“Going beyond the call of duty”: academic agency and promoting transformation for sustainability in higher education

IF 3 2区 环境科学与生态学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education Pub Date : 2024-07-03 DOI:10.1108/ijshe-09-2023-0454
Grace Ese-osa Idahosa, Dina Zoe Belluigi, Nandita Banerjee Dhawan
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Abstract

Purpose

In the past decade, against increasing global inequality, higher education has grappled with increased demands for social justice, transformation and decolonisation. While a lot of research in South Africa has focused on the (im)possibilities of fostering racial, gendered, socio-economic and cultural change, the connection of such change to questions of sustainability has been less explored. The purpose of this paper is to specifically explore the agency of academics to foster transformative initiatives for sustainability within the context of institutions historically serving under-represented populations.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a qualitative methodology, this paper highlights the importance of considering sustainability in processes of transformation. This paper is specifically interested in how academic faculty and those in assigned leadership positions view their agency in relation to promoting transformation for sustainability at the institutional level. Drawing on data generated from semi-structured interviews with 13 participants at an historically Black university in South Africa, this paper details academics' and leaders’ experiences and perceptions of their agency.

Findings

This study reveals the adverse interactional dynamics within higher education institutions, which negatively impact academics’ participation as key agents in change processes. Positional and identity challenges faced reveal the persistence of colonial and apartheid legacies of racism, sexism, Afrophobia and xenophobia – which casts a shadow on possible trajectories of transformation and sustainability. This has serious implications for the common good, given South Africa's regional import for knowledge production and decolonisation within universities; its key role in the African 2063 Agenda; and the wider global Sustainable Development agenda.

Originality/value

This study highlights insufficient engagement with the sustainability of transformation efforts within the context of South Africa. This study also emphasises the relation between transformation imperatives and racial, socio-economic, gender and epistemic justice imperatives of sustainable development.

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"超越职责范围":学术机构与促进高等教育可持续发展的转型
目的 在过去的十年里,在全球不平等日益加剧的情况下,高等教育一直在努力应对日益增长的社会正义、变革和非殖民化的需求。虽然南非的许多研究都集中在促进种族、性别、社会经济和文化变革的(不)可能性上,但对这种变革与可持续发展问题之间的联系却探讨较少。本文的目的是在历史上为代表性不足的人群提供服务的机构背景下,具体探讨学术界促进可持续发展的变革举措的作用。本文特别关注的是,学术教师和那些被指派担任领导职务的人如何看待他们在机构层面促进可持续发展转型的作用。通过对南非一所历史悠久的黑人大学的 13 名参与者进行半结构式访谈,本文详细介绍了学术界人士和领导者的经历及其对自身能动性的看法。所面临的立场和身份挑战揭示了殖民主义和种族隔离遗留下来的种族主义、性别歧视、非洲恐惧症和仇外心理的持续存在--这给可能的变革和可持续发展轨迹投下了阴影。鉴于南非在大学知识生产和非殖民化方面的区域重要性、在非洲 2063 议程中的关键作用以及更广泛的全球可持续发展议程,这对共同利益具有严重影响。本研究还强调了转型要务与可持续发展的种族、社会经济、性别和认识论正义要务之间的关系。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
6.60
自引率
19.40%
发文量
85
期刊介绍: The aim of International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education is to provide up-to-date information on new developments and trends on sustainability in a higher education context, and to catalyse networking and information exchange on sustainable development as a whole, and on the SDGs in particular, on a global basis. Authors are invited to submit papers from the following areas: Environmental management systems, Sustainable development, Sustainable Development Goals, Curricular innovation, Campus greening, Operational aspects of universities, Energy, water, recycling, waste management, Planning and design of campuses, Environmental reports, Environmental policies and action plans, Staff and student initiatives. Other themes associated to the above or emerging topics will also be considered
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