Full Description
Universities continue to expand, bringing considerable debate about their purposes and relationship to the world. In The Ecological University, Ronald Barnett argues that universities are short of their potential and responsibilities in an ever-changing and challenging environment.
This book centres on the idea that the expansion of higher education has opened new spaces and possibilities. The university is interconnected with a number of ecosystems: knowledge, social institutions, persons, the economy, learning, culture and the natural environment. These seven ecosystems of the university are all fragile and in order to advance and develop them universities need to engage with each one.
By looking at matters such as the challenges of learning, professional life and research and inquiry, this book outlines just what it could mean for higher education institutions to understand and realize themselves as exemplars of the ecological university. With bold and original insights and practical principles for development, this radical and transformative book is essential reading for university leaders and administrators, academics, students, and all interested in the future of the university.
Contents
Introduction: The coming of the ecological university Part 1: The idea of the ecological Chapter 1: The idea of ecology Chapter 2: Assembling the pieces Chapter 3: Beyond sustainability Chapter 4: Seven ecosystems Interlude: A Social Ecology of the University Part 2: The ecological university Chapter 5: The eco-university: Principles and maxims Chapter 6: Ecological inquiry Chapter 7: Beyond liquid learning to the ecological learner Chapter 8: Sightings of an ecological curriculum Chapter 9: Towards an ecological professionalism Chapter 10: Engaging the world Part 3: Ecological Audit Chapter 11: The idea of the ecological university: An audit Chapter 12: A university for the whole Earth Coda: A revolution in the offing
