Transdisciplinary collaborations for sustainability education: Institutional and intragroup challenges and opportunities

Abstract

This article takes as its point of departure the many converging crises of sustainability and the responsibility of higher education institutions and faculty members to participate in mitigating these crises to any extent possible. The author characterizes sustainability education as transdisciplinary praxis, explores the institutional and interpersonal barriers to transdisciplinary faculty collaboration, and suggests rationales and strategies for overcoming these barriers. In order to lay a foundation for discussing transdisciplinary collaborations, the author also explores the concepts of sustainability, transdisciplinarity, and praxis. She concludes that, because disciplinary and other traditional power structures within higher education tend to inhibit transdisciplinary collaboration and engagement in sustainability praxis, such work is most likely to be successful when it meets with visionary sustainability leadership practiced by upper administration.