How do different organizational cultures affect approaches to sustainability governance? Reflecting on data from a multi-case study at eleven German Higher Education Institutions, a new paper authored by a team from the Division of General Education at the Freie Universität Berlin and colleagues from the University of Vechta, analyses this question. The paper is published in „Sustainability„. The full paper accessible here or via ResearchGate.

Abstract: Sustainable development practices in higher education institutions are diverse, with regard not only to the types of challenges that have to be addressed, but also to the forms of sustainability governance adopted by individual higher education institutions. This paper aims to reflect on the aspects of organizational culture that are particularly crucial for the implementation of sustainable practices at higher education institutions. Specifically, it addresses the research question: how do different organizational cultures affect approaches to sustainability governance at higher education institutions (HEIs)? It reflects on data from multi-case studies at eleven German higher education institutions. Four of the cases are analyzed in this paper to draw out the insights they offer on how organizational culture shapes the institutions’ approach to sustainable development. A governance equalizer is used as a functional framework for evaluating and discussing the influence of different cultural orientations on sustainability governance. In addition to providing many insights and findings in relation to specific cases, comparison of the different institutions, their governance structures and their cultures of sustainable development helps to emphasize that there is no single cultural factor that can be identified as directly promoting particular governance structures. Rather, there is an active interplay between cultural orientations, which influence, and are also influenced by, the measures deployed. Such influence is not instantly apparent but needs time to develop, and it evolves in a variety of ways as illustrated by the case studies.

Wie verbreiten sich Innovationen? Was unterstützt oder erschwert den Transfer von Innovationen? Diesen Fragen wurde am Beispiel der Implementierung neuer Praktiken in Einrichtungen der Frühkindlichen Bildung von Jasmin Luthardt, Tobias Schröder, Frauke Hildebrand und Inka Bormann nachgegangen. Untersucht wurde, wie bildungspolitische Vorstellungen sich in Fortbildungsprogrammen niederschlagen und wie diese schließlich von pädagogischen Fachkräften wahrgenommen und beurteilt werden. Dazu wurde eine neuartige Kombination von Methoden entwickelt: Mit sogenannten Cognitive-Affective Maps (CAMs) und Diskursanalysen wurde erschlossen, wie Aspekte einer Innovationsaufforderung wahrgenommen werden und wie diese Aspekte affektiv aufgeladen sind.
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A collaborative research team on Sustainability Governance at Higher Education Institutions from the Division of General Education at the Freie Universität Berlin and the University of Vechta (Niedlich/Bauer/Doneliene/Jaeger/Rieckmann/Bormann) published a new paper introducing a contested tool for the self-assessment of HEI’s sustainability governance in „Sustainability„. The full paper is accessible here or via ResearchGate.

Abstract: The paper aims to add to the discussion on sustainability governance in higher education institutions by examining the role of sustainability assessment and introducing an assessment tool inspired by systemic thinking and centered on a ‘governance equalizer’. It discusses recent research and argues that the complexity inherent in sustainability governance remains to be addressed adequately. While a number of models and frameworks have been proposed, most of them remain caught between narrow, management-oriented approaches on the one hand, and rather abstract approaches that provide little guidance for improving the field on the other. Sustainability assessment tools represent a potential way to bridge this gap. While there are existing tools which include issues of sustainability governance, these are often limited to aspects that are easily quantifiable and neglect more complex aspects. Against this background, the article proposes an alternative tool to assess sustainability governance in higher education institutions. The tool is based on a multi-case study in Germany and has been tested in a series of workshops. Drawing on the concept of a ‘governance equalizer’, it focuses on the functional requirements of sustainability governance in five dimensions—politics, profession, organization, knowledge, and the public—and how they are addressed by the HEI. The tool raises the level of abstraction in order to capture complexity, but at the same time keeps sight of governance structures, processes, instruments, and practices. It combines clearly defined criteria that are assessed using carefully developed maturity scales with a focus on stakeholder participation and knowledge.

Dr. Mandy Singer-Brodowski wurde ausgewählt, um vom 17.02. bis 20.02.2020 an der Veranstaltung „Berlin der Begegnung“ des Genshagener Kreises teilzunehmen. Im Rahmen dieses Netzwerks kommen junge Führungskräfte aus Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft, Kunst und Kultur in Berlin zusammen und tauschen sich über kreative Ideen für eine lebendige Zivilgesellschaft aus. Der Schwerpunkt der diesjährigen Tagung liegt auf der Nachhaltigkeitsagenda der Vereinten Nationen – den Sustainable Development Goals – mit einem Fokus auf das Ziel Good Health & Wellbeing.
Der Arbeitsbereich Allgemeine Erziehungswissenschaft gratuliert Mandy Singer-Brodowski herzlich zu Nominierung und Auswahl!

Der Arbeitsbereich Allgemeine Erziehungswissenschaft ist mit mehreren Beiträgen beim diesjährigen Kongress der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Erziehungswissenschaft in Köln vertreten. Iris Würbel wird ein Poster zur Frage „What images and impressions do pre-schoolers have of their refugee peers? The impact of intergroup contact“ präsentieren (17.3.). Am 16.3. wird Sebastian Niedlich einen Vortrag mit dem Titel „Regionalisierungspolitik – Bremse oder Beschleuniger von Ungleichheit? Differenzierende Perspektiven auf Programme zur Kommunalisierung von Bildung“ halten. Inka Bormann wird am 16.3. bei der Präsentation der UNESCO-Aktivitäten mitwirken. Am 17.3. wird das Team des HOCH-N-Projekts der „Nachhaltigeren Entwicklung an Hochschulen durch Governance – Entwicklung ohne Optimum“ nachgehen.