Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Educating for Sustainability-as-Flourishing

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Clean, Green and Responsible?

Part of the book series: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance ((CSEG))

  • 611 Accesses

Abstract

Business schools are increasingly educating for sustainability, partially in response to the world’s current social and environmental predicament, and partially as a consequence of recognising the significant role business plays in contributing to this perilous state. Much of this education though, is grounded in a ‘business as usual approach’ that views sustainability as a means of improving the bottom line while minimising unsustainability. This chapter describes an undergraduate course for business students that uses sustainability-as-flourishing as a framework for transformational change in student mindsets regarding the foundational structures of society. This aspirational approach goes beyond teaching the status quo to cultivate students as self-actualised individuals who desire a flourishing natural, social and economic system.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The last reflective component is part of the service-learning project.

  2. 2.

    Websites: www.seacleaners.com/, www.sustainablecoastlines.org/, and www.knzb.org.nz/

  3. 3.

    Websites: www.communicare.org.nz/, www.lifewise.org.nz/, and www.bellyful.org.nz/

References

  • Adams, A., Heijltjes, M. G., Jack, G., Marjoribanks, T., & Powell, M. (2011). The development of leaders able to respond to climate change and sustainability challenges: The role of business schools. Sustainability Accounting, Management & Policy Journal. 2(1), 165–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amaeshi, K. (2013, March). Business schools: The silent but fatal barrier to the sustainability agenda. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/business-schools-deadly-sustainability-agenda

  • Anderson, J. R., Reder, L. M., & Simon, H. A. (1996). Situated learning and education. Educational Researcher, 5, 5–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baden, D., & Parkes, C. (2013). Experiential learning: Inspiring the business leaders of tomorrow. Journal of Management Development, 32(3), 295–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bamber, P., & Hankin, L. (2011). Transformative learning through service learning: No passport required. Education and Training, 53(2/3), 190–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, S. B. (2011). Embedding sustainability across the organization: A critical perspective. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 10(4), 719–731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bendell, J., & Little, R. (2015). Seeking sustainable leadership. The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 60, 13–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burningham, K., & Thrush, D. (2003). Experiencing environmental inequality: The everyday concerns of disadvantaged groups. Housing Studies, 18(4), 517–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, A. B., & Shabana, K. M. (2010). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 85–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Celio, C. I., Durlak, J., & Dymnicki, A. (2011). A meta-analysis of the impact of service learning on students. The Journal of Experimental Education, 34(2), 164–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dillard, J., Dujon, V., & King, M. (Eds.). (2009). Understanding the social dimension of sustainability. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Driver, M., & Porter, M. E. (2012). An interview with Michael Porter: Social entrepreneurship and the transformation of capitalism. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 11, 421–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenfeld, J. (2000). Industrial ecology paradigm shift or normal science? American Behavioral Scientist, 44(2), 229–244.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenfeld, J. (2008). Sustainability by design. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenfeld, J. (2012). Beyond the brave new world: Business for sustainability. In P. Bansal & A. J. Hoffman (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Business and the Natural Environment (pp. 611–619). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenfeld, R., & Hoffman, A. J. (2013). Flourishing: A frank conversation about sustainability. Stanford, CA: Stanford Business Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engelman, R. (2013). Beyond sustainababble. In E. Assadourian & T. Prugh (Eds.), Is Sustainability Still Possible? (pp. 3–16). Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, M. J., & Roy, M. (2003). Making the business case for sustainability: Linking social and environmental actions to financial performance. The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 9, 79–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferraro, F., Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2005). Economics language and assumptions: How theories can become self-fulfilling. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 8–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1996). Pedagogy of the oppressed (2nd ed.). Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giacalone, R. A. (2004). A transcendent business education for the 21st century. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 3(4), 415–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giacalone, R. A., & Thompson, K. R. (2006). Business ethics & social responsbility education: Shifting the worldview. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 5(3), 266–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giles, D. E., & Eyler, J. (1994). The theoretical roots of service learning in John Dewey: Toward a theory of service learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 1(1), 77–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gladwin, T. N., Kennelly, J. J., & Krause, T.-S. (1995). Shifting paradigms for sustainable development: Implications for management theory and research. Academy of Management Review, 20(4), 874–907.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomis, A. J. B., Parra, M. G., Hoffman, W. M., & McNulty, R. E. (2011). Rethinking the concept of sustainability. Business & Society Review, 116(2), 171–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, G. B. (2012). Transforming sustainability. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 46(Summer), 123–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griessler, E., & Littig, B. (2005). Social sustainability: A catchword between political pragmatism and social theory. International Journal for Sustainable Development, 8(1/2), 65–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunder, M. (2006). Sustainability: Planning’s saving grace or road to perdition? Journal of Planning Education and Research, 26(2), 208–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, C. (2003). Growth fetish. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinberg, R. (2010). What is sustainability? In R. Heinberg & D. Lerch (Eds.), The Post Carbon Reader: Managing the 21st century’s Sustainbility Crises (pp. 13–24). Healdsburg, CA: Watershed Media.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasser, T. (2013). Tim Kasser teaching. Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://faculty.knox.edu/tkasser/teaching.html

  • Kenworthy, A. L., & Peterson, T. O. (2005). Service-learning and management education: Introducing the “WE CARE” approach. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(3), 272–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolenko, T. A., Porter, G., Wheatly, W., & Colby, M. (1996). A critique of service learning projects in management education: Pedagogical foundations, barriers, and guidelines. Journal of Business Ethics, 15, 133–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kopnina, H., & Blewitt, J. (2015). Sustainable business. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krznaric, R. (2008). You are therefore I am: How empathy education can create social change. Oxford, UK: Oxfam, GB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kupperman, J. J. (1999). Virtues, character & moral dispositions. In D. Carr & J. Steutel (Eds.), Virtue Ethics & Moral Education (pp. 199–209). London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laszlo, C., Brown, J. S., Sherman, D., Barros, I., Boland, B., Ehrenfeld, J., … Werder, P. (2012). Flourishing: A vision for business and the world. Journal of Corporate Citizenship, 46(Summer), 31–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcuse, P. (1998). Sustainability is not enough. Environment and Urbanization, 10, 103–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall, S., Vaiman, V., Napier, N., Taylor, S., Haslberger, A., & Andersen, T. (2010). The end of a “period”: Sustainability and the questioning attitude. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9(3), 477–487.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, R. A. (1998). Seven exercises to get students thinking. Journal of Business Ethics, 2, 411–432.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGhee, P., & Grant, P. (2016). Teaching the virtues of sustainability as flourishing to undergraduate business students. Global Virtue Ethics Review, 7(2), 73–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGhee, P., & Grant, P. (2017). Sustainability leadership: It’s not about heroes. In G. Eweje & R. Bathurst (Eds.), CSR, Sustainability, and Leadership (pp. 11–30). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • McKenna, B., & Rooney, D. (2008). Wise leadership and the capacity for ontological activity. Management Communication Quarterly, 21(4), 537–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKenna, B., & Biloslavo, R. (2011). Human flourishing as a foundation for a new sustainability oriented business school curriculum: Open question and possible answers. Journal of Management & Organization, 17(5), 691–710.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mele, D. (2005). Ethical education in accounting: Integrating rules, values and virtues. Journal of Business Ethics, 57(1), 97–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Metcalf, L., & Benn, S. (2013). Leadership for sustainability: An evolution of leadership ability. Journal of Business Ethics, 112, 369–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as transformation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mintz, S. M. (1996). Aristotelan virtue and business ethics education. Journal of Business Ethics, 15, 827–838.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, T. D. (2008). Traditional vs. critical service-learning: Engaging the literature to differentiate two models. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 15, 50–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Painter-Moreland, M., Sabet, E., Molthan-Hill, P., Goworek, H., & de Leeuw, S. (2015). Beyond the curriculum: Integrating sustainability into business schools. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(4), 737–754.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podger, D. M., Mustakova-Possardt, E., & Reid, A. (2010). A whole person approach to educating for sustainbility. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 11(4), 339–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rimanoczy, I. (2016). Stop teaching: Principles & practices for responsible management education. New York: Business Expert Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Chapin, F. S., Lambin, E. F., & Schellnhuber, H. J. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, 461(7263), 472–475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, M. (1994). Learning about global futures: An exploration of learning processes and changes in adults. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosanas, J. M. (2008). Beyond economic criteria: A humanistic approach to organizational survival. Journal of Business Ethics, 78(3), 447–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossouw, G. J. (2002). Three approaches to teaching business ethics. Teaching Business Ethics, 6, 411–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., Huta, V., & Deci, E. L. (2008). Living well: A self-determination theory perspective on eudaimonia. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 139–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savage, E., Tapics, T., Evarts, J., Wilson, J., & Tirone, S. (2015). Experiential learning for sustainability leadership in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 16(5), 692–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer, K., Corner, P. D., & Kearins, K. (2015). Social, environmental and sustainable entrepreneurship research: What is needed for sustainability-as-flourishing. Organization & Environment, 28(4), 394–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaltegger, S., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2013). Business cases for sustainability. In S. O. Idowu, N. Capaldi, L. Zu, & A. D. Gupta (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility (pp. 245–252). Berlin: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, R. (2006). On ethics & living well. Belmont, CA: Thomson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starik, M., Rands, G., Marcus, A. A., & Clark, T. S. (2010). From the guest editors: In search of sustainability in management education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9(3), 377–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stead, W. E., & Stead, J. G. (1994). Can humankind change the economic myth? Paradigm shifts necessary for ecologically sustainable business. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 7(4), 15–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stubbs, W., & Cocklin, C. (2008). Teaching sustainability to business students: Shifting mindsets. International Journal for Sustainability in Higher Education, 9(3), 206–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sugar, S. (1998). Games that teach: Experiential activities for reinforcing training. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uhl-Bien, M., Marion, R., & McKelvey, B. (2007). Complexity leadership theory: Shifting leadership from the industrial age to the knowledge era. Leadership Quarterly, 18(4), 298–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vallance, S., Perkins, H. C., & Dixon, J. E. (2011). What is social sustainability? A clarification of concepts. Geoforum, 42(3), 342–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Leeuw, S., Wiek, A., Harlow, J., & Buizer, J. (2012). How much time do we have? Urgency and rhetoric in sustainability science. Sustainability Science, 7(1), 115–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wade, R. C. (2000). From a distance: Service learning and social justice. In C. R. O’Grady (Ed.), Integrating Service Learning and Multicultural Education in Colleges and Universities (pp. 93–111). Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, K., & Wolf-Wendel, L. (2000). Community-centered service learning: Moving from doing for to doing with. American Behavioral Scientist, 43(5), 767–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren, J. L. (2012). Does service learning increase student learning? A meta-analysis. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 18, 56–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • WCED. (1987). Our common future. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiek, A., Withycombe, L., & Redman, C. (2011). Key competencies in sustainability: A reference framework for academic program development. Sustainability Science, 6(2), 203–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Business, Economics & Law, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Peter McGhee & Patricia Grant

Authors
  1. Peter McGhee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Patricia Grant
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter McGhee .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Massey Business School, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

    Gabriel Eweje

  2. Massey Business School, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand

    Ralph J. Bathurst

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

McGhee, P., Grant, P. (2019). Educating for Sustainability-as-Flourishing. In: Eweje, G., Bathurst, R. (eds) Clean, Green and Responsible?. CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21436-4_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21436-4_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21435-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21436-4

  • eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation