Aesthetics and education for sustainability

ABSTRACT

Although there have been important developments in the provision of education for sustainability, the focus remains on the transmission of knowledge, and analysis of case studies that seldom relate to the daily lives and concerns of higher education students. Scholars and educators have pointed to alternatives that engage with authentic aspects of learning, including critical thinking, socio-emotional aspects, creativity and a renewed focus on nurturing values and virtues, offering a meaningful alternative for education. In this paper, we draw upon our own experience of more than 10 years treading the path of education for sustainability in management studies and our integration of aesthetics through the use of art-based methods and beauty. We focus on three collaborative educational experiences, where we have aimed at integrating conversations following Heather Höpfl’s ideas on virtues and aesthetics in management education. We argue that knowledge alone is not enough to engage students to make durable changes, and we suggest exploring aesthetics in its different manifestations for meaningful transformations in education for sustainability.

KEYWORDS:

• Active learning
• art and education
• education for sustainability
• authentic assessment
• passionate engagement
• aesthetics and education
• management education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).