TY - JOUR

T1 - Pedagogies of preparedness

T2 - Use of reflective journals in the operationalisation and development of anticipatory competence

AU - Gardiner, Senan

AU - Rieckmann, Marco

PY - 2015/8/7

Y1 - 2015/8/7

N2 - In higher education there is a growing demand for graduates with the competence to transform our society toward a sustainable future. Part of this competence in sustainability is anticipatory competence, the ability to engage with multiple futures, manage uncertainty and hold a worldview that the future can and should be steered toward a more just sustainable path. In order to further examine and operationalise anticipatory competence, a course "Sustainability and the Future" was developed and run in the University of Vechta, Germany, as part of an action research cycle exploring key competencies for sustainability in higher education. Reflective journaling was used to explore the competence acquisition process along with focus groups with students after the course. The analysis of this programme shows that while certain subject areas such as values, transport and population models provoke more critical reflection on the future, skills such as the ability to work with emotional aspects of the future, for instance hope, were perceived to be necessary for anticipatory competence.

AB - In higher education there is a growing demand for graduates with the competence to transform our society toward a sustainable future. Part of this competence in sustainability is anticipatory competence, the ability to engage with multiple futures, manage uncertainty and hold a worldview that the future can and should be steered toward a more just sustainable path. In order to further examine and operationalise anticipatory competence, a course "Sustainability and the Future" was developed and run in the University of Vechta, Germany, as part of an action research cycle exploring key competencies for sustainability in higher education. Reflective journaling was used to explore the competence acquisition process along with focus groups with students after the course. The analysis of this programme shows that while certain subject areas such as values, transport and population models provoke more critical reflection on the future, skills such as the ability to work with emotional aspects of the future, for instance hope, were perceived to be necessary for anticipatory competence.

KW - Anticipatory competence

KW - Education for sustainable development

KW - Higher education

KW - Reflective learning

KW - Sustainability competence

KW - Psychology

KW - Educational science

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84940510416&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/su70810554

DO - 10.3390/su70810554

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:84940510416

VL - 7

SP - 10554

EP - 10575

JO - Sustainability

JF - Sustainability

SN - 2071-1050

IS - 8

ER -