Values-focused sustainability training programs may have potential to influence college students' worldviews

Education for sustainable development, or ESD, encourages individuals to become more sustainably minded in their behaviors and values. Teaching methods that utilize open-ended pedagogies, such as ESD, are known as “transformative.” Transformative teaching methods allow individuals to personalize their understanding of a topic. In discussing sustainability, however, institutions of higher education tend to focus on knowledge and skills, or “transmissive” methods, fostering a disconnect between what they are learning and possible applications to their lifestyle. The authors of this study explored whether transformative teaching methods, as opposed to transmissive teaching methods, could increase positive ecological viewpoints in college-aged learners.

This research assessed a wide variety of values, utilizing theories such as Schwartz's values structure and Stern's Values-Beliefs-Norms theory. Schwartz's values structure organizes values into a combination of four broad categories: self-focused, other-focused, extrinsic (outside) motivations, and intrinsic (inside) motivations. Values are organized as follows:
Self-focused with extrinsic motivations: achievement and power
Self-focused with intrinsic motivations: hedonism, stimulation, and self-direction
Other-focused with extrinsic motivations: security, conformity, tradition
Other-focused with intrinsic motivations: universalism, benevolence

Stern's Values-Beliefs-Norms Theory compliments this by defining three types of values that can influence someone's environmentally responsible (or not) behaviors:
Egotistic: weighing the personal costs and benefits of an action
Altruistic: weighing the public costs and benefits of an action
Biospheric: weighing the environmental costs and benefits of an action

This research explored the potential for transformative teaching methods to adjust the values outlined in these theories.

This study took place at Plymouth University in Plymouth, England. The 89 study participants were male and female students from the civil engineering and three-dimensional design disciplines at the university. The majority of participants were between the ages of 19-24 and were recruited through self-selection. Data was collected through both surveys and interviews. The experimental group of 67 participants went on to receive training, while the 22 students in the control group received no training. Students in both the control and experimental groups were given written values surveys pre- and post-training. The survey asked questions about individuals' worldviews and values in relation to sustainability. Students in the experimental group were then given a five-hour in-person training program designed by Plymouth University known as “The Sustainable Self.” This transformative teaching model used during the training allowed students to reflect and think deeply about sustainability issues. Activities used during the training were engaging and open-ended, encouraging students to deepen their understanding of sustainability while building on already existing attitudes and knowledge. The New Ecological Paradigm Scale (NEP-R), a widely accepted ecological values scale, was used to collect scores, which were analyzed using statistics. Eleven students in the experimental group also completed interviews 14-17 weeks after the training. The interviews were analyzed for recurring themes.

Overall, this research found that transformative teaching methods have the potential to increase positive sustainability values. Regarding the quantitative results, the experimental group showed the most change in values measured from pre- to post-training. The fives values that increased were conformity, security, hedonism, self-direction, and tradition. The average scores for tradition and universalism increased for the engineering students. The value of tradition had the greatest increase in the design students. This indicates that those who participated in the training generally increased their awareness of sustainability issues.

Notably, the value of universalism (care for all people) also increased for the control group from pre- to post-training, although they did not participate in the training themselves. This may suggest that simply being asked about these topics increased consideration of them. Both the design and engineering students had significant increases in the scores of their pro-ecological viewpoints. Overall, the survey results suggest that such transformative pedagogies as this one help to facilitate deep thought regarding sustainability topics.

One recurring theme found during the interviews was the development of participants' views on the meaning of sustainability. Numerous individuals mentioned that their ideas regarding sustainability had been changed in some way since the training, suggesting that such transformative methods may be effective at increasing awareness of sustainability. Another common theme was the need for changes in lifestyle and behaviors to address how sustainability is perceived by others. This might suggest that self-motivation and interest in engaging in sustainability behaviors might be increased by transformative teaching methods.

Additionally, interviewees recalled values from the training and noted them as a significant element in sustainability behaviors. Four of the interviewees contributed changes in their mind-sets directly to the training activities and their core values, which they identified during the training. Eight of the eleven interview participants also recalled that they were particularly impacted by the image-based activities. The researchers note that students were able to reflect on external judgement patterns through the images. Lastly, students from the design group notably increased mean scores for five value types, while engineering students only increased two. The researchers suggest that it may be possible that students in art majors were more open to change than students in knowledge-based programs, such as engineering.

The authors of this study noted numerous limitations, including the small number of participants and difference in group sizes of engineering and design students. Another limitation recognized was the self-selection of participants in the follow-up interviews, which yielded significantly more design students than engineering students.

The results of this study suggest that learners who participate in more transformative learning methods (as opposed to transmissive, knowledge-based methods) might show increases in positive sustainability viewpoints, behaviors, and attitudes. Methods such as the Sustainable Self allow participants to think deeply about what sustainability means to them as an individual and how they can apply this knowledge to their everyday lives. The authors of this study note that better understanding how to help our students reflect on and feel motivated towards sustainability is an important and pressing endeavor in today's world. Educators can utilize these findings to help engage their students in critical thinking about the environment.