Sharing Good Examples, Then What? : Investigations of Contingency and Continuity in the Scaling-of-ESD-Activities-as-Learning

This thesis aims to contribute to a deepened and nuanced understanding of scaling in environmental and sustainability education (ESE) research, specifically, to develop a conceptual framework for engaging with issues of scaling in policy and practice regarding education for sustainable development (ESD). Three research objectives are formulated. The first objective is to develop analytical methods drawing on transactional learning theory for conducting empirical investigations of meaning making concerning educational content in scaling processes. This objective is achieved through an iterative participatory research process including, scaling researchers and practitioners, resulting in the development of the conceptual framework of Scaling-ESD-Activities-as-Learning (SEAL). The second objective of the thesis is to examine how workshop participants’ experiences and agency create conditions for the scaling of educational content in ESE. The objective is achieved through analysis of written reflections from scaling practitioners, reports on scaling ESD-activities and participatory research workshop discussions. The third objective is to investigate how educational content interplay with environments, such as natural and social environments, when scaling educational activities in ESE. This objective is achieved through analysis of the initial stages of scaling an ESD-activity and analysis of ESD-activities that have progressed to later stages of scaling. Four studies address the three research objectives: in three of the studies, empirical data was generated through participatory research workshops in Sweden, South Africa and Ecuador (Paper I, II, IV), while in one study empirical data was generated through a case study of an ESD-course in Southern Africa (Paper III). Drawing for its theoretical foundation on John Dewey’s transactional approach to learning, the thesis emphasises the importance of considering experience and aspects of contingency and continuity in learning processes. The results of the thesis show that approaching the scaling of ESD-activities as learning enables the identification of conditions for scaling that is characterised by deep and meaningful improvement of practice, sustainability over time along with the ability to evolve when faced with changing circumstances. The thesis contributes to ESE research with temporal perspectives on the scaling of ESD-activities, i.e. by considering contingency and continuity in the scaling process, maintaining the relevance of ESD-activities over time and through changing circumstances. Furthermore, by considering multiple, on the face disparate, scaling efforts as part of the same scaling event, the thesis highlight how each iteration of scaling an ESD-activity can constitute learning opportunities for further developing the activity at hand