Christine Wamsler
Professor, Docent, appointed Excellent Teaching Practitioner (ETP)
Operational principles for fostering transformative qualities and capacities in higher education sustainability science and practice
Author
Summary, in English
Education for sustainability is widely recognised as a critical pathway for driving the transformations needed to address
today’s polycrisis. Despite growing theoretical and conceptual advancements in sustainability education, current approaches
have not achieved the deep systemic changes required. While university networks and individual institutions increasingly
integrate sustainability into their education, concerns persist that transformative learning agendas often remain superficial.
In particular, they frequently fail to equip learners with the emotional resilience and skills necessary to engage effectively
with complex global challenges, as well as educators with the pedagogical framework to facilitate such learning. This article emphasises the need to advance transformative learning in sustainability science and practice in higher education by
addressing the inner dimensions of sustainability: our individual and collective values, beliefs, worldviews, and associated
transformative qualities and capacities. This means targeting deep leverage points and meaningful change by supporting
more relational approaches, including an integrated inner–outer change in being, thinking, and acting. We provide seven
operational principles for supporting the inner–outer transformation towards sustainability in learning and teaching sustainability science and practice, especially in geography and related fields. These principles highlight the importance of nurturing five clusters of transformative qualities and capacities—awareness, connection, insight, purpose, and agency—guided
by relational approaches required to support profound and integrative learning experiences. We provide concrete examples
of how to implement these principles. The proposed principles aim to inspire educators and learners to deeply engage with
sustainability challenges to contribute to transformative change across individual, collective, and system levels.
today’s polycrisis. Despite growing theoretical and conceptual advancements in sustainability education, current approaches
have not achieved the deep systemic changes required. While university networks and individual institutions increasingly
integrate sustainability into their education, concerns persist that transformative learning agendas often remain superficial.
In particular, they frequently fail to equip learners with the emotional resilience and skills necessary to engage effectively
with complex global challenges, as well as educators with the pedagogical framework to facilitate such learning. This article emphasises the need to advance transformative learning in sustainability science and practice in higher education by
addressing the inner dimensions of sustainability: our individual and collective values, beliefs, worldviews, and associated
transformative qualities and capacities. This means targeting deep leverage points and meaningful change by supporting
more relational approaches, including an integrated inner–outer change in being, thinking, and acting. We provide seven
operational principles for supporting the inner–outer transformation towards sustainability in learning and teaching sustainability science and practice, especially in geography and related fields. These principles highlight the importance of nurturing five clusters of transformative qualities and capacities—awareness, connection, insight, purpose, and agency—guided
by relational approaches required to support profound and integrative learning experiences. We provide concrete examples
of how to implement these principles. The proposed principles aim to inspire educators and learners to deeply engage with
sustainability challenges to contribute to transformative change across individual, collective, and system levels.
Department/s
- LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
- LU Profile Area: Nature-based future solutions
- LU Profile Area: Human rights
Publishing year
2026
Language
English
Pages
365-379
Publication/Series
Sustainability Science
Volume
21
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Springer
Topic
- Educational Sciences
- Development Studies
- Environmental Studies in Social Sciences
Keywords
- transformative capacities
- inner development goals
- future skills
- personal sphere of transformation
- mindsets
- awareness
- culture change
- system change
- compassion
Status
Published
Project
- Transition Visions: Coupling society, well-being and energy systems for transitioning to a fossil-free society
- The Contemplative Sustainable Futures Program
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1862-4057