Developing Capacities to Lead Change for Sustainability: A Quasi-Experimental Study of Simulation-Based Learning

Abstract

Education for sustainability should be capable of developing citizens with the mindset and skills to meet the complex sustainability challenges faced in the 21st century. Although educators have advocated for the use of simulations and serious games in education for sustainability, there is need for experimental research that tests the effects of these active learning methods on learner knowledge, skills, and attitudes. This empirical study aimed to fill this gap by examining the effectiveness of the Leading Change for Sustainability—Business, an online computer simulation that challenges learners to transform a company’s capacity to achieve a triple bottom-line of sustainability goals. This article reports the results of a quasi-experimental study that was designed to assess change in knowledge and attitudes of 87 students studying in a Master of Management program in Thailand. The research found that learning with the Leading Change for Sustainability—Business simulation resulted in large, significant change in knowledge of sustainability and change management concepts, as well as in the sustainability mindset of students. The successful use of this simulation in a “fully online instructional environment” not only offers support for the use of this simulation in educating for sustainability, but also for the broader potential of simulations in online learning during the post-COVID-19 era.