Higher Education for Sustainable Development - by Kerry Shephard (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This book asks how higher education should approach the task of educating for sustainability and then sets to answering it. It provides a guide for those who advocate for sustainability and for those who do not and makes a point of emphasising that all in higher education have the capacity and willingness to contribute in some way. The challenge is to find an approach that unifies the efforts of higher education teachers towards sustainability objectives, rather than dividing them. People at universities across the world were consulted and a grounded theory was devised. This encourages all university teachers to teach what they want to teach openly and honestly, about sustainability or not; but on the way to ensure that their students develop the critical skills that will enable them to fully understand what is being taught and what they are learning.

Review Quotes

"I hope that anyone reading this review will have got the message that I think that this is an engaging book which is well-written, scholarly, accessible, and properly provocative." (William Scott, Environmental Education Research, November, 2016)

"This book presents a pragmatic solution to the challenges of education for sustainability, and perhaps has relevance to the development of other cross curricular themes in HE. ... It is a valuable addition to the literature on sustainability in HE and provides refreshing and workable strategies to move forward." (Kathryn McFarlane, Innovative Practice in Higher Education, Vol 2 (3), April, 2016)

About the Author

Kerry Shephard is Professor of Higher Education Development at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He has a background in the biological sciences and extensive experience as a university teacher and researcher in both the UK and in New Zealand.