Publications (FIS)

Operational principles for fostering transformative qualities and capacities in higher education sustainability science and practice

Authored by

Nora Fagerholm, Neil Coles, Thomas Beery, Mario Torralba, Viola Hakkarainen, Christian Albert, Erik Andersson, Ryan Bergström, Claudia Bieling, Sandra Gentin, Carolin Klonner, Anton Stahl Olafsson, Christopher Raymond, Henna Rouhiainen, Christine Wamsler

Abstract

Education for sustainability is widely recognised as a critical pathway for driving the transformations needed to address today’s polycrisis. Despite growing theoretical and conceptual advancements in sustainability education, current approaches have not achieved the deep systemic changes required. While university networks and individual institutions increasingly integrate sustainability into their education, concerns persist that transformative learning agendas often remain superficial. In particular, they frequently fail to equip learners with the emotional resilience and skills necessary to engage effectively with complex global challenges, as well as educators with the pedagogical framework to facilitate such learning. This article emphasises the need to advance transformative learning in sustainability science and practice in higher education by addressing the inner dimensions of sustainability: our individual and collective values, beliefs, worldviews, and associated transformative qualities and capacities. This means targeting deep leverage points and meaningful change by supporting more relational approaches, including an integrated inner–outer change in being, thinking, and acting. We provide seven operational principles for supporting the inner–outer transformation towards sustainability in learning and teaching sustainability science and practice, especially in geography and related fields. These principles highlight the importance of nurturing five clusters of transformative qualities and capacities—awareness, connection, insight, purpose, and agency—guided by relational approaches required to support profound and integrative learning experiences. We provide concrete examples of how to implement these principles. The proposed principles aim to inspire educators and learners to deeply engage with sustainability challenges to contribute to transformative change across individual, collective, and system levels.

Details

Organisation(s): Landscape Planning and Ecosystem Services
External Organisation(s): University of Turku
University of Western Australia
University of Dundee
Kristianstad University
Vrije Universiteit
Leuphana University Lüneburg
University of Helsinki
Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC)
University of Minnesota
University of Hohenheim
University of Copenhagen
Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS)
Type: Article
Journal: Sustainability science
Volume: 21
Pages: 365-379
No. of pages: 15
ISSN: 1862-4065
Publication date: 01.2026
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Global and Planetary Change, Health(social science), Geography, Planning and Development, Ecology, Sociology and Political Science, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-025-01746-z (Access: Open )

Cite

Operational principles for fostering transformative qualities and capacities in higher education sustainability science and practice. / Fagerholm, Nora; Coles, Neil; Beery, Thomas et al.
In: Sustainability science, Vol. 21, No. 1, 01.2026, p. 365-379.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review

@article{253a5e4045df4e4995b6d368afda37cd,
  title = "Operational principles for fostering transformative qualities and capacities in higher education sustainability science and practice",
  abstract = "Education for sustainability is widely recognised as a critical pathway for driving the transformations needed to address today{\textquoteright}s polycrisis. Despite growing theoretical and conceptual advancements in sustainability education, current approaches have not achieved the deep systemic changes required. While university networks and individual institutions increasingly integrate sustainability into their education, concerns persist that transformative learning agendas often remain superficial. In particular, they frequently fail to equip learners with the emotional resilience and skills necessary to engage effectively with complex global challenges, as well as educators with the pedagogical framework to facilitate such learning. This article emphasises the need to advance transformative learning in sustainability science and practice in higher education by addressing the inner dimensions of sustainability: our individual and collective values, beliefs, worldviews, and associated transformative qualities and capacities. This means targeting deep leverage points and meaningful change by supporting more relational approaches, including an integrated inner–outer change in being, thinking, and acting. We provide seven operational principles for supporting the inner–outer transformation towards sustainability in learning and teaching sustainability science and practice, especially in geography and related fields. These principles highlight the importance of nurturing five clusters of transformative qualities and capacities—awareness, connection, insight, purpose, and agency—guided by relational approaches required to support profound and integrative learning experiences. We provide concrete examples of how to implement these principles. The proposed principles aim to inspire educators and learners to deeply engage with sustainability challenges to contribute to transformative change across individual, collective, and system levels.",
  keywords = "Emotional resilience, Inner dimensions, Relational approaches, Sustainability education, Systemic change, Transformative learning",
  author = "Nora Fagerholm and Neil Coles and Thomas Beery and Mario Torralba and Viola Hakkarainen and Christian Albert and Erik Andersson and Ryan Bergstr{\"o}m and Claudia Bieling and Sandra Gentin and Carolin Klonner and {Stahl Olafsson}, Anton and Christopher Raymond and Henna Rouhiainen and Christine Wamsler",
  note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",
  year = "2026",
  month = jan,
  doi = "10.1007/s11625-025-01746-z",
  language = "English",
  volume = "21",
  pages = "365--379",
  journal = "Sustainability science",
  issn = "1862-4065",
  publisher = "Springer",
  number = "1"
}