Visual images of sustainability in higher education: the hidden curriculum of climate change on campus

Abstract

Purpose

Perceptions of climate change are strongly influenced by visual cues and images. Many universities have made significant steps towards decarbonisation, yet these often remain hidden from the campus community. This study aims to explore the hidden curriculum of climate change on campus and compare participants’ images of sustainability on campus with those on university websites.

Design/methodology/approach

This research was underpinned by a critical realist perspective using innovative visual research methods including auto-photography and photo-elicitation to enable deep understanding of perceptions of sustainability and climate change on campus. Grounded visual pattern analysis (GVPA) was used to analyse campus photos and compare them to images used on university websites.

Findings

Findings suggest that staff and student images more strongly encapsulated tensions between humans and nature than website photos, but that the latter included more evidence of social sustainability. Neither image set expressed climate change issues effectively; the invisibility of university decarbonisation activities represents a lost opportunity for learning.

Originality/value

This research uses novel visual methodologies and analysis (GVPA) with potential for wider use in sustainability research. This study offers new insights into the importance of the hidden curriculum of sustainability in higher education and the difficulties of making climate change visible on campus.

Citation

Cotton, D., Winter, J., Allison, J.A. and Mullee, R. (2023), "Visual images of sustainability in higher education: the hidden curriculum of climate change on campus", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 24 No. 7, pp. 1576-1593. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-09-2022-0315