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1 – 9 of 9Fritjof Capra and Ove Daniel Jakobsen
The purpose of this paper is to refer to ecological economics using two meanings of the term “ecological”. In the strict scientific sense, ecological economics refers to an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to refer to ecological economics using two meanings of the term “ecological”. In the strict scientific sense, ecological economics refers to an economic system that is consistent with and honors the basic principles of ecology, which, ultimately, are identical with what the authors call the systemic principles of life. In a broader sense ecological economics refers to economic theory and practice that see the economy as operating within, rather than dominating, the spheres of nature, society, and culture.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors distill four fundamental principles for ecological economics based on systems theory of life and philosophy of organism. The four principles are; nested systems, self-generating networks, open systems, and cognitive interactions. The authors discuss how these principles can be applied to design an ecological economic system that is life-enhancing on individual, social and ecological levels.
Findings
The authors argue that ecological economics should give priority to activities that maximize well-being of human and non-human beings, as well as entire ecosystems, and that its central purpose should be to serve the life processes in social and ecological systems.
Originality/value
In this paper, the authors connect ecological economics to systems theory and come up with principles relevant for developing economic theory and practice within, rather than dominating, the spheres of nature, society, and culture.
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the backpacker label by reconstructing it using the historical antecedent of drifting. Following the deconstruction of backpacking’s…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the backpacker label by reconstructing it using the historical antecedent of drifting. Following the deconstruction of backpacking’s near past, the author build a clearer conceptual foundation for backpacking’s future.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is framed by scenario planning, which demands a critical review of the backpacking and an appreciation of its history in order to understand its future.
Findings
Backpacking, ever evolving, remains difficult to articulate and challenges researchers to “keep up” with its complexity and heterogeneity. This paper argues that researchers must learn more about how backpacking “works” by opening a dialogue with its past, before engaging in further research. The paper finds that a poor conceptualisation of backpacking has led to a codification of backpacker criteria.
Practical implications
Backpacking remains a research topic which draws disparate researchers using criteria that produces disparate results and deviations. By understanding its past, researchers will be better placed to explore the emancipatory impulses that drive backpackers today and in the future.
Originality/value
This papers’ value lies in the retrospection process which explores backpacking’s near past so as to “make sense” of present research and present scenarios for it is the immediate future. The paper re-anchors backpacking by investigating the major historical, social and cultural events leading up to its emergence.
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Asunción Llena Berñe, Anna Planas-Lladó, Carles Vila-Mumbrú and Paloma Valdivia-Vizarreta
This study aims to identify the contextual and relational factors that enhance and limit the empowerment of young people from the perspective of social education professionals.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the contextual and relational factors that enhance and limit the empowerment of young people from the perspective of social education professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model made it possible to locate the narratives of the educators in the territory. These narratives include field diaries, i.e. hybrid narratives that include visual, written and spoken materials, and focus groups with 11 educators from different fields of action and related to youth empowerment projects.
Findings
According to these educators, the most important factors for empowering young people are their immediate environment, and the issues that affect them most. For these factors to be empowering, young people need to be accompanied, with support based on connectedness, horizontality and the creation of safe spaces and learning experiences. Both the microsystem and the mesosystem form the immediate reality for their action. Aware of this, educators do the work of connecting with the exosystem.
Practical implications
It is evident why communities are spaces with opportunities for youth empowerment, and the authors observe the need for more transversal and less welfare-based social and youth policies that generate empowerment instead of dependency.
Social implications
This methodology evidenced the environmental structures of educators and the dissimilar levels to explore and understand the work of educators and the complex interrelationships, which play an important role in empowerment processes.
Originality/value
This research presents a new perspective that allows traditional qualitative reflection to be embedded in the bioecological model. All of this sheds light on relational ecosystems with young people and proposes youth policies, in this case, oriented towards empowerment.
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Estefanía Martínez Valdivia, Maria del Carmen Pegalajar Palomino and Antonio Burgos-Garcia
Changes in society, the economy and health require a response from higher education regarding the training of professionals, specifically, future teachers. In this sense, active…
Abstract
Purpose
Changes in society, the economy and health require a response from higher education regarding the training of professionals, specifically, future teachers. In this sense, active methodologies constitute, in line with the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, a key strategic element in teacher training, given the need to educate for sustainability and social responsibility (SR). This study aims to examine innovative teaching-learning experiences based on the use of active methodologies and the interaction with sustainability and SR on the part of university students in Education.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology constitutes a systematic review of the qualitative, inductive and exploratory literature, on the basis of the PRISMA declaration principles. The sample is composed of research published between 2011 and 2021 in the world’s most important scientific databases in the educational context (WoS, Scopus and Eric-ProQuest).
Findings
This study reveals the methodologies that are most commonly used in ecological literacy, their implications for the acquisition of competencies in terms of curriculum sustainability and their relationship with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and SR. Higher education must reflect and demonstrate awareness of its social mission and pedagogical effectiveness, to transform education, taking as a reference the sustainability and SR in the university student’s curriculum.
Research limitations/implications
One of the main limitations of this study is the scarcity of research studies that include, jointly, the key descriptors analysed in this contribution such as teacher training, active methodologies, sustainability and SR. Another limitation to observe in this work is related to having considered as inclusion criteria solely research published in open access journals, since other research published in closed access journals is omitted.
Originality/value
This work demonstrates the usefulness of active methodologies in the training and professional development of future Education students in “sustainability”.
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Zamokuhle Vanessa Langa, Sandra Boatemaa Kushitor, Nelene Koen and Julia Harper
Among the various pro-sustainability strategies that universities adopt, Stellenbosch University’s 2030 Agenda further challenges universities to provide sustainability education…
Abstract
Purpose
Among the various pro-sustainability strategies that universities adopt, Stellenbosch University’s 2030 Agenda further challenges universities to provide sustainability education that enables students to become change agents for sustainability. The Listen, Live and Learn (LLL) initiative is a co-curricular programme developed at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, that seeks to foster social cohesion and develop change agency among students. This study aims to understand how LLL students had developed agency for change through their experiential learning in the programme.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a transformative sustainability learning approach, this study examined secondary data containing qualitative and quantitative data from the 2018 LLL end-of-year survey. The qualitative data was analysed thematically, and the quantitative data was analysed using counts and frequencies.
Findings
Through their participation in the programme, the students learned about their character and opened up to engage with the ‘others’ whom they lived with in the same residence. They also reported becoming more open-minded, intentional, reflective and confident. Another personal change reported by the students was their ability to collaborate with their housemates. The learners recommended that the programme could be improved by providing resources for house projects, guidance with inviting house theme experts and help with conflict resolution.
Originality/value
Through this research, the authors have demonstrated the ability of a transformative sustainability learning programme to effect a change in the attitudes, norms and behaviours of students at a higher educational institution towards a sustainable and just society.
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