Participatory curriculum development processes can embed sustainability in a business school curriculum

Edwards, M. ., Brown, P. ., Benn, S. ., Bajada, C. ., Perey, R. ., Cotton, D. ., … Waite, K. . (2020). Developing sustainability learning in business school curricula – productive boundary objects and participatory processes. Environmental Education Research, 26, 253-274.

Addressing sustainability issues in business schools can promote future sustainable business practices among graduates. Yet, business schools have traditionally lacked sustainability curricula. This study looked at one university's efforts to incorporate sustainability into business school curriculum using a participatory process and boundary objects. Participatory process is a method to incorporate active participation by all members of a group in a decision-making process. Boundary objects are documents, terms, concepts, etc., that make ideas concrete and facilitates dialogue among people with different backgrounds. The researchers examined the efficacy of using a participatory process and boundary objects to embed sustainability learning in business school curricula.

This study took place at an Australian university's business school during a time when there was a curriculum development process in place to embed sustainability. The Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach was used, in which the researchers were involved in the process. The researchers and business school academics, termed the sustainability working party, met monthly to engage in dialogue, planning, and the curriculum development process. Boundary objects including meeting minutes, discussions and strategy documents, data and evaluation reports, teaching and curriculum materials, and published articles were shared. In between meetings with the sustainability working party, co-learning activities were implemented to include other faculty from the business school, Environmental Science, and Design and Arts and Social Science Faculties. The researchers collected data through interviews, surveys, and focus groups from the sustainability working party members as well as other professionals, academics, and students involved in the process. The researchers analyzed the data, looking at both the processes that influenced the outcomes and the ultimate outcome.

The researchers found that a participatory curriculum development process can embed sustainability in a business school curriculum. The curriculum development process evolved through four distinct stages; development, design, implementation, and renew. In the development stage, participants shared their discipline-specific knowledge about sustainability. Discourse revealed that among the sustainability working party, there were distinct interpretations of sustainability. Additionally, the conversations frequently failed in addressing the connection between different interpretations. However, by the renew stage, multidisciplinary interactions to sustainability had emerged. Participants in the business disciplines addressed problems from a perspective outside their discipline and communicated across disciplines, such as developing teaching materials with Design faculty.

Participatory Action Research revealed that different boundary objects were successful in facilitating an interdisciplinary discourse of sustainability and forced participants to consider sustainability in a context beyond their academic knowledge. As participants engaged with boundary objects, their understanding of how sustainability can be embedded in the curricula continually evolved. This report itself acted as a boundary object because academics in various disciplines, such as Finance and Accounting, had the opportunity to discuss and communicate how they understand sustainability. The researchers also found that because their work took place within an institution, it provided the necessary structure and resources for embedding sustainability in the curriculum.

Maps, definitions and wicked problems (a complex cultural problem difficult to solve, like many related to climate change) also served as useful boundary objects to promote interdisciplinary discussion. Continued interdisciplinary discussion led to the development of an important boundary object, the Program Learning Objective version 2 (PLOv2). The PLOv2 required that students be able to critically analyze sustainability principles as they relate to business contexts. It was flexible in content so that it could be used in multiple disciplines and established sustainability knowledge as a key part of the Business school curricula. The development of PLOv2 demonstrated that participatory curriculum development process can progress curriculum, especially Business school curriculum, to include sustainability learning.

This study has limitations. The PAR process called for researcher involvement in the participatory process, as the researchers were directly involved, that may have introduced bias into the study. This study also took place within one university in Australia that provided necessary support to embed sustainability, limiting the generalizability of the results. The results may not be applicable to another university with different resources or in a different geographic location.

The researchers suggested that embedding sustainability across business curricula and disciplines will promote a more holistic approach to sustainable learning in business schools. They recommend engaging in a PAR process and using boundary objects to promote interdisciplinary discourse in curriculum development. Deep discussions on sustainability that takes place across disciplines can allow for curricula to be developed that includes complex social and ecological issues.

The Bottom Line

<p>Developing business school curricula around sustainability issues can promote sustainable business practices among graduates. The researchers focused on one curriculum development process to embed sustainability within an Australian University's business school. The process utilized a participatory process and boundary object (documents, terms, concepts, etc. that facilitate dialogue). The researchers analyzed documents utilized in the curriculum development process and data collected through interviews, surveys, and focus groups. The researchers found that a participatory process in the curriculum development process can enable embedding sustainability in a business school curriculum. Boundary objects were valuable in facilitating discourse of sustainability across disciplines and allowing participants to consider sustainability in a context beyond their academic expertise. The researchers recommend engaging in a participatory process for interdisciplinary discourse in curriculum development and using boundary objects to promote interdisciplinary discourse in curriculum development.</p>

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