Utilizing Collaborative Self-Study to Explore Pedagogies for Sustainability

Abstract

Whole school approaches (Wals and Mathie, Whole school approaches to sustainability: Exemplary practices from around the world. Wageningen University, Education and Learning Sciences, 2022) to sustainability where various facets or currents of environmental education (e.g., Sauvé, Can J Environ Educ 10(1): 11–37, 2005) are seamlessly integrated with disciplinary subject matter, leadership practices, and everyday classroom routines remain elusive in many contexts as they serve as counter-narratives to the status quo promoting over-consumption and exploitation of environments and people. We present a case study exploring how a Canadian post-secondary institution, Cape Breton University, has enacted inclusive (e.g., Indigenous perspectives), whole school approaches to sustainability in novel and immersive ways. We present this work as a reflexive, collaborative self-study examining program objectives in teacher education and how these sustainability goals have been interpreted, translated, and implemented at the course level in pre-service teacher education (i.e., science methods courses) and at the graduate level (i.e., an applied research project course for the Master of Education in Sustainability, Creativity, and Innovation).

FormalPara Key Message

This case study has significance in the field of critical and reflexive self-study for teacher education and may provide ideas about practical approaches to sustainability from a whole school perspective. This work may contribute to the disruption of a status quo regarding sustainable practices in institutions, disrupting racism through the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives, and serve as a counter-narrative to the exploitation of our environments.

1 Utilizing Collaborative Self-Study to Explore Pedagogies for Sustainability

1.1 Context Setting

Defining sustainability, and how best to implement sustainable approaches, remains contested in academe and in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schooling systems. Whole school approaches (WSA) (Wals & Mathie, 2022) to sustainability where various facets or currents of environmental education (for example, Sauvé, 2005) are integrated with subject matter, leadership practices, and everyday classroom routines remain elusive in many contexts as they serve as counter-narratives to the status quo promoting over-consumption and exploitation of environments and people.

In this chapter, we present a case study exploring how a Canadian post-secondary institution, Cape Breton University (CBU), has enacted integrative (for example, Indigenous perspectives), whole school approaches to sustainability in creative and immersive ways. We have utilized reflexive, collaborative, critical self-study to examine program objectives in teacher education and how sustainability goals have been interpreted, translated, and implemented at the course level in pre-service teacher education (that is, science methods courses) and at the graduate level (that is, an applied research project course for the Master of Education in Sustainability, Creativity, and Innovation).

Cape Breton University (CBU) is a small university located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university’s commitment to sustainability initiatives makes it an emerging leader on a variety of fronts among post-secondary institutions in the province of Nova Scotia and, nationally, in Canada. CBU has invested in renewable technologies in new building construction, facility infrastructure programmes, and in meeting its present and future energy demands. Most notable was the construction of a wind farm to move the campus toward being carbon neutral (Aschaiek, 2016). Cape Breton University is also home to the Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment (see Fig. 19.1).

Fig. 19.1

The Cape Breton University Campus located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

The Verschuren Centre, established in 2009, is a registered not-for-profit research, development, and demonstration facility providing contracted services to industry and community in the areas of bioprocessing, carbon transformation, energy storage, and sustainable resource use (Government of Canada, 2022). The Centre was established to further the commitment to local and global sustainability.

1.2 L’nu Communities and Connections

Cape Breton Island is home to five L’nu communities which represent the largest population concentration of Mi’kmaw people in Mi’kma’ki—the ancestral home and un-surrendered territory of the Mi’kmaw people. L’nu: or L’nuk is the term the Mi’kmaq use to describe themselves as Indigenous people. It means “the people” (see: http://bit.ly/3IeXH8K). The territory includes all of what is now Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec, the north shore of New Brunswick and inland to the Saint John River watershed, eastern Maine, and part of Newfoundland, including the islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence as well as St. Pierre and Miquelon (Mi’kmaq Resource Centre, n.d.). In 1998, CBU established what is now called Unama’ki College to broaden Mi’kmaq and Aboriginal courses and programming at the university. That year also saw the opening of the Mi’kmaq Resource Centre as a repository of academic and research documents related to Mi’kmaw history, culture, and language. New investments were announced recently to support a research centre for Mi’kmaw environmental justice and climate change studies (Connors, 2020).

1.2.1 Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing)

The groundbreaking concept of Two-eyed Seeing (Etuaptmumk) was developed at Cape Breton University. This is an Integrative Science program based on the collaborative efforts of a Western scientist and Mi’kmaw scholars (Institute for Integrative Science and Health, n.d.) where issues pertaining to science and the environment are viewed through the ‘two eyes’ of both Western and Mi’kmaw world views.

1.3 Education for Sustainability and Cape Breton University

Cape Breton University has endeavoured to make education for sustainability a core focus in its teacher education programming. A decade ago, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, in partnership with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and Learning for a Sustainable Future, surveyed Canadian teacher education institutions to “gain a better understanding of how they are incorporating education for sustainable development into their pre-service programs, research, and other activities” (CMEC, 2012. p. 1). At the time of the 2012 Canadian Council of Ministers of Education survey, Cape Breton University was in the early stages of reorienting its teacher education programming for sustainability. The CBU reorientation was based largely on theoretical and conceptual frameworks related to the values-driven and normative undertaking that is education for sustainable development; in other words, faculty and staff engaged in the hard work of “decid(ing) which themes to emphasize within their curriculums, programs, practices, and policies to ensure that teacher-education programs fit the environmental, social, and economic conditions and goals of their communities, regions, and nations” (Hopkins & McKeown, 2005, p. 15).

A decade later, the understanding of education for sustainability within the CBU Department of Education and across the institution continues to mature and develop. The concept of education for sustainability has blossomed in new directions to inform program development in both pre-service teacher education and in professional learning for in-service teachers. Education for sustainability influences approaches to equity, diversity, and inclusion; issues of social justice; student and teacher mental health and well-being; the responses to truth and reconciliation; and the efforts to support the reclamation and revitalization of the Mi’kmaw language. In recent years, the Department of Education at CBU continues to find ways to deliver teacher education that are “transformative, which empowers lifelong learners with the knowledge, values and competencies to not only make informed decisions but also to bring about the individual and collective change required to positively impact our societies…” (UNESCO, 2022, p. 3).

2 Literature Review

2.1 Pedagogies for Sustainability Education in Higher Education

A great deal has been written about the long history to transform K-12 education through progressive, experiential educational approaches. Dewey (1938/1997) showed that complexity and change meant that education could not be reduced to formulaic preparation for life; it needed to be life itself, messiness and unpredictability included. Progressive educators looked for ways to realize Dewey’s vision through valuing diversity, building on the interests of students, organizing learning in larger more holistic units, connecting school to the surrounding community, and developing citizenship (Howard, 2020; Waks, 2013).

Transformative teaching and learning that incorporates values of sustainability and progressive pedagogies is still considered an emerging field. Studies conducted reveal “that the concept of education for sustainable development has not been sufficiently integrated into the concept of transformation in higher education institutions” (Filho et al., 2018, 286). Systematic literature reviews have found that higher education institutions have direct and significant impacts on sustainable development through research that impacts society, the environment, and the economy. Higher education institutions must do more to embed sustainability into their systems, and major gaps in the literature provide ample space for future research in this rapidly evolving field of inquiry. “[M]ore research with a holistic perspective… a whole institution approach would also help identify impact areas and stakeholder groups that are currently underrepresented in the literature”.

Research into pedagogical approaches for sustainability in higher education institutions has increased in the past two decades. Frameworks gave been offered to help educators in creating and updating courses to create a more “complete, holistic, and systemic sustainability education for future leaders, decision makers, educators, and change agents”. However, more research is needed on pedagogical approaches and the potential to develop sustainability competences. Such forms of pedagogy and learning are only beginning to emerge in higher education and it has been argued that to respond to the climate crisis and the wicked problems of sustainability “there is a need for more exploratory, transgressive forms of learning in our institutions…[that] will require an integration of sustainability-oriented higher education teaching research and community engagement processes into possibilities for learning...”. Recent research has taken up the role of HEIS in contributing to the United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs) and conclusions that call for sustainability principles needing to be at the heart of higher education institutions’ strategic planning and incorporated into the organizational culture are significant findings (Agbedahin, 2019; Zaleniene & Pereira, 2021).

2.2 School-Oriented Models of Sustainability

Many important frameworks to support environmental and sustainability education have been developed and to varying degrees, implemented in different schooling contexts (that is, typically in elementary and secondary schools; not higher education). For example, frameworks such as those represented here are a sampling of the excellent efforts to reorient education for peace, social justice, citizenship, well-being, and ecological literacy:

• Eco and green school frameworks (Metzger, 2015),

• Living schools (O’Brien & Howard, 2020),

• Whole school approaches to sustainable development (Wals & Mathie, 2022),

• Education for sustainable development educator competences (UNECE, 2011),

• United Nations and UNESCO global education for sustainable development programs (UNESCO-UNEP, 1977).

• (UNESCO, 2005, 2006, 2016) including the Sustainability Development Goal (SDG).

• Quality Education for all (UNESCO, 2021a, b).

These lenses all provide clarity about key skills and competencies, for both teachers and students, around an educational vision for future-oriented teaching and learning with an overarching goal of realizing a global shift to reimagined education systems to create a “safer, kinder, and flourishing world and planet” (Sterling, 2017, p. 42).

In higher education research, a gap has been identified relative to frameworks that would allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the approaches and impacts of sustainability education on teaching and learning, policy, individual behaviour, student values and beliefs, faculty responsiveness and institutional culture are currently underexplored and merit further attention. Qualitative approaches may be a tool to help understand how these concepts might be functioning in higher education contexts. Findler et al. (2019) report that the use of qualitative data such as narratives might help to assess impacts and change in higher education that would otherwise be difficult to measure using quantitative data.

The work of Lucie Sauvé (2005) is a helpful extension of these frameworks, ideas, and notions regarding concrete approaches to sustainability and various facets of environmental education, and by extension sustainability education. In her explorations, she characterizes many common forms of environmental education envisioned through the metaphor of ‘currents’ such as: naturalist; holistic; conservationist/resourcist; bioregionalist; problem-solving; praxic; systemic; socially critical; scientific; feminist; ethnographic; value-centred; eco-educational; and sustainable development/sustainability currents may serve as a useful guiding framework to critically analyse programming and course delivery at the higher education level. Of note, is the absence of a comprehensive current to devote exclusively to Indigenous world views on sustainability and environmental education (that is, although this seems to be a dimension of the ‘ethnographic current’).

The case study reported here, addresses a gap in the literature (that is, how higher education is enacting sustainability education) and explores how, and to what extent Cape Breton University has enacted integrative, whole school approaches to sustainability as per descriptions and the theoretical framing of Wals and Mathie (2022) in teacher education programming via collaborative and reflexive self-study methods.

3 Methods

This reflexive, small-scale qualitative case study explored the concept of immersive and inclusive sustainability in higher education programs at Cape Breton University (that is, in both pre-service teacher education and graduate-level education programs) via collaborative self-study methods. We have drawn from the ideas of Merriam (1988) to characterize our work where she described a case study as “…an intensive, holistic description and analysis of a single instance, phenomenon, or social unit” (p. 21). The case study explores holistically the extent to which whole school approaches (Wals & Mathie, 2022) to sustainability education at Cape Breton University have been enacted in our programming in the Department of Education within the School of Education and Health. In alignment with case study approaches, our case has clearly demarcated institutional boundaries (that is, both physical and virtual) (Merriam, 1988; Miles & Huberman, 1994).

3.1 Self-Study as a Research Method in Teacher Education

Self-study is a relatively new field of qualitative inquiry that emerged in the 1990s (Loughran, 2018). Education researchers and teachers alike have recognized the power of this methodology to deconstruct classroom practices and educational observations via critical reflexivity and situated inquiry.

This approach is commonly referred to as S-STEP or the Self-study of Teacher Education Practices in teacher researcher circles. Loughran (2018) describes this methodology as an emergent field based on the recognition of the importance of “reflective practice, action research and practitioner inquiry…” (p. 1). Loughran also connects the self-identification of problematic aspects of practice with the seminal work of Dewey (1933) where a problem often forms the foundation for reflective practices. The work of Samaras and Freese (2006) may also be beneficial when exploring scholarly definitions of self-study where they characterize the method as “…situated inquiry, process or paradoxical: individual and collective, personal and interpersonal and private and public…” (pp. 40–53).

Our work, as described throughout the following segments, aligns well with these descriptions of self-study methods and intersects with the fusion of individual and collective practices. Loughran (2018) reminds us that the ‘self’ and change are intimately linked and also that self-study is a method tied with a research collective that focuses on both the mentoring and development of both individual and community. This method is not focused on the quantity of voices, but rather quality engagement with practices, reflexivity, and the commitment to developing a better practice for self and community.

3.1.1 Data Sources

Data sources that informed the case included:

• Departmental documents (for example, course syllabi).

• Journal entries and responses (collected and stored online in a collaborative document accessible to both professors engaged in this work) to reflexive questions about sustainability and institutional practices regarding sustainability based on the work of Wals and Mathie (2022).

3.1.2 Reflexive Engagement and Data Analysis

Each professor involved in the study explored prompting questions on whole school approaches to sustainability based on a framework presented in Wals and Mathie (2022). These questions guided critical and self-reflexive analysis of the courses taught and the challenges and successes regarding the implementation of broader university objectives promoted by the school. The prompts used to guide critical self-reflection regarding whole school approaches to sustainability included:

• What does sustainability mean to me? How does this manifest in my day-to-day life? How do I enact sustainability in my work? Classes? In other contexts?

• -To what extent has our institution experimented with sustainability? Creating sustainability? Examples?

• What new learning processes contribute to sustainable practices? Are there learning environments associated with CBU that enhance learning about sustainability?

• How do we as educators manifest and immerse our students in sustainability via course design, content, assessment, and other ways? What are some examples?

• To what extent are all staff engaged in PD that supports sustainability? What kinds of PD? Organizations?

• To what extent do we engage in connections between the school and community to enhance sustainable practices? How do we do this?

These prompts were posted on a private, collaborative, and interactive platform (that is, Microsoft^™ OneDrive), housed by our institution so that each researcher could reflect upon these questions and add their perspectives to the digital platform. Kitchen (2022) draws from the work of Loughran and Brubaker (2015) to remind us of the importance of the use of collaboration and critical friends in self-study work to facilitate understandings of data interpretation and to promote trustworthiness in analysis work. The outcomes of our journaling, discussions, and collaborations using these prompts (that is, based on WSA) supported out deconstruction and analysis of our institutional WSA used at Cape Breton University. These prompts helped us to determine successes and challenge areas.

Additionally, Sauvé’s (2005) environmental education currents framework was used to analyse course syllabi and our journal entries (that is, responses to the above prompts) for various facets of sustainability, connections with WSA, and environmental education (please see Appendix A for a more fulsome description of Sauvé’s currents). Documents such as course syllabi and journal entries were assigned codes using the ‘review and add comment’ function embedded in Word^™ documents. Sauvé’s (2005) currents served as a framework for an a priori coding approach (Saldaña, 2012) to help unpack focal areas that seemed connected with facets of environmental education.

4 Findings

In consideration of WSAs to sustainability and sustainable practices, we have engaged with the work of Wals and Mathie (2022) to critically and reflexively engage in self-study to deconstruct, unpack, and critically reflect upon our educational practices, departmental engagement, and institution-commitments, as in alignment with the call to oscillate between the ‘self’ and the community when using a methodology such as collaborative self-study. We also found it beneficial to engage in an a priori coding approach to analyse documents and artefacts that are bounded within our institutional case study exploring how and perhaps why we are engaging with sustainable practices.

4.1 A Portrait of Sustainability

Our findings paint a portrait of sustainable practices at Cape Breton University grounded in our collaborative self-study and document coding processes. Our findings are organized in this section by sub-headings to present emergent themes followed by descriptions and examples of how these themes were constructed from various examples and quotations from our data. The following graphic (see Fig. 19.2) may provide a useful overview of some key emergent findings from this work; a sustainability ‘DNA fingerprint’ for Cape Breton University.

Fig. 19.2

Graphic depicting sustainability ‘fingerprint’ of key facets of individual, departmental, and collective institutional focus

4.2 Incorporation and Prioritization of L’Nu Ways

4.2.1 Individual/Departmental Level

Education Courses and Program. Our post-secondary education programs and courses emphasize commitments to sustainability and Indigeneity in different ways. Our Bachelor of Education students can opt to receive additional training and learnings by pursuing a focus in Indigeneity, sustainability education, or French. Pre-service teachers can opt for an education for sustainability concentration and take Teaching and Learning for a Sustainable Future and Sustainable Well-being and Deep Learning. Mi’kmaw language preservation and revitalization was deemed to be a priority area when L’nu communities were consulted as part of the pre-service education program planning. Mi’kmaw language courses and the preparation of teachers for the Mi’kmaw language immersion schools provides students with additional opportunities to support Indigenous language revitalization and growth.

Our pre-service teacher candidates engage in a number of courses focused on social justice, inclusion, and connections to specialized subject areas where currents of sustainability are expected to flow across all offerings. A commonality across all course syllabi is the inclusion of our Acknowledgment of Territory,

Cape Breton University’s Department of Education recognizes that Cape Breton Island is in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) people first signed with the British Crown in 1725. The treaties did not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognized Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) title and established the rules for what was to be an ongoing relationship between nations.

Our courses engage students in reflection and connection with Indigeneity, drawing from the work done at Cape Breton University and local Indigenous communities. For example, our science education courses explored Indigeneity and Indigenous forward perspectives in many ways. Christina provides commentary here from her reflections:

In my science methods courses, I choose materials and resources that my students can read and process in connection with the grade level they intend to teach and work with such as Two-Eyed Seeing; ReKindling Traditions; Deeper toolkit; Learning for a Sustainable Future. These sources have many practical suggestions and ideas for educators to implement sustainable practices in courses. (CP, July 18, 2022)

Indigenous perspectives, such as Two-Eyed Seeing, that draw from reciprocal relationships built between Cape Breton University and local Mi’kmaw communities, were emphasized using in-class viewing of videos and explorations of lesson plans and ideas that could be used in science education (for example, ReKindling Traditions Project see: https://education.usask.ca/ccstu/welcome.html). This theme is perhaps not surprising given the strong ties to the Indigenous community and the larger institutional prioritization of this connection to be described in our following section.

4.3 Institutional Level

4.3.1 Physical Environments

The institution attempts to embody and enact sustainability in many ways such as through the construction and use of environmentally sustainable buildings and structures (for example, wind turbines, living wall, light-emitting diode, street lighting, and solar roof arrays) as well as cultural, aesthetic considerations including the prominent display of Mi’kmaw artwork (see Fig. 19.3). Cape Breton University is home to Unama’ki College (as described in our introduction/context setting segment). In addition to the work done in individual departments and courses, CBU has an entire college devoted to Indigenous thought and scholarship housed at our institution.

Fig. 19.3

An example of Mi’kmaw artwork displayed on CBU campus

These connections to the more than human world and land promote a physical connection to environments where our students can tangibly learn about sustainability and about Indigenous perspectives from Indigenous communities.

4.3.2 Whole School Approaches Via Strategic Academic Plans

There is a deep commitment across the university to strengthen relationships with our L’Nu communities. This has taken on renewed urgency as a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Report (please see: https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1450124405592/1529106060525). Patrick reflects here about this important institutional commitment:

CBU developed an in-depth self-directed online professional development opportunity that all employees in both academic and service units complete – it is called “Learning About the L’nu Way.” This learning experience provides staff and faculty of CBU an opportunity for professional development that addresses some of the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report of Canada, as they relate to post-secondary education and institutions of higher learning. “Learning About the L’nu Way” is a multifaceted learning experience that provides foundational knowledge of who the L’nu are, their history, and their culture. The learning experience also includes a Mi’kmaw cultural component that sees participants attend a cultural event or workshop in or hosted by a local L’nu community. Some of the cultural components that CBU employees participated in ranged from attending a powwow or mawiomi, to taking part in workshops using traditional beading techniques making earrings or dream catchers, among others. Difficult topics such as the Residential School experience and the continuing impacts of the 60s Scoop and the contribution to intergenerational trauma are also a part of the impactful learning experience. (PH reflections, Jan. 2023)

It is important to note the monetary considerations tied with these examples. There has been a significant budget allocated to the promotion and integration of L’Nu worldviews through workshops, outreach, and of course, Unama’ki College which is housed at CBU.

4.4 Sustainable Development and Socially Critical Sustainable Practices

Sustainable development and socially critical sustainable practices were apparent in many of our reflections and analysis. We are drawing from the work of Sauvé (2005) here to describe the emergent currents below at both the individual/departmental and institutional levels.

4.4.1 Individual/Departmental Level

Socially critical pedagogies. An emergent theme from explorations of course materials and critical reflections was the emphasis placed on culturally responsive teaching in science and engagement with communities. This was explored in a number of ways such as through the Draw-A-Scientist Test; deconstructions and analysis of media depictions of science and scientists (for example, Big Bang Theory US television series) and students conducting self-analysis with the support of digital tools such as the Harvard Implicit Bias Test (see: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html). These pedagogies also intersect with a focus on the promotion and inclusion of L’nu ways; however, this broader characterization also considers connections with other socially critical activities such as the role of gender in science and problematic stereotypes of scientists that may perpetuate the notion that science is not for all.

4.4.2 Innovation and Science s’mores

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and its associated fields (for example, STEAM) have become a topic of intensive study and speculation in both academic and practitioner circles. Blendings of STEM and environmental connections could be yet another interesting facet of study and debate. Engineering thought and the introduction of aspects of the design process and prototype building are more and more frequently being introduced in science courses. An activity that may blend these ideas with aspects of sustainable development is the design and testing of solar ovens made from cardboard, paper, aluminium foil and plastic wrap (for example, see https://www.homesciencetools.com/article/how-to-build-a-solar-oven-project/). The use of such ideas can intersect with engineering concepts of design and also facets of sustainable development such as reducing waste or substituting more environmentally hazardous materials for less harmful materials. Christina describes this activity here from her reflections about engaging her pre-service teachers in this activity in her science methods course:

We also build solar ovens (see Fig. 19.4) to make ‘s’mores’, a traditional Canadian treat made of cookies, marshmallows and chocolate. The challenge is to design and build a small solar oven that can provide enough heat to melt the marshmallow and chocolate. We then debrief and discuss the science of solar power and connections to sustainability.

Fig. 19.4

Construction of solar ovens to make s’mores in Christina’s pre-service science methods course

4.5 Institution Level

4.5.1 A Focus on Sustainable Development

Sustainability and sustainable development are also about building sustainable, resilient communities and providing access to good work and healthy living conditions. Patrick shares his reflections about the historical context out of which CBU was established and how this has formed the basis of the spirit of sustainable development that grounds much of what permeates the campus and programming here,

Cape Breton University was created out of a community effort to establish a post-secondary institution to continue to educate the young and contribute to the development of the island communities. It was a symbol of a maturing independence to forge a unique institution separate from the satellite campuses of larger, established institutions that previously provided post-secondary education to the people of the island. Building on a proud tradition of adult education designed to lift people out of poverty and lives of dangerous exploitative work in the extractive industries of coal mining, logging, fishing and the boom bust cycles of steel making, Cape Breton was a beneficiary of the Antigonish Movement led by two Roman Catholic priests in the early 20th century who pioneered a blend of adult education, microfinancing, cooperatives, and community economic development for the purpose of providing a sustainable future for people and to increase the wellbeing of communities trapped in intergenerational poverty and exploitative labour conditions. (PH Reflections, January, 2023)

As a newcomer to the Cape Breton University community, Christina shares perspectives about facets of sustainable development that have manifested in physical structures and institutional practices. She comments on the beautiful living wall and the numerous walking trails across the campus. Christina reflects here about additional campus structures such as windmills and the practice of hiring local musicians to support the local economy,

The windmills are incredible and I think a great example of how CBU has embraced moving toward sources of renewable energy in a highly visible way. The other example that really struck me was how many local musicians are hired to play music in the institution hallways to celebrate different events and to welcome students, staff and faculty on special occasions. (CP Reflections, July, 2022)

4.6 Praxis-Oriented Approaches

4.6.1 Individual/Department Level

As noted above, Cape Breton has a rich history of action-oriented approaches to community betterment. As such, it is probably not surprising that this praxis orientation permeates course offerings and departmental approaches in education and in the larger institution. At the level of department, we offer a project-based master’s level course for in-service teachers and administrators, part of which is described here:

Students will assess the current strengths and areas for development regarding sustainability education in their school or organization. Based on the assessment students will design, implement, evaluate and report on a project that is completed within the time frame of the course. (EDUC 6800 Course Syllabus, July, 2022)

A clear connection to a praxis orientation (Sauvé, 2005) is evidenced here with the focus placed on action. Our students who choose to take this course focus on a sustainability education challenge at their school or organization and devise a plan to address the issue which they report on at the end of the course. We have had our students complete fantastic sustainability projects in this work including building outdoor classrooms, educational materials for teaching others about sustainability education, and health and well-being resource development and implementation at the school level.

4.6.2 Institution Level

CBU is committed to community development and sustainable development across its departments. Patrick describes in his reflections below the offering of the Bachelor of Community Studies when the institution was first established here,

A one-of-a-kind program at the time (it continues to this day) it was a progressive program for its interdisciplinary nature, and its reliance of authentic, experiential, project-based community learning driven by student interests and the identification of challenges and big question to which students proposed real-world action-oriented projects to address the challenges. (PH Reflections, 2023)

Another program that aligns with a focus on sustainable development across the institution is the establishment of the Centre for Sound Communities at CBU demonstrated the evolution of community-focused scholarship into the twenty-first century. The CSC is The Centre for Sound Communities is an arts-led social innovation lab at Cape Breton University that is internationally recognized and involved in carrying out research through artistic practices (mainly dance, music, theatre, and digital media). It provides training for students, faculty, and community partners and addresses systemic inequities through a focus on research that serves the needs of under-represented and under-resourced populations. See http://soundcommunities.org/

Finally, the institution’s commitment to the Indigenous L’nu communities and the collective responses to the Truth and Reconciliation Report could fall under the earlier theme of L’nu inclusion or as a tie with action-oriented praxis (Sauvé, 2005). It is important to note that although we present these themes as discrete entities, that in their living embodiment, are flowing and interchangeable, much like Sauvé’s (2005) overlapping currents of environmental education that we have drawn from in this work.

5 Conclusions and Next Steps in Whole School Approaches to Sustainability

Our reflexive practices have indicated successes at Cape Breton University in promoting L’nu (Indigenous) perspectives; a focus on sustainability and sustainable development and a praxis/action orientated curriculum. Areas of further study and need include increased capacity building for all staff and community members at Cape Breton University and increasing the connections between more traditional institutional siloes on campus. It was unclear from our critical analysis work the extent to which all faculty and staff engage and learn in a more fulsome and participatory way about sustainable practices (that is, excluding the PD available to the entire institutional community about the L’Nu Way).

The use of both WSA (Wals & Mathie, 2022) and Sauvé’s (2005) currents have been useful methodological frameworks to guide our reflexive work. We suggest, based on the outcomes of this exploration that each framework might benefit from the addition of a ‘current’ or ‘petal’ that engages in Indigenous or other inclusive world views regarding sustainability.

This case study has significance in the field of critical and reflexive self-study, for teacher education and for higher education for sustainability education. in general. Gaps in the research have been identified relative to holistic assessment approaches and frameworks that allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the approaches and impacts of sustainability education on teaching and learning and institutional culture. Qualitative and narrative approaches like the one used in this research may provide insights into how to understand sustainability education from a whole school perspective. This work may contribute to the disruption of a status quo regarding sustainable practices in higher education institutions; supporting anti-racist practices through the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives on sustainability and serve as a counter-narrative to the exploitation of our environments and the people and communities who co-exist in these spaces.