Meaning-making in higher education for sustainable development: Undergraduates’ long-term processes of experiencing and learning
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In: Environmental Education Research, Vol. 28, No. 11, 10.10.2022, p. 1616-1634.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Meaning-making in higher education for sustainable development
T2 - Undergraduates’ long-term processes of experiencing and learning
AU - Sundermann, Anna
AU - Weiser, Annika
AU - Barth, Matthias
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2022/10/10
Y1 - 2022/10/10
N2 - Despite the increase in teaching approaches designed to integrate sustainability into higher education, the connection between students’ learning experiences and their learning outcomes remains incompletely understood. The present multi-case study complements the discussion by investigating undergraduates’ long-term meaning-making processes using the theoretical lens of significant learning and process analysis of students’ learning experience. Based on in-depth narrative interviews with 10 students at the end of a three-year study program, we analyzed how and why learning experiences become significant, differentiating perceived personal impact and the subjective value assigned to these experiences. We identified three types of sustainability-related meaning-making processes, ranging from no sustainability-related meaning-making to meaning-making as self-realization. The differentiated view on how meaning-making mediates students’ sustainability-related learning experiences and their learning outcomes enhances our understanding of the specific dynamics that may shape the how and why of significant learning. It thus supports the tailored curriculum design for integrating sustainability into higher education.
AB - Despite the increase in teaching approaches designed to integrate sustainability into higher education, the connection between students’ learning experiences and their learning outcomes remains incompletely understood. The present multi-case study complements the discussion by investigating undergraduates’ long-term meaning-making processes using the theoretical lens of significant learning and process analysis of students’ learning experience. Based on in-depth narrative interviews with 10 students at the end of a three-year study program, we analyzed how and why learning experiences become significant, differentiating perceived personal impact and the subjective value assigned to these experiences. We identified three types of sustainability-related meaning-making processes, ranging from no sustainability-related meaning-making to meaning-making as self-realization. The differentiated view on how meaning-making mediates students’ sustainability-related learning experiences and their learning outcomes enhances our understanding of the specific dynamics that may shape the how and why of significant learning. It thus supports the tailored curriculum design for integrating sustainability into higher education.
KW - Sustainability Science
KW - Sustainability education
KW - Significant learning
KW - higher education for sustainable development
KW - meaning-making
KW - narrative interviews
KW - process analysis
KW - learning experiences
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/5f33a662-2a65-33c6-98cd-12927591f2f0/
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85132663601&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13504622.2022.2069679
DO - 10.1080/13504622.2022.2069679
M3 - Journal articles
VL - 28
SP - 1616
EP - 1634
JO - Environmental Education Research
JF - Environmental Education Research
SN - 1350-4622
IS - 11
ER -