Philosophy of Field Methods in the GPSS-GLI Program: Dealing with Complexity to Achieve Resilience and Sustainable Societies

Mino, Takashi; Esteban, Miguel; Asokan, Vivek Anand; Satanarachchi, Niranji; Akiyama, Tomohiro; Ikeda, Izumi; Chen, Chiahsin

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-32930-7_1

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…This study features a case study approach (Yin, 2003) to illustrate how a sustainability science program offers a fieldwork-based training course that focuses on a transdisciplinary approach. Fieldwork-based training provides direct experiences of sustainability challenges and offers methodological training to address them in the actual locations where those challenges are happening (Mino et al , 2016). The studied fieldwork-based training course is observed as an educational phenomenon in a real-world setting; it is treated as a case that describes how the fieldwork-based training has shaped students’ understanding of reality.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another important feature of sustainability science is that it recognizes the interconnectedness of sustainability challenges. Sustainability challenges are often described as “wicked problems” (Lazarus, 2009; Sterman, 2012) because they are interlinked at different stages from the local to the global, different geographical boundaries and different domains such as economic, environmental, political and sociocultural domains (Jerneck et al , 2011; Kastenhofer et al , 2011; Mino et al , 2016; Ness et al , 2010). Approaches to such challenges with complex interlinkages must be interdisciplinary to incorporate knowledge from a range of academic disciplines that are relevant to the challenges (Kajikawa, 2008).…”

Section: Introduction: Developing Sustainability Science Education Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Key experiences for the transdisciplinary approach: fieldwork-based training in sustainability science education

Kudo

Omi

Florentin

et al. 2021

IJSHE

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Purpose This paper aims to describe how a sustainability-focused program in higher education can provide training and key experiences for implementing transdisciplinary approaches. The case is a fieldwork-based training course called the Global Field Exercise (GFE) at the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science, The University of Tokyo. The GFE is a methodological training course that emphasizes generating locally relevant research questions on sustainability. Design/methodology/approach This research is a case study regarding how a sustainability science program can offer a fieldwork-based training course that focuses on a transdisciplinary approach. Five students from diverse academic disciplines and cultural backgrounds participated in the GFE in QwaQwa where they conducted semi-structured interviews with six local entrepreneurs to identify the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship. The authors investigated the learning process and outcomes of the students through participatory observation in preparatory meetings, daily reflection sessions during fieldwork and a content analysis of feedback reports. Findings Four learning outcomes of the students were suggested: the reexamination of assumptions, managing misunderstanding and miscommunication, mutual learning and being empathic toward the local people. Research limitations/implications This paper suggests three key opportunistic experiences for the transdisciplinary approach: discuss the normative dimension of sustainability; build intersubjectivity among team members and adopt methodological pluralism; and become empathetic to diverse stakeholder groups to facilitate the cogeneration of knowledge. Originality/value How to design training on a transdisciplinary approach in educational programs remains an area for further exploration. This study addresses this knowledge gap by establishing a link between sustainability education and sustainability in practice.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction: Developing Sustainability Science Education Programsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key experiences for the transdisciplinary approach: fieldwork-based training in sustainability science education

Kudo

Omi

Florentin

et al. 2021

IJSHE

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“…Field-based education or problem-based learning is commonly applied in environmental studies; it is a prominent way to provide training for students to acquire key competencies for sustainability research [21][22][23]. Graduate Program in Sustainability Science-Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI) of The University of Tokyo has offered a postgraduate program in sustainability science since 2012, and field-based education has been the core component of the program curriculum.…”

Section: Case Study: Field-based Exercise Of Transdisciplinary Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…GPSS-GLI started its Master's degree program in 2002, and later PhD degree program developed in 2005. Course participants are exposed to diverse topics in the locations where actual sustainability challenges exist; they learn the process to form research questions, design fieldwork activities, and formulate a workable project within the set time of the course [23]. The following section describes one of the GFE units conducted in Akita, Japan (hereafter GFE Akita) as a case study of how field-based course is organized as an exercise on transdisciplinary approach.…”

Section: Case Study: Field-based Exercise Of Transdisciplinary Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exercise on Transdisciplinarity: Lessons from a Field-Based Course on Rural Sustainability in an Aging Society

et al. 2018

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Sustainability science emerged as a new academic field to address complex sustainability challenges. To train sustainability experts, sustainability science programs and sustainability-focused courses are offered in higher education, especially at the graduate level. Given the diverse topics and the complex structures of sustainability challenges, what are the required knowledge and skills needed for sustainability experts? Although the earlier literature identified key features and competencies, empirical studies on how educational programs in sustainability science provide the necessary training are still scarce. This study addresses this gap by illustrating how a field-based course can contribute in developing core skills for fostering sustainability experts through a case study of field-based course called Global Field Exercise (GFE) in the Graduate Program in Sustainability Science-Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI) at The University of Tokyo. Literature review on the competencies in sustainability science suggests a three-way typology of descriptive-analytical skills, solution-oriented skills, and attitudinal skills. A group of students joined a GFE unit in Akita, Japan, and set "local food and place attachment" as the topic for their fieldwork. The participants conducted semi-structured interviews to three generational groups to illustrate the different perceptions of local food and places. The alternative mechanism of knowledge transmission across generations by local festivals and school events was found. The authors observed the implemented field-based course provided unique learning opportunities to acquire: (i) the ability to perform key competencies collectively instead of individually; (ii) an interdisciplinary-mindset to acknowledge multiple views to topics during group discussions among researchers; (iii) a transdisciplinary-mindset to communicate research outputs with local residents in a communicable way; (iv) the ability to be empathetic to people's experiences when addressing normative dimensions of sustainability. Although different sets of competencies and approaches for fostering sustainability experts have been studied widely, the field-based approach plays an important role in developing transdisciplinary, interpersonal, and normative competences.

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“…Natural hazards pose significant threats to the long-term sustainability of human settlements, as major events can overcome measures put in place to increase resilience, and can destroy the ability of socio-cultural systems to recover (Mino et al 2016). Thus, how to prepare and manage natural disasters are two crucial topics for sustainability scientists, given that the very essence of sustainability science is to examine the long-term links between human life, well-being, and the environmental systems on which they are based.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time-Scale in Framing Disaster Risk Reduction in Sustainability

Esteban

Yamamoto²,

Jamero

et al. 2019

Science for Sustainable Societies

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Disaster Risk Reduction is one of the most important topics in sustainability science, seeking to examine the vulnerability and resilience of human life and society to natural hazards through the reduction and management of risks. However, disasters are caused by many different types of natural hazard events that take place in exposed and vulnerable areas across time spans. The size of the area and times-scale of the impact can also differ greatly. Possible actions to improve preparedness, countermeasures, actors or stakeholders involved, and person(s) in charge of these measures vary depending on the type of disaster. This chapter describes two different types of coastal issues, namely tsunamis and sea level rise, and the types of countermeasures available to either Japanese coastal towns or small coral islands. How these issues are perceived and dealt with will then be discussed from the point of view of timescales , which affect the human perception of the problem.

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Philosophy of Field Methods in the GPSS-GLI Program: Dealing with Complexity to Achieve Resilience and Sustainable Societies

Cited by 8 publications

References 29 publications

Key experiences for the transdisciplinary approach: fieldwork-based training in sustainability science education

Key experiences for the transdisciplinary approach: fieldwork-based training in sustainability science education

Exercise on Transdisciplinarity: Lessons from a Field-Based Course on Rural Sustainability in an Aging Society

Time-Scale in Framing Disaster Risk Reduction in Sustainability

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