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Learning for Sustainability Among Faith-Based Organizations in Kenya

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Abstract

The complex and unpredictable contexts in which environmental and development work take place require an adaptable, learning approach. Faith-based organizations (FBOs) play a significant role in sustainability work around the world, and provide a unique setting in which to study learning. This paper explores individual learning for sustainability within two FBOs engaged in sustainability work in Kenya. Learning outcomes covered a broad range of areas, including the sustainability framework, environment/conservation, skills, community work, interpersonal engagement, and personal and faith development. These outcomes were acquired through embodied experience and activity, facilitation by the workplace, interpersonal interaction, personal reflection, and Bible study and worship. Grounded categories were compared to learning domains and processes described by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory. The findings indicate that for learning in the sustainability field, instrumental learning and embodied learning processes are particularly important, and consequently they require greater attention in the theory when applied in this field.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank A Rocha Kenya and the Rural Service Programme, and their staff and volunteers for participating in this project. The research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

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Author notes

  1. Joanne M. Moyer

    Present address: School of the Environment, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks St. Suite 1016V, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E8, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, 303-70 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Joanne M. Moyer & A. John Sinclair

  2. Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, The University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, R3B 2E9, Canada

    Alan P. Diduck

Authors
  1. Joanne M. Moyer
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  2. A. John Sinclair
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  3. Alan P. Diduck
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Correspondence to Joanne M. Moyer.

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Moyer, J.M., Sinclair, A.J. & Diduck, A.P. Learning for Sustainability Among Faith-Based Organizations in Kenya. Environmental Management 54, 360–372 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0289-8

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