Inner sustainable development: How university teachers perceive the effects of embodied, experiential, relational learning methods of a training in Nature-inclusive education
Type of research: qualitative empirical
Description: In light of imminent ecological disaster, sustainability education is increasingly focusing not only on scientific knowledge but also on the needed inner transformation and personal development of learners. This ties in with a national and international search for ‘sustainable education’ (Wals et al., 2015), educational methods that foster responsible leadership, and the potential value of fostering nature-connectedness (i.e. Dutch program ‘Collectief Natuurinclusief’ on Nature-inclusive Education). The Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) at Wageningen University started a pilot series of teacher trainings in Nature-inclusive teaching methods, reaching 28 staff members between oktober 2024 and April 2025. The training consisted of 4 mornings, in which participants were onboarded in the use of teaching methods that approach the cognitive, physical, emotional, existential and action-oriented dimensions of teaching in and with nature. The course includes various ‘non-traditional’ learning methods that are experiential, embodied and relational in nature (Böhme et al. 2024), asking participants to step out of their comfort-zone to experience and reflect on their relationship with nature. This study explores the perceived effects of nature-inclusive teaching methods on the mindset of teaching staff, using the case study at Wageningen University in collaboration with NatuurCollege.
In this project, you will interview a selection of the teachers about their experiences with the training. The objective is to investigate how teachers perceive the effect of the training, specifically regarding their (affective) relationship to nature, their inclination to care for nature, their emotional skills in relation to environmental loss, and/or their worldviews and perspectives on nature, and which elements of the course may have contributed to that effect. In your thesis, you could focus for example on the role of emotions and worldview in transformative learning (Grund et al., 2024).
For more information on Nature-inclusive Education and the context of the project: http://wur.nl/en/project/enabls-living-lab.htm
Collectief Natuurinclusief: https://www.collectiefnatuurinclusief.nl/onderwijs
References
Böhme, J., Spreitzer, EM. & Wamsler, C. (2024). Conducting sustainability research in the anthropocene: toward a relational approach. Sustain Sci 19, 1169–1185. https://doi-org.ezproxy2.utwente.nl/10.1007/s11625-024-01510-9
Grund, J., Singer-Brodowski, M. & Büssing, A.G. Emotions and transformative learning for sustainability: a systematic review. Sustain Sci 19, 307–324 (2024). https://doi-org.ezproxy2.utwente.nl/10.1007/s11625-023-01439-5
Wals et al. (2015). Learning for walking the change. Eco-social innovation through sustainability-oriented higher education. In: Reams. Routledge Handbook of Higher Education for Sustainable Development.