University of Twente Student Theses

Login

The potential of transformative learning in achieving sustainable leadership through the development of a sustainability mindset

Gewitsch, Fenja (2022) The potential of transformative learning in achieving sustainable leadership through the development of a sustainability mindset.

[img] PDF
995kB
Abstract:This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of how educational methods have to be designed in order to promote sustainability leadership, a requirement for achieving the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals. The study focuses on the educational method of transformative learning and its effect on the mindset of people in shared leadership positions. This study is characterized as mixed method research whose strategy is the investigation between variables to understand the learning evolution of the study participants in regard to the development of a sustainability mindset. A case study in a small German enterprise has been conducted for that purpose. The research has a pragmatic approach that explores data through literature analysis, qualitative content analysis and by using statistical methods to detect possible belief patterns in the analyzed data volume, based on primary data sourced from questionnaires that validated the degree of sustainability mindset before and after the transformative learning experiment. The data show an impact of education in developing a new mindset for sustainability leadership as there is a variation in the participants' average of how much they feel affected by climate change and how high their perceived responsibility to act sustainably towards others is. The data suggest that participation in a transformative learning experiment helps increase conscientiousness and awareness of climate change. Further research with a greater sample is required to test the authored hypothesis and proof its generalizability.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:88 social and public administration, 89 political science
Programme:European Studies MSc (69303)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/92450
Export this item as:BibTeX
EndNote
HTML Citation
Reference Manager

 

Repository Staff Only: item control page