multi-actor policy networks have set up ambitious political goals on the implementation of education for sustainable development (ESD) that has resulted in the National Action Plan. The current domestic slogan “From Project to Structure” reveals the overall aim of scaling ESD. In this article, a governance perspective is used to examine how the actors involved in ESD in Germany coordinate their actions with each other. Six focus group discussions for different educational areas were conducted and analyzed with a structuring content analysis in MAXQDA. Additionally, an in-depth case comparison of the actors from different sectors (administration, politics, academia, civil society, and educational practice) was carried out. The results show sector-specific boundary work—the way in which actors construe, maintain, or even bridge boundaries when coordinating their actions in scaling ESD. Actors from the various sectors positioned themselves in patterns of more structure-immanent or more structure-transcending positionings. The conclusion shows that reflection and relational agency is pivotal for cooperation within multi-stakeholder governance networks and for moving strategically within structures.

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