Lenses on the post-oil economy: integrating entrepreneurship into sustainability education through problem-based learning. Issue 3 (27th May 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hermann, Roberto Rivas; Bossle, Marilia Bonzanini; Amaral, Marcelo
• Is Part Of: Educational action research. Volume 30:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: 480
• Page End: 506
• Publication Date: 2022-05-27
• Subjects: Sustainability education -- entrepreneurship education -- problem-based learning -- action research -- higher education -- interdisciplinarity; Action research in education -- Periodicals; 370.72
• DOI: 10.1080/09650792.2020.1823239
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0965-0792

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In the context of enormous global challenges such as climate change, poverty, and the unequal distribution of wealth, sustainability education within higher education has gained momentum as a tool to train a new generation of change agents. Previous research has examined the relationship between sustainability education and entrepreneurship education. There is however a knowledge gap regarding course development strategies that can integrate entrepreneurship competencies into sustainability education. Following a classroom action research (AR) approach, we developed a three-week graduate course aimed at an interdisciplinary cohort of students in the social sciences from partner universities in Brazil and Norway. The course integrated a problem-based learning (PBL) framework. Working in groups of four to five members, the students provided business solutions framed in a post-oil development context. The results indicate tension points in the integration of the learning principles of PBL along the different phases of PBL, namely during the group formation and problem analysis phases. To tackle these tensions, we suggest early group formation and integrate formative feedback and progressive problem analysis. Our framework contributes to the debate on competence-based frameworks within the sustainability education literature. The framework can also serve as an inspiration for course designers in higher education.