This document summarizes a keynote presentation about transgressive learning for sustainability. It discusses how current systems promote unsustainability by default due to issues like complexity, inequality, and prioritization of economic growth. It argues education must help build capacities for sustainability like systems thinking, agency, and dealing with moral dilemmas. The presentation outlines areas for sustainability education including understanding change, boundary crossing, building transformative capacity, and utilizing diversity. It advocates pedagogies that question norms, promote disruption and innovation, and connect learning to real-world issues like the Sustainable Development Goals. The conclusion emphasizes taking a systems approach, utilizing diversity of perspectives, and moving beyond awareness to strengthen sustainability and disrupt unsustainable practices.

1. Arjen Wals
Keynote ESD-Future Milestones & Strategies, Copenhagen, October
12th, 2017
Learning against the grain:
transgressive learning for sustainability in
the Anthropocene

2. Outline
 Global Systemic Dysfunction & Unsustainability by
Default
 What does education have to do with it?
 Creating capacities and environments conducive to
sustainability – beyond adaptation
 Conclusions

3. PART I
Global Systemic Dysfunction & Unsustainability by Default

4. Source. The Guardian

7. Source: The Guardian

15. ‘Nomophobia’ & ICT-addiction

16. ICT-driven narcism & psychic numbing

17. ‘ We are drowning in information while
starving for wisdom’ E.O. Wilson, 1998, p. 300)

18.  Complexity and uncertainty
 Confusion, ambiguity, extinction of ‘truth,’ lack of
‘trust’ in science and in government
 Hyper-connectivity – erosion of meaning, short
attention spans – loss of ‘place’ – ‘viral nonsense’
 Dominant neo-liberal economic forces accelerate
inequity and material values that normalize and
breathe unsustainability
 Need for continuous learning in a ‘reflexive’ society
Wicked problems in unusual times...

19. PART II
What does education have to do with it?

20. Key challenge how to reduce our Ecological Footprint while maintaining a
good standard of living…

21. “While we marvel at Nasa’s discoveries, we destroy our
irreplaceable natural resources – so we can buy pre-
peeled bananas and smartphones for dogs”
George Monbiot,
The Guardian, 30-09-2015
“There may be flowing
water on Mars…
But is there intelligent life
on Earth?”

24. Key area’s for sustainability education,
learning and capacity-building
 Understanding change, complexity and transitions
 Boundary crossing, systems thinking and connectivism
 Building agency and transformative capacity
 Utilizing diversity, uncertainty and dissonance
 Dealing with values, ethics and moral dilemmas

25. Understanding Change, Complexity &
Transitions

26. Based on Kropff, 2012

27. Doing what we do better vs doing better things…
societal developments
transitionincremental
technologicaldevelopments
transitionincremental
GMO
closed-
cycle
design
blue
revolution
>food literacy
> resource
efficiency
< food
waste
circular
economy
protein
alternatives
food justice
metropolitan
agriculture
cradle-to-cradle
Adapted from Wageningen UR

28. Boundary crossing & seeing connections
Source: creative commons

29. Source: CDI, MSP-Guide,
Wageningen UR 2015

30. Building Agency and Transformative
Capacity

32. Frances Lappe
Smallplanet.org

33. Frances Lappe
Smallplanet.org

34. Creating Vital Coalitions Utilising Diversity

35. Participatory village Mapping (Male participants)
Source: Mathews Tsirizeni & Sosten Chiotha,
Malawi PGIS study

36. Participatory village mapping (Female participants)
Source: Mathews Tsirizeni & Sosten Chiotha,
Malawi PGIS study

38. Considering ethics

39. Becoming uncomfortable… together…

40. PART III
Creating capacities and environments conducive to
sustainability

41. Sustain”abilities”
Sustainability competence Examples of sustain’abilities’
Dynamics and content of
sustainability
• Sustainability literacy
• Systems thinking
• Adopting an integral view
• Learning to know
Critical dimension of
sustainability
• Questioning hegemony and routines,
• Analysing normativity
• Disruptiveness, transgression
• Learning to critique
Change and innovation
dimension of sustainability
• Leadership and entrepreneurship
• Unlocking creativity, utilizing diversity
• Appreciating chaos & complexity
• Adaptation, resilience
• Empowerment and collective change
• Learning to make change
Existential and normative
dimension of sustainability
Connecting with people, places and
other species
Passion, values and meaning-making
Moral positioning, considering ethics,
boundaries and limits
Learning to be, learning to care

42. Content
Resilience, Disruption,
Alternative Dev., SDG-
themes, Closed cycle
design, Cradle-to-
cradle, Place & identity
Content
Resilience, Disruption,
Alternative Dev., SDG-
themes, Closed cycle
design, Cradle-to-
cradle, Place & identity
Research
Professional
development,
Reflexive praxis
Civic science
Research
Professional
development,
Reflexive praxis
Civic science
Pedagogy &,learning
Systems thinking
Social learning
Transgressive learning
Values & ethics
Pedagogy &,learning
Systems thinking
Social learning
Transgressive learning
Values & ethics
Society
World of work, citizens and
governance
Operating within multi-
stakeholder environmentsSocietal impact
Society
World of work, citizens and
governance
Operating within multi-
stakeholder environmentsSocietal impact
Place-based
institutional
practices
Walking the talk:
experimenting with and
learning from
creating
sustainability on
location
Place-based
institutional
practices
Walking the talk:
experimenting with and
learning from
creating
sustainability on
location
FacilitatingFacilitating
responsive,responsive,
responsible &responsible &
reflexivereflexive
educationeducation
FacilitatingFacilitating
responsive,responsive,
responsible &responsible &
reflexivereflexive
educationeducation

46. Conclusions
 Look for boundary crossing opportunities, while also
connecting with ‘place’ ‘meaning’ and ‘identity’
 Adopt a systems approach – e.g. by linking with SDGs
 Utilize diversity and multiple perspectives – looking for
synergy but also for contestation and conflict
 Move beyond increasing awareness and understanding
 Ask: what am I/are we strengthening in society, what
am I/are we ignoring or weakening? What needs
sustaining? What needs disrupting?

47. Thank you for
listening!
Source: Banksy
Twitter: @arjenwals
Email: arjen.wals@wur.nl
Blog: www.transformativelearning.nl