Advancing Sustainability Education in Business Studies through Digital Service Learning

Abstract

To support the development of a society that is attuned to the challenges presented by sustainable development, it is vital that higher education business students understand the value of sustainability, and act in a way that is consistent with these values. This paper explores a sustainability-focused experiential learning activity through investigating the utility of an emerging form of service learning in the digital space for developing global citizens. The paper presents an international case study of educators who employed digital service learning in various business education contexts. The research reports on the perceptions of higher education students in relation to their awareness, critical thinking and action for sustainability. The paper has practical contributions in identifying an opportunity for implementing sustainability curriculum into higher education for business.

Pedagogical Approaches for Sustainable Fashion Design Curriculum: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Engaging in such projects equips students with practical skills and cultivates a sense of responsibility and agency in addressing sustainability challenges (Waddell, 2021). In addition, this approach aligns with developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for addressing complex sustainability issues in the fashion industry (Heinrich et al, 2015;Perkiss et al, 2020). Engaging with sustainability challenges enables students to analyse, evaluate, and propose innovative solutions, promoting sustainable practices in fashion design and production.…”

Service-Learning as a niche innovation in higher education for sustainability

“…Digital SL is proposed to offer a more extensive reach with the potential to impact global communities. The incorporation of SL into the digital realm creates opportunities to address digital citizenship and global responsibility, both of which are increasingly crucial aspects of civic life (Perkiss et al, 2020). Digital SL can circumvent some common obstacles related to finding opportunities for students to contribute to local communities, but it also comes with its own set of limitations, including issues with connectivity or Internet access, as well as students' need for support and guidance in the online space (Perkiss et al, 2020).…”

Developing skills in higher education for post-pandemic work

“…In recent years, the diversity of approaches through which WIL is integrated in higher education has grown considerably (Kay et al 2019), and digital forms of WIL have started to emerge (Bayerlein et al 2021). Examples of digital WIL arrangements with the potential to replace traditional placement-based internships include virtual internships (Jeske and Axtell 2018), simulations (Bayerlein 2015), digital service-learning (Perkiss et al 2020), and numerous other, situationally appropriate WIL formats. In conjunction with the increasing variety of digital WIL available, the number of white-collar occupations experimenting with digital WIL has increased considerably.…”

“…In conjunction with the increasing variety of digital WIL available, the number of white-collar occupations experimenting with digital WIL has increased considerably. Today, white-collar occupations exploring digital WIL include conservative occupations such as medicine (Torda 2020;Sahi et al 2020), engineering (Chesler et al 2015), accounting (Bayerlein 2015), as well as progressive occupations, such as IT, media, and journalism (Jeske and Axtell 2014) and management (Perkiss et al 2020). A defining feature of many different forms of digital WIL is its location un-bounded and technology-based workplace (Vriens et al 2013;Bayerlein and Jeske 2018a), which largely replicates or simulates the workplace structures that have emerged during the pandemic.…”