Transforming collaborative practices for curriculum and teaching innovations with the Sustainability Forum (University of Bedfordshire)

Abstract

Evolving higher education policy, and the production of guidelines and frameworks by higher education authorities, aim to support universities embed education for sustainability and reflect recognition of the need to prepare graduates for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st Century. Yet, advances have been limited. This chapter examines developments underway at the University of Bedfordshire, offering insights for ways forward which are distinct from prevailing institutional management processes. It presents the work of a community of practice, created by a group of academics from a spectrum of disciplines. Here, core players from this ‘Sustainability Forum’ describe their community, activities and synergies with the wider University. The authors highlight the learning opportunities they generated by their collective actions resulting in curriculum developments and enhancements. These served their own undergraduate and postgraduate students, other groups within the university community and beyond. As such the chapter serves as a case study of what can be achieved by an informal group of highly motivated academics in a new university. The authors conclude by considering the value of this model to other institutional contexts, especially in the context of the constraints imposed by expanding external performative initiatives and quality processes.