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Article
Publication date: 3 July 2023

Salvador Baena-Morales, Gladys Merma-Molina and Alberto Ferriz-Valero

The aim of this personal vision research is to analyse the characteristics of physical education subject to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the…

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this personal vision research is to analyse the characteristics of physical education subject to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the development of competences in university students. The objective is to reflect on how critical and systemic thinking could be mobilised through the contents and methodologies in physical education to promote the SDGs.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual article is proposed in which an active investigation of how physical education could foster critical and systemic thinking has been carried out. For this purpose, articles were selected that have analysed the potential of physical education for sustainability. Databases such as Web of Science, Scopus or Google Scholar have been reviewed through keywords such as “physical education”, “sustainability”, “critical thinking” or “systems thinking”.

Findings

Strategies are presented to enable university students to understand the scope of the subject beyond the physical dimension. This study discusses that it is only through such a change of view of the subject that meaningful learning and learning situations that encourage enquiry and active participation can be introduced. Thus, this paper argues that physical education is a unique area of knowledge for mobilising critical and systemic thinking in the context of sustainable development (SD). Consequently, concrete actions are presented for application in physical education teaching that shows direct connections to specific targets of the SDGs.

Practical implications

This study presents practical implications for higher education leaders and educational policy designers at the national level, as it would help improve initial and ongoing training programs for physical education teachers, focusing on the development of key competencies for sustainability.

Social implications

Physical education has the potential to contribute to the development of vulnerable schools and communities, especially to the health and well-being of children and young people and does not require large financial budgets. Therefore, the recommendations presented in this study can have a positive impact on the well-being of these groups.

Originality/value

This document invites reflection on how, through different teaching strategies, we can produce significant learning that contributes to the sustainability of the planet. All this, trying to mobilise critical and systemic thinking and consequently improving awareness for SD.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 24 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2012

Peter M. Bednar and Christine Welch

The purpose of this paper is to explore a particular philosophical underpinning for Information Systems (IS) research – critical systemic thinking (CST). Drawing upon previous…

809

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore a particular philosophical underpinning for Information Systems (IS) research – critical systemic thinking (CST). Drawing upon previous work, the authors highlight the principal features of CST within the tradition of critical research and attempt to relate it to trends in the Italian school of IS research in recent years, as exemplified by the work of Claudio Ciborra but also evident in work by, e.g. Resca, Jacucci and D'Atri.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper which explores CST, characterised by a focus on individual uniqueness, and socially‐constructed, individual worldviews as generators of human knowing.

Findings

The paper draws on work by Heinz Klein in which he elaborated three constitutive stages in critical research: interpretive, genealogical and constructive. The authors introduce a fourth, reflective stage and discuss five categories of critical research, reflecting different perspectives on emancipation, culminating in emergent expressionism, associated with Ciborra and the Italian school more generally.

Research limitations/implications

This paper discusses approaches to CST and how they might have practical implications in IS development. The distinction between approaches founded in logical empiricism and those founded in hermeneutic dialectics are considered and the development of critical and systems strands are discussed.

Practical implications

The paper addresses CST as an approach to development of information systems. Such approaches enable users to explore their individually unique understandings and create a constructive dialogue with one another, which emancipates and empowers users to own and control their own development processes and hence build more productive and usable systems.

Social implications

A focus on research which is oriented towards emancipation in the tradition of critical social theory.

Originality/value

The paper draws on extensive theoretical research carried out by the authors over a period of more than ten years in CST and synthesises the practical implications.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 March 2023

José Carlos Vázquez-Parra, Isolda Margarita Castillo-Martínez, María Soledad Ramírez-Montoya, Juan Alberto Amézquita-Zamora and Marco Cruz-Sandoval

The study aims to assess students' perceived mastery of reasoning-for-complexity competency and its sub-competencies in a sample of students in a Latin American university. The…

Abstract

Purpose

The study aims to assess students' perceived mastery of reasoning-for-complexity competency and its sub-competencies in a sample of students in a Latin American university. The intention was to identify statistically significant differences between a population of men and women with similar sociocultural characteristics, assessing whether gender could be a factor for educational institutions to consider when implementing strategies to develop this competency.

Design/methodology/approach

The eComplexity instrument was applied to 370 undergraduate students in their first to ninth semesters in a private university in Western Mexico. Descriptive statistics were analyzed to determine the mean and standard deviation indicators and were tested for statistical significance. The convenience sampling methodology ensured that there were students from all semesters and a diversity of majors. The sampling aimed for a balance of men and women, resulting in 189 women and 181 men.

Findings

The results confirmed no statistically significant evidence to indicate differences between men and women in their perceived mastery of the reasoning-for-complexity competency in general. However, statistically significant differences were found in the perceived achievements of the sub-competencies of systems, critical and scientific thinking, which comprise the overall competency. Women presented a higher average perception of systemic and critical thinking achievement, and men had a higher perception of scientific thinking. The authors concluded that social and cultural elements influence the perception of achievement that men and women develop in thinking and solving problems.

Practical implications

Governments and educational institutions must establish training programs that do not follow gender stereotypes and promote reasoning-for-complexity skills equitably in men and women. It is necessary to create more scientific and academic spaces and projects involving women in the sciences; countries must emphasize this to improve their scientific competency. Only in this way will it be possible to reverse the perception that men and women have of their problem-solving skills and abilities, which, as this study shows, are more a matter of culture than capabilities.

Originality/value

Unlike previous studies, which analyze the competency of complex thinking in a particular way among its sub-competencies, this research sought comprehensive measurement. Furthermore, beyond measuring competency development, this study aimed to measure the perception of achievement. The authors believe this is the first step towards identifying elements of the social imagination that limit the formation of scientific thinking among women in Latin America.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2021

Shih-Hui Lo and Cheng-Da Liu

The purpose is to forward systems theory one more step towards social theory and integrate problem-solving and theory-building, and search for the integration and unity of science…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose is to forward systems theory one more step towards social theory and integrate problem-solving and theory-building, and search for the integration and unity of science by revealing the nature and role of critical systems thinking (CST).

Design/methodology/approach

This article describes relations between systems theory and social theory in three parts. First, it examines the links of systems methodologies with three social science approaches as well as the role of CST. Second, the focus of theory and the form of explanation are discussed from critical social science (CSS) perspective. Third, the direction of theorizing of a CST-based systems theory is investigated.

Findings

First, CST is a hidden assumption of system dynamics (SD)/systems thinking (ST). Second, systems theory is positioned in CSS. Third, CST integrates traditional and soft systems methodologies (SSM), and connects systems science and social science. Fourth, this article reveals hidden links between systems approaches and three corresponding social science approaches. Fifth, the theoretical focus of a CST-based systems theory could be formal/structure theory and/or substantive/content theory. Sixth, the form of explanation could be structural/mechanismic explanation combining causal and interpretive explanations. Seventh, a CST-based systems theory may adopt abduction, which complements a defect in deduction and induction in a difficulty of nonlinearity.

Originality/value

It illustrates a graph of the competing approaches in systems science corresponding to paradigms in social science.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 52 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 September 2010

Dimity Margaret Podger, Elena Mustakova‐Possardt and Anna Reid

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of a whole‐person approach to educating for sustainability (EfS), with a focus on persons' identity, motivation and higher…

3672

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of a whole‐person approach to educating for sustainability (EfS), with a focus on persons' identity, motivation and higher order dispositions. To propose that approach as an alternative to the prevalent focus on specific capabilities and competencies in higher education for sustainability. The paper brings to bear psychological research on the development of critical moral consciousness, research on dispositions for learning in higher education, and field research on spiritually inspired service‐learning.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, critical analysis is undertaken on the discourses that represent two fields of study in order to explore the application of the theory of the ontogenesis of “critical moral consciousness”. The model is applied to two discrete areas to consider implications for higher education – field research on grass‐root Baha'i‐inspired service‐learning and EfS, and students involved in design education.

Findings

The findings suggest that a whole‐person approach to EfS may yield more fruitful societal and personal benefits than traditional, and predominantly, behavioural approaches.

Research limitations/implications

The paper only refers to two case studies. One case study is of a faith based organisation used to represent a whole‐person approach to EfS in a social context. It could be that the findings of this case are influenced by perceptions of religious activity (for both authors and readers). The second case study is of a particulate discipline area – design. Whilst the findings represent learners in the design context, it may be that learners in different contexts have different (or similar) results.

Originality/value

Sustainability has now become a common orientation for learning. The paper contributes conceptual understanding of the types of dispositions higher education needs to foster, as well as congruent pedagogies, in order to nurture human motivations necessary to advance sustainability. In particular, there is a need for EfS to focus on the cultivation of critical moral consciousness and higher order dispositions as a specific orientation towards studies, work, and social interactions.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 May 2018

Nataša Rupčić

The purpose of this paper is to highlight challenges and opportunities that surround the process of learning with an emphasis on higher-order learning and learning as behavior…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight challenges and opportunities that surround the process of learning with an emphasis on higher-order learning and learning as behavior. Higher-order learning has been conceptualized as learning behavior that can be learned.

Design/methodology/approach

The holistic framework regarding higher-order learning has been proposed on the basis of systems perspective and critical thinking of previous contributions.

Findings

A review and analysis of learning, especially higher-order learning, resulted in its conceptualization and guidelines on how to implement it. Higher-order learning is a learning behavior that can be learned and implemented in many situations in complex social and organizational practices.

Research limitations/implications

Conclusions and remarks provided in this paper need further empirical testing and validation.

Practical implications

Implications for practitioners have been identified in terms of recommendations for implementing higher-order learning as a learning behavior that can be learned.

Social implications

Dedicated implementation of higher-order learning and learning as behavior can bring true change to the current social and economic paradigm and lasting solutions to the so-called “stubborn problems” of pollution, abuse, destruction and poverty, and can cause systemic transformation of our declining society.

Originality/value

Higher-order learning has been conceptualized and challenges surrounding it have been identified along with suggestions on how to overcome them.

Details

The Learning Organization, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-6474

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Mollie Painter-Morland

The purpose of this paper is to perform a philosophical interrogation of some assumptions that underpin management education. It offers an analysis of how these assumptions may…

3163

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to perform a philosophical interrogation of some assumptions that underpin management education. It offers an analysis of how these assumptions may influence the promotion the responsible management agenda within business schools.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a theoretical exploration based on a literature review and philosophical analysis.

Findings

The ontological and epistemological assumptions that underpin management education pose barriers to responsible management education. A combination of ontological and epistemological assumptions privilege an instrumental approach based on simplistic utilitarian premises. These assumptions make it difficult to engage with the long term, relational and complex nature of the ethics and sustainability concerns that are central to responsible management education.

Practical implications

Understanding the assumptions that underpin management education may assist in challenging the current paradigm and rethinking our approaches to responsible management.

Originality/value

The paper pursues the tacit assumptions that may underpin empirical findings around the blockages experienced when schools pursue responsible management education. It takes the research into the current state of business school education further by exploring what informs and sustains its current functioning.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 34 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 October 2007

Johann van der Merwe

This paper aims to combine several modes of thought based on systems organization and observing systems in order to construct a model for a “designerly way of thinking”.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to combine several modes of thought based on systems organization and observing systems in order to construct a model for a “designerly way of thinking”.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach is to regard design as a “groundless field of knowledge” that may source methodological insights from cybernetics, systems theory, cognitive studies and complexity theory, among others.

Findings

The focus of this research is to model an adaptive frame‐of‐reference that design students may use in order to construct their own autopoietic identity systems. The semantic question “How does a student obtain information about design?” is changed to a structural question “How could students acquire a structure enabling them to operate innovatively in a modern design environment?” With the backing of cybernetic principles, it is apparent that this process is not only feasible but also preferable.

Practical implications

While the practical use that can be made of any design theory is not within the remit of this paper, it is nonetheless the goal of theory to enhance the individual's analytical and communicative skills.

Originality/value

This paper suggests an autopoietic model‐for‐becoming that can have the virtual potential of bringing one to understand the grey areas of human‐object relationships.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 36 no. 9/10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 May 2019

Osvaldo Luiz Gonçalves Quelhas, Gilson Brito Alves Lima, Nicholas Van-Erven Ludolf, Marcelo Jasmim Meiriño, Chrystyane Abreu, Rosley Anholon, Julio Vieira Neto and Leandro Silva Goulart Rodrigues

This paper aims to deal with the skills for sustainable development in engineering courses. The main objective is to identify which competences should be developed in these…

1470

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to deal with the skills for sustainable development in engineering courses. The main objective is to identify which competences should be developed in these courses to contribute to the resolution of conflicts related to sustainability, as well as the means used by universities for their development.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is divided into two strands: a theoretical and an empirical one. Concerning the theoretical part, the webibliomining method was adopted, to select the articles that were relevant to the theme, and 22 works were selected. Regarding the empirical study, structured questionnaires were applied to 30 specialists in the field, aiming at validating the competencies found in the literature.

Findings

In the literature, eight main competencies required to the engineering professional, related to sustainability, were found. The empirical study showed that some competences are considered more relevant than others by the interviewees.

Practical implications

The competencies verified in the present study and the relative relevance between them found in the empirical study can contribute to the engineering courses that wish to develop the sustainable behavior of the engineers in their professional or daily life.

Originality/value

The originality of the work consists in presenting to engineering students and teachers as well as professionals of the market and the government the competencies that can contribute to the formation of an engineer capable of bringing adequate solutions to the conflicts of sustainability in the twenty-first century. This paper also presents learning teaching methodologies indicated for this purpose. No other works were found with these results.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2003

Ray W. Cooksey

This paper focuses on developing an integrative view of leadership and organisational learning in the context of dynamic and non‐linear organisational complexity. The outcome of…

3181

Abstract

This paper focuses on developing an integrative view of leadership and organisational learning in the context of dynamic and non‐linear organisational complexity. The outcome of this development is a new conceptualisation termed “learnership”. The concept and process of “learnership” is seen as an evolving meld of leadership and learning where responsibility for learning and for leading is progressively diffused from a few central individuals to a critical mass of organisational members, all of whom become mutually embedded in the learning process, leading where needed, following where needed, but always with a sensitive eye on the complex texture of the learning environment they inhabit. The usefulness of the concept of “learnership” for organisations is discussed and some diagnostic trigger questions for sensing readiness and capability for “learnership” diffusion are presented.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 24 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

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