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Session Outline

This presentation draws on my experience of chairing a University of Edinburgh working group on embedding climate and nature in curricula. This group brought together experienced educators from across the University to co-create curriculum design principles as part of the University’s Curriculum Transformation Programme. The outcomes from this working group are now embedded in the University’s Regenerative Sustainability Strategy.

I will frame the learning from this working group using theoretical perspectives and findings from two research projects. The first was a project focused on education for ‘wicked’ problems based on interviews with experienced educators at one Scottish university (McCune et al., 2021 and 2024). The notion of wicked problems is based originally on the work of Rittel and Weber (1973). Wicked problems can be understood as having three main characteristics (Veltman et al., 2019):
• complexity of elements and interdependencies
• uncertainty in relation to risk and consequences
• divergence in viewpoints and values

Sustainability challenges such as the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis are clear examples of wicked problems. Analysing how these educators approached modules and programmes focused on wicked problems offered rich perspectives on curriculum approaches for sustainability education.

The second project is an international collaboration funded by the Research Council of Norway. The Academic Hospitality in Interdisciplinary Education Project (https://www.uv.uio.no/iped/english/research/projects/sutphen-academic-hospitality-in-interdisciplinary-/) has been exploring the processes of collaboration that underpin interdisciplinary programmes and courses focused on global challenges. The project uses an understanding of hospitality rooted in writings by Derrida, which focus on the ethical ideal of welcoming whomever comes, whenever they arrive and however they show up. Hospitable approaches to collaboration on interdisciplinary curricula help us understand how to navigate the boundaries between disciplines and between academic and wider groups and communities. This ethical negotiation of boundaries is essential for inclusive curricula focused on sustainable development.

that this presentation role-models or embeds:

• Quality Education
• Reduced Inequalities
• Sustainable Cities Communities
• Climate Action
• Life Below Water
• Life on Land
• Partnerships

Presenter

Professor Emeritus Vel McCune has been leading internationally recognised research into teaching and learning in higher education for over 25 years. Her most recent work focuses on education for global challenges. Until recently, Vel led the highly regarded educational development team within the Institute for Academic Development at the University of Edinburgh. Her educational development and teaching work has spanned topics such as curriculum development, assessment and feedback, digital education and education futures. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Vel is now working as a Higher Education Consultant.

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