Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-dfsvx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-29T01:35:23.146Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

RESEARCH ARTICLE: Fostering Sustainability in Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of Transformative Leadership and Change Strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2010

Kim H. McNamara
Kim H. McNamara*
Affiliation:
Olympic College, Bremerton, Washington
*
Address correspondence to: Kim H. McNamara, PhD, Dean of Student Development, Olympic College, 1600 Chester Avenue, Bremerton, WA 98337; (phone) 360-475-7535; (fax) 360-475-7477; (e-mail) Kmcnamara@olympic.edu
Get access

Abstract

As evidence of the earth's limited capacity to sustain human life mounts, institutions of higher education are being looked to for leadership in the effort to educate students about environmental concerns and support the development of sustainable innovations. Colleges and universities are responding to this call for leadership by starting and/or expanding environmental research programs, integrating sustainability issues throughout the curriculum, adopting sustainable operations, and building green facilities. Reflecting upon the sustainability efforts of these institutions, this research study explores the following questions:

  • What factors are essential for initiating and leading a successful change effort to foster sustainability in higher education?

  • What processes guide higher education institutions in efforts to deeply and comprehensively implement sustainable changes?

A sequential mixed-methods research design was used to gather data from questionnaires administered to 86 colleges and universities in the United States implementing sustainability programs and from interviews with 20 individuals who are guiding the change processes at ten different institutions. After the data had been analyzed to identify common themes, factors, and change-process strategies, the results of the analyses were examined in relationship to existing models of change in higher education. Significant correlations were found between the change strategies used and the support systems provided by these institutions and the level of progress achieved on the sustainability initiatives.

Environmental Practice 12:48–58 (2010)

Type
Features
Information
Environmental Practice , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 48 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © National Association of Environmental Professionals 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). http://www.aashe.org/about/about.phprg (accessed February 1, 2008) and http://www.aashe.org/stars/index.php (accessed September 28, 2009).Google Scholar
Barlett, P., and Chase, G., eds. 2004 Sustainability on Campus: Stories and Strategies for Change. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 337 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brodie, A. 2007. Environmental Sustainability Programs in Higher Education: Policies, Practices and Curriculum Strategies (unpublished PhD dissertation). Bernard School of Education, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, 302 pp. Available at ProQuest Information and Learning Company, Ann Arbor, MI, UMI no. 3244681.Google Scholar
Calder, W., and Clugston, R.. 2003. Progress toward Sustainability in Higher Education. Environmental Law Review, News and Analysis 33:10003–10023.Google Scholar
Corcoran, P., and Wals, A., eds. 2004. Higher Education and the Challenge of Sustainability: Problematics, Promise, and Practice. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 376 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doppelt, B. 2003. Leading Change toward Sustainability: A Change-Management Guide for Business, Government and Civil Society. Greenleaf, Sheffield, UK, 260 pp.Google Scholar
Eckel, P., Hill, B., and Green, M.. 1998. On Change: En Route to Transformation. Occasional Paper Series of the ACE Project on Leadership and Institutional Transformation.American Council on Education, Washington, DC, 19 pp.Google Scholar
Eckel, P., Hill, B., Green, M., and Mallon, B.. 1999. On Change III, Taking Charge of Change: A Primer for Colleges and Universities. Occasional Paper Series of the ACE Project on Leadership and Institutional Transformation.American Council on Education, Washington, DC, 65 pp.Google Scholar
Kezar, A. 2001. Understanding and Facilitating Organizational Change in the 21st Century: Recent Research and Conceptualizations. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report 28(4). Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 162 pp.Google Scholar
Kotter, J. 1996. Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 187 pp.Google Scholar
Marshall, S., ed. 2007. Strategic Leadership of Change in Higher Education: What's New? Routledge, New York, 193 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE). 2003. Recommendation for Education for a Sustainable and Secure Future: A Report of the Third National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment. NCSE, Washington, DC, 87 pp. Available at http://www.cnie.org/NCSEconference/2003conference/2003report.pdf.Google Scholar
Shriberg, M. 2002. Sustainability in U.S. Higher Education: Organizational Factors Influencing Campus Environmental Performance and Leadership (unpublished PhD dissertation). University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 335 pp. Available at ProQuest Information and Learning Company, Ann Arbor, MI, UMI no. 3058044.Google Scholar
Stanton, T.K., Giles, D.E. Jr., and Cruz, N.I.. 1999. Service-Learning: A Movement's Pioneers Reflect on Its Origins, Practice, and Future. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 272 pp.Google Scholar
Strauss, A., and Corbin, J.. 1998. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory, 2nd edition. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, 336 pp.Google Scholar