2015 Prosper.Net Leadership Programme Field Case Studies
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2015 ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme Field Case Studies showcasing: ‘Transformational Leadership in Implementing and Assessing Sustainability Projects’ 23 - 29 August, 2015, Sabah, Malaysia The Leadership Programme content is geared towards contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030. Integrating the principles of sustainability in higher education: A case study of the University Malaysia Sabah Stateless but not hopeless: Empowering children of illegal migrants of Sabah through basic education Transformational leadership in the promotion of sustainable practices: A case study of the Palace Hotel, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Ecotourism and transformational leadership in Pulau Gaya Island: A stride toward sustainable development Sustainable Highland Development – A Case of Bundu Tuhan, Kundasang, Sabah, Malaysia These papers are based on five case studies in the field. Students of the ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme were asked to demonstrate the concept and core principles of Sustainable Development and Education for Sustainable Development as well as arguments on transformational leadership in implementing and assessing sustainability projects. The aim of the ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme is for participants to gain skills in communication and consensual decision-making processes, gain competencies in adaptive leadership, enhance critical and systems thinking abilities, management and assessment through problem-based learning cases in local communities. July 2016, published by the ProSPER.Net Secretariat as proceedings and outcomes of the ProSPER.Net Leadership Programme 2015. Integrating the principles of operations. First, the growth agenda of sustainability in higher education: A university renders a huge impact on its case study of the University Malaysia environmental footprint, owing to an Sabah increase in student population and their campus activities. The adoption of Preeti Aggarwal, Corporate Social systematic measures that control HEIs Responsibility Lead, Viom Networks operational activities can largely aid in Limited, India, Ravindra Rattan, achieving the environmental sustainability Anthropological Geography, University of agenda at the campus level (Jain et al., Porto, Portugal, Ruwaidiah Idris, School 2013). Second, the operational activities of of Informatics and Applied Mathematics, existing HEIs have failed to reflect on the University Malaysia Terengganu, Khalid impact of a ‘disturbed ecological balance’ Hossain, Head of Climate Change on human well-being due to the Programmes, Christian Commission for overpopulation and exploitation of natural Development, Bangladesh resources. The operational set-up such as location, infrastructure, transport, and Introduction other, as well as interactions with social According to Nelson Mandela, “education enterprises (residential, industrial, and is the most powerful weapon which you governance) of HEIs play a notable role in can use to change the world” (Mandela, helping the students to recognize the 2003). It can aid in building knowledge, importance of the socio-cultural aspect of skill-sets and competence in individuals, sustainability within local and global which are prerequisites for national contexts. Third, the implementation of economic growth and sustainable sustainability projects in HEIs may render development. a huge financial burden on their overall system (Justine, 2015). They would Among the various levels of education, require financial support from the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are government and private organizations, increasingly playing a pivotal role in along with exhaustive stakeholder addressing global challenges in a more commitment to ensure the successful holistic and realistic manner. These achievement of economic sustainability institutions educate the next generation of during implementation of sustainability leaders and decision-makers who will projects, at the organizational level. bring forward possible solutions for identified challenges. These HEIs provide HEIs will continue to play a pivotal a microenvironment of diverse and leadership role in shaping young minds multifaceted social context for their and societal norms (Bowers, 2001; students, where they continue to seek Clugston, 1999). This paper intends to knowledge and truth as well as apply understand how HEIs integrate information in solving the complex sustainability as a way of life on campus problems of society (Brubacher, 1977). and underline the possible challenges they may face in the near future. The 2015 Gough and Scott (2007) state that HEIs ProSPER.Net Leadership Program should aim to cultivate critical thinking provides an excellent platform for studying among young students with the aim to the EcoCampus project of University create a prosperous society. However, in Malaysia Sabah (UMS), which intends to recent years, HEIs continue to face three emerge as a key HEI player in promoting major challenges, while incorporating global transition towards sustainable prosperity and sustainability concepts in development (SD). With the case of UMS, their curriculum and day-to-day this paper intends to answer the following research questions: 1) How can HEIs laboratories for demonstrating sustainable integrate the principles of sustainability development (SD) actions for society into their campus programmes? 2) Who (Mader, 2013). Finger (1995) proposed are the appropriate stakeholders? 3) How social-environmental learning pedagogy do HEIs’ sustainability actions effect local that emphasizes collective learning as a and global environments? way to break the vicious social or economic cycles. In this context, HEIs This study aims to investigate these would play a significant role in promoting research questions through a case study of SD since collective learning in its system the UMS campus, with the following three can transform the entire organization while research objectives: facilitating individual learning. Therefore, HEIs can not only introduce the concept of 1) Understand how the EcoCampus SD to younger generations, but also initiatives of UMS aim to integrate develop their capabilities to solve global sustainability principles. problems while working for governmental, 2) Demonstrate how transformational educational and other institutions. Further, leadership plays a key role in HEIs can emerge as a hub of academic promoting sustainability at UMS. experts who continue to provide advice for 3) Identify key challenges and plausible enabling change towards a sustainable actions for effective adoption of future. sustainability principles. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Role of HEIs in Education for (OECD) (2007), HEIs continue to facilitate Sustainable Development (ESD) the sustainable development agenda while According to the United Nations facing several challenges, as the process of Educational, Scientific, and Cultural SD integration is quite complicated and Organization (UNESCO), Education for exhaustive, especially for institutions in Sustainable Development (ESD) is defined developing countries. HEIs are working as “...a learning process (or approach to for global sustainability needs through a teaching) based on the ideals and proactive action and youth development principles that underlie sustainability and agenda while simultaneously encountering is concerned with all levels and types of the increase of their own environmental learning to provide quality education and footprint, complexity in socio-governance foster sustainable human development…” systems, as well as a dearth in financial (Wals, 2009). The educational centre can budgets needed for building green continue to imbibe principles of infrastructures and courses. Jain et al. sustainability, which in turn can play a (2013) noted that identification and significant role in the revival of involvement of appropriate stakeholders educational systems. Furthermore, the during integration of SD strategies into inclusion of principles, skills, perspectives HEIs’ curricula could aid in mitigating the and values into academic life related to above-identified challenges. social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability can help in Consequently, the above-cited study bringing systemic change in our societies. suggests that the presence of multi- curricula integration of sustainability In the last few decades, HEIs have elements in all spheres of an HEI’s emerged as the centres for innovation education system (general, specialized, targeting sustainability challenges and graduate, standalone, co-curricular) and setting up their campuses as living adoption of implementation projects would determine the successful integration of SD nations to integrate SD and align at campus level. There is a need to focus themselves to solve overwhelming socio- on how to evaluate and improve outcomes economic and environmental problems. of education, to promote quality teaching and to build social cohesion through Five key indicators of defining a green education. Furthermore, there is a critical school emerge, from curriculum need to develop a motivated and self- integration, to better space in the school driven workforce within HEIs who will architecture, community-based education, lead the effective implementation of campus