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Towards a Social Ontology on Sustainable Development in CUT: Understanding Stakeholder Perceptions

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Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education

Part of the book series: World Sustainability Series ((WSUSE))

Abstract

Successful implementation of Sustainable Development (SD) in Higher Education cannot be achieved through distinct knowledge and operational silos. Rather, the storyboard of success shows the importance of stakeholder contributions. However, achieving a consensus among stakeholders has proven to be a herculean task when power relations are uncertain. Such lack of consensus accentuates a need for the evolution of an SD based social ontology within a University system. As a first step towards achieving such ontology, it is imperative that the perceptions of these stakeholders are gauged and understood. This is the central objective of this study. In this study, the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) is used as an exemplar to explore the existence of diverse stakeholder perceptions and the impact of such on the attainment of expected implementation outcomes. This study obtains data through semi-structured interviews from identified stakeholders within the CUT. Observations from the data confirmed the prevalence of diverse perceptions on the definition of sustainability and the components of SD as well as its expected outcomes. The findings from this study would assist in the evolution of an SD based social ontology within the University by harnessing the identified perceptions of the various stakeholders.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Built Environment, Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa

    Awuzie Bankole & Emuze Fidelis

  2. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa

    Ngowi Alfred

Authors
  1. Awuzie Bankole
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  2. Emuze Fidelis
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  3. Ngowi Alfred
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Awuzie Bankole .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Department of Environment, University of the Aegean , Mytilene, Greece

    Constantina Skanavis

  3. Business and Economics, NECE, University of Beira Interior , Covilhã, Portugal

    Arminda do Paço

  4. School of Architecture and Design, RMIT University , Melbourne, Australia

    Judy Rogers

  5. Manchester Metropolitan University , Manchester, United Kingdom

    Olga Kuznetsova

  6. Department of Life Sciences, Centre for Functional Ecology, University of Coimbra , Coimbra, Portugal

    Paula Castro

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Bankole, A., Fidelis, E., Alfred, N. (2017). Towards a Social Ontology on Sustainable Development in CUT: Understanding Stakeholder Perceptions. In: Leal Filho, W., Skanavis, C., do Paço, A., Rogers, J., Kuznetsova, O., Castro, P. (eds) Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47889-0_30

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