Learners Learning to Become

Exploring Experiences with Developing Educators ESD-Competencies Across Sectors at a University of Applied Science / Higher Education

Abstract

This article describes an entrepreneurial, transdisciplinary and transformative ESD competencies-course for educators at VIA University College, Denmark, the; "Circular Economy and Sustainable Development in the Education" course (CESDE) from 2018-2021, involving more than 100 educators from a wide variety of faculties. It analyses to what extent the effects on transformative changes towards a sustainable university have been and how these experiences with "learning the learners to become" can be implemented at other Higher Educations. (HE’s). The presentation analyses three levels of impact of the competencies course; (1) impacts on the individual educator’s approach to teaching practices; (2) impacts on the values in managerial and organizational levels; (3) impacts on the personal and institutional interaction with surrounding communities, business and society. The results of this case study demonstrate the potential of initiating ESD competencies-courses and confirms the notion that the competence development of academic staff is an essential prerequisite for a sustainability paradigm shift in higher education. In this way, the program started out with an ambition to enhance curriculum redesign (creating Circular and Sustainable Educations for Sustainable Development ESD) but ended up making organizational alterations and creating an iterative loop of learning and interventions between educators, external specialists, the institutional organization (management), the collaborating companies and the students.