796
H. L. Koh and S. Y. Teh
4.1 Developing SLO-Based Competences
As a centre of higher learning that connects community together, university has an
important and vital role in equipping students and educators with SLO-based competences and capability to critically reflect on and creatively respond to the complexities
and uncertainties of the future (Mader and Mader 2012; Ryan and Tilbury 2013). To
educate and engage the public on the means and tasks to mitigate and adapt to these
complexities and uncertainties is a key responsibility of a university. The goal is to
produce future communities that are SLO-driven with the motivations and capability
to balance the three pillars of sustainability i.e. viable economic growth with inclusive social development and continuing ecological vitality. Yet, the implementation
of SLO-led education at the institutional level remains a daunting challenge (Hill
and Wang 2018).
A lack of convincing and compelling theoretical framework for understanding sustainability challenges has led to a myriad of categorizations for SHE competences
and capability that are elastic and blurry (De Kraker et al. 2007), and has created
barrier to effective curriculum and pedagogy development. HEIs may define competences and capability as a loose combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes, attributes,
ethics and values, in an ad hoc manner. This ad hoc formulation of sustainability
competences may impede development of curriculum and pedagogy appropriate for
sustainability-focused programs. To overcome this shortcoming, SLO-based competences and capability (SCC) deemed essential for SHE should be clearly defined
as a compulsory part of a university SHE missions statements.
5 SLO-Based Competences and Capability
Koh and Teh (2019a) developed a simple and pragmatic framework to characterize
three SLO-based competences and capability: Skills, Spirituality, Strategy critically
needed to address the challenges confronting the three sustainability pillars consisting of the environment, the society, and the economics. “Skills” include higher
order skills such as critical system analysis, holistic decision making and effective
communication. “Spirituality” seeks to cultivate the respect for the spirituality of
human-nature relationship. “Strategy” empowers the capability to engage diverse
stakeholders across multiple disciplines in knowledge co-creation, systems transformation and problem resolution, through transdisciplinary and holistic approaches.
Illustrative examples will be provided in later sections to demonstrate how these three
SCC were needed and involved in several ENR projects undertaken by the authors.
To extend this utilization of the three SCC in overcoming the true sustainability
challenge will need further efforts. Cultivating spirituality in SHE will facilitate the
creation of an inclusive society that values nature and that respects equitable distribution of wealth and responsibility between the current and future generations.
H. L. Koh and S. Y. Teh
4.1 Developing SLO-Based Competences
As a centre of higher learning that connects community together, university has an
important and vital role in equipping students and educators with SLO-based competences and capability to critically reflect on and creatively respond to the complexities
and uncertainties of the future (Mader and Mader 2012; Ryan and Tilbury 2013). To
educate and engage the public on the means and tasks to mitigate and adapt to these
complexities and uncertainties is a key responsibility of a university. The goal is to
produce future communities that are SLO-driven with the motivations and capability
to balance the three pillars of sustainability i.e. viable economic growth with inclusive social development and continuing ecological vitality. Yet, the implementation
of SLO-led education at the institutional level remains a daunting challenge (Hill
and Wang 2018).
A lack of convincing and compelling theoretical framework for understanding sustainability challenges has led to a myriad of categorizations for SHE competences
and capability that are elastic and blurry (De Kraker et al. 2007), and has created
barrier to effective curriculum and pedagogy development. HEIs may define competences and capability as a loose combination of knowledge, skills, attitudes, attributes,
ethics and values, in an ad hoc manner. This ad hoc formulation of sustainability
competences may impede development of curriculum and pedagogy appropriate for
sustainability-focused programs. To overcome this shortcoming, SLO-based competences and capability (SCC) deemed essential for SHE should be clearly defined
as a compulsory part of a university SHE missions statements.
5 SLO-Based Competences and Capability
Koh and Teh (2019a) developed a simple and pragmatic framework to characterize
three SLO-based competences and capability: Skills, Spirituality, Strategy critically
needed to address the challenges confronting the three sustainability pillars consisting of the environment, the society, and the economics. “Skills” include higher
order skills such as critical system analysis, holistic decision making and effective
communication. “Spirituality” seeks to cultivate the respect for the spirituality of
human-nature relationship. “Strategy” empowers the capability to engage diverse
stakeholders across multiple disciplines in knowledge co-creation, systems transformation and problem resolution, through transdisciplinary and holistic approaches.
Illustrative examples will be provided in later sections to demonstrate how these three
SCC were needed and involved in several ENR projects undertaken by the authors.
To extend this utilization of the three SCC in overcoming the true sustainability
challenge will need further efforts. Cultivating spirituality in SHE will facilitate the
creation of an inclusive society that values nature and that respects equitable distribution of wealth and responsibility between the current and future generations.