The links between education and sustainable development are deepening, although subject to much controversy and debate. The success of the sustainability discourse depends both on the pedagogic and research functions of higher education. Similarly, for higher education itself to remain relevant and engaged it faces pressure not only to integrate the insights and lessons drawn from the perspective of sustainable development, but also to be responsive to scrutiny of its own practices in relation to sustainability.

Among professionals in higher education, sustainable development has its supporters and detractors. It is embraced by some individuals and departments while being perceived by others as a threat to the coherence of particular disciplines. Although it is not currently an academic discipline in its own right, increasing public and professional familiarity with the term, and the increasing urgency of global calls for the implementation of sustainable development mean that this is rapidly changing.

This volume analyses the impact of the concepts and practices of sustainability and sustainable development on various academic disciplines, institutional practices, fields of study and methods of enquiry. The contributors, drawn from a wide-range of disciplines, perspectives, educational levels and institutional contexts, examine the purpose of the modern university and the nature of sustainable education, which includes exploring links to social movements for sustainability projects, curriculum change, culture and biodiversity, values relating to gender equality and global responsibility, and case studies on the transformation, or otherwise, of some specific disciplines.

About the author(s)

John Blewitt is deputy director of the Department of Lifelong Learning at the University of Exeter. Cedric Cullingford is professor of education at the University of Huddersfield.

Contents

Introduction * Sustainability and Higher Education * Sustainability and Lifelong Learning * An Analysis of the Development of Sustainability Education Internationally: Evolution, Interpretation and Transformative Potential * Citizenship and Community from Local to Global Citizenship Approach * Learning by Doing: Environmental Performance Improvement in UK Higher Education * Eco-design * Sustainability Development and Sustainable Development Education: An Eco-feminist Philosophical Perspective on the Importance of Gender * Sustainability and Education in the Built Environment * Sustainable Transport and Logistics: Vision or Reality? * Accounting Education for Sustainability * Towards a New Economics? Social Policy and Sustainable Development * Sustainable Development, Sociology and UK Higher Education * Politics and Sustainable Development * Geography * Sustainable and Philosophy * Conclusion: The Future - Is Sustainability Sustainable? * Index