Business Education Teacher Training

and the pursuit for the triple bottom

line ideals – are we taking our eyes off

the ball?

SIEC-ISBE Conference 2013

Dr Carina America

Overview

• Teacher Education Requirements – South Africa (SA)

• Business Education in SA schools• Background• Curriculum aspects

• Literature Perspectives• Rationale for the study• Methodology• Summary of findings• The way forward

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Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education (RSA, 2011)

DISCIPLINARY LEARNING – subject matter

SITUATIONAL LEARNING – context, schools, districts,

regionsPRACTICAL LEARNING – teaching practice

FUNDAMENTAL LEARNING – 2nd official language

PEDAGOGICALLEARNING – how to teach – curriculum, assessment, learners, etc

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Business Education in South Africa (schools)

GET-PHASE – grades 7 to 9

Economic & Management Sciences (EMS) - compulsory

FET-PHASE – grades 10 to 12

Accounting - elective

Economics - elective

Business Studies - elective

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TOPICS AND SUBTOPICS (DBE, 2011)THE ECONOMY (30%)1. History of money2. Needs and wants3. Goods and services4. Inequality and poverty5. The production process6. Government7. The National Budget8. Standard of living9. Markets10. Economic systems11. The circular flow12. Price theory13. Trade unions

FINANCIAL LITERACY (40%)1. Savings2. Budgets3. Income and expenditure4. Accounting concepts5. Accounting cycle6. Source documents7. Financial management

and keeping records

ENTREPRENEURSHIP (30%)1. Entrepreneurship skills

and knowledge2. Businesses3. Factors of production4. Forms of ownership5. Sectors of economy6. Levels and functions of

management7. Functions of a business8. Business plan

Economic & Management Sciences (EMS)Senior Phase

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SUBJECTS AND TOPICSECONOMICS

Macroeconomics (25%)

Microeconomics (25%)

Economic pursuits (25%)

Contemporary economic issues (25%)

ACCOUNTING

Financial Accounting (50-60%)

Managerial Accounting(20-25%)

Managing resources(20-25%)

BUSINESS STUDIES

Business Environments (25%)

Business Venture (25%)

Business Roles (25%)

Business Operation (25%)

BUSINESS EDUCATION - FET-PHASE

Triple Bottom line orientation• Triple bottom line (TBL)

• Economic sustainability alone not sufficient (orthodox management theory), i.e. Single bottom line

• Three dimensions to triple-bottom-line (Elkington, 1997)• Integrating short-term and long-term aspects • managing economic capital, natural capital and social capital (Kuchertz

and Wagner, 2010; Dyllick and Hockerts, 2002, Rogers & Ryan, 2001)

• Types of capital within the TBL (Dyllick and Hockerts, 2002)• Economic capital – Economically sustainable companies • Natural capital – Ecologically sustainable companies• Social capital – Socially sustainable companies

• Accountability beyond corporate annual reports and bottom lines – sustainable consumption and production (SCP) (UNEP, 2011)• Eco-efficiency in producing competitively prices goods (OECD, 2012)• Minimising use of natural resources and toxic materials• Life cycle of products / supply chain

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ESD / EfS)

• ESD/EfS prioritises the changing of mindsets and an active engagement of the learner in matters relating to a more sustainable future.

• Great significance to mainstream in schools (Summers & Childs, 2007; Walshe, 2008; Frith & Winter, 2007)

• Multisectorial approach to ESD (Fien, 2004:94)

• EfS refers to a more holistic approach to sustainability(Bently, Fien and Neil, 2004:57)

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

• The subject-matter knowledge: corporate sustainability

• “Do teachers possess the knowledge and understanding to teach effectively in the new domain of ESD” (Summers, Corney and Childs, 2004:164)

• LEARNING VIRTUES FOR SUSTAINABILITY (Foster, 2011):

• “How” the TBL matters

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LEARNING VIRTUES FOR SUSTAINABILITY (Foster, 2005, 2008, 2011; Sterling, 2004):

1. Critical self-awareness• First order learning - adaptive learning• Second order learning - examine assumptions• Third order learning – leads to transformative

perspective shift

2. Exploratory-creative commitment • robust persistence in exploring and testing

frameworks of assumptions

3. Robust tolerance for uncertainty • positively valuing and welcoming the uncertainty

and open-endedness • intuition to move forward • new sense take shape and shape the ‘us’ • collective social intelligence

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Rationale for this study• Challenges : BE teacher training in South Africa

• Not uniform teacher training for HEI institutions• Diversity in schools• Subject matter content knowledge of teachers are varied• Progression of EMS education to FET-band

• Complexity of integration of curriculum constructs • Pedagogical components of EfS absent in teacher

education(Tilbury, et al, 2005)

• Relevance of TBL orientation in Business Education at school level

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Reseach Methodology

• A case study design strategy• Content analysis• Purposive sample • Qualitative framework

• Research question: How do BE pre-service teachers conceptualize TBL?

• Three approaches1. Reflection on video - Video about how human

consumption impacts the earth and, in it, the stages in which materials are processed from beginning to end (cf. Leonard, 2007; Nowak, Hate, Lindholm and Strausser, 2011)• Students to reflect on the supply chain from

extraction to disposal of used products.

2. Focus group discussion – did you find the video convincing?• Do you think differently about consumption?

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Reseach Methodology - continued

3. CURRICULUM ANALYSIS

• As a student BE teacher, do you have EfS as part of your teacher education curriculum? If yes, which areas of the curriculum?

• Do you think that EfS/ESD/SE is relevant in BE in the senior phase. Why / Why not?

• Suggest at least two practical steps how you as a BE teacher would introduce SE in BE education.

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SAMPLE

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CASE STUDENTS REGISTERED FOR BE SPECIALIST AREA

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS

CONTENT Profile

A 58 44 In Education faculty Previously advantaged – now a merged HEI

B 17 14 1st and 2nd year in EMS faculty

3rd and 4th year focus is on methodology in Education faculty

Previously disadvantaged;

C

22 22 In Education faculty Previously advantaged

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

LEARNING VIRTUES - capacity for critical understanding - infrequent Critical self-awareness: Examples from cases“Factories attributes to pollution … we’re unaware that it is

making us sick”“Shop, shop, shop … buying new or unwanted stuff”

“Too much junk are being manufactured and the manner in which to get rid of it can be harmful to the environment”

“It has affected the way I think in a sense that it is true that the products we consume do not last for such a long time and the market changes products and come out with new things over and over”

“yes, I have never really thought about the different processes a product has to go through and the lives affected by it”15

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (continued)

LEARNING VIRTUE: Exploratory-creative commitment

“Yes, I will think twice now before buying products which may contain toxins”

“Yes, it made me realize that I am part of the problem and should start to think before I buy stuff”

“not exactly because some of us are aware of the government’s “hand” in it and we lost hope, if we all unite we can change it”

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (continued)

LEARNING VIRTUE: Robust tolerance for uncertainty

“Yes, I have had these thoughts before, but the tasks seems too enormous for me to handle alone”

“Yes, it is convincing, but her tape is too light-hearted. The viewer listens, but I was not fully swayed to her point of view”

“She does make you aware that the process is not flawless, but looking at it from an American standpoint her arguments are not well motivated”

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (continued)

THE BUSINESS EDUCATION CURRICULUM – diverse reactions• Economic systems/Entrepreneurship?• Depth and breadth of curriculum concepts – exploratory-creative

commitment?

“It would be a great advantage to have a facet where sustainability can be implemented in our curriculum”

RELEVANCE OF EfS IN BE – overall view EfS very relevant

“Yes, it encourages to be responsible citizens. Sustainability education is not isolated in one area but in all areas. Also help learners to learn social responsibility”

“In EMS the foundation of production and business is laid and it is essential for learners to come to the realization that resources are limited and (they) need to be responsible to ensure a sustainable future”

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS (continued)

PRACTICAL APPLICATION – examples from cases• Environmentally friendly projects – collages

• Awareness using technology – internet, web-course management systems

• Market day reconceptualized – environmentally friendly products

• Excursions to factories – carbon footprint

• Debates about consumerism, consumer behavior, lifestyle choices.

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Conclusion: 3BL matters – how?

• Learning virtues for sustainability

• TBL orientation integral in BE teacher training curriculum content – beyond accounting TBL

• Contemporary issues – e.g. fracking debate, case studies, etc.

• EfS-BE-SYNTHESIS

• Collaboration with other Bus Ed teacher training institutions20

Thank you

References

Bently,, M., Fien , J and Neil, C. 2004. Sustainable Consumption: Young Australians as agents of change. Final Report: National Youth Affairs Research Scheme (NYARS)

Department of Basic Education (DBE), 2011. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) – Economic and Management Sciences. Final. Pretoria, South Africa.

Dyllick and Hockerts, 2002, Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability. Business Strategy and the Environment. 11:130-141.

Elkington, J. 1997.Cannibals with forks: The TBL of 21st century business. Oxford, Capstone.Fien, J. 2004. Education for the environment. Critical Curriculum Theorising and

Environmental Education. In W. W. Scott and S. Gough (Eds.). Key issues in sustainable development and learning: a critical review. London and New York: Routledge Falmer.

Frith, R. and Winter, C. 2007. Construction education for sustainable development: The Secondary Geography curriculum and initial teacher training. Environmental Education Research , 13(5):599-619

Foster, J. 2005. Options, sustainability policy and the spontaneous order. In J. Foster and S. Gough (eds), Learning , natural capital and sustainable development: options for an uncertain world. London Routledge, 111-131

Foster, J. 2008. The Sustainability Mirage: Illusion and Reality in the Coming War on Climate Change;. Earthscan: London, UK,

Foster, J. 2011. Sustainability and the learning virtures. Journal of Curriculum Studies. 43(3):383-402

Sterling, S. 2004. The Learning of ecology, or the ecology of learning? In W. Scott and S. Gough (Eds.). Key issues in sustainable development and learning: a critical review. London and New York: Routledge Falmer.

Seuring, S. And Műller, M. 2008. From a literature review to a conceptual framework for sustainable supply chain management. Journal of Cleaner Production. 16(2008):1699-1710.

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References (cont.)

Tilbury, D., Stevenson, R.B., Fien, J. and Schreuder, D. 2002. Education and Sustainability: Responding to Global Challenge. Commission on Education and Communication, IUCN. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). 2002. Policies to Promote Sustainable Consumption: An Overview. ENV/EPOC/WPNEP (2001)18/FINAL. OECD, Paris.

Kaufman, L. 2009. A cautionary video about America’s ‘Stuff’. Online: The New York Times. http://www. nytimes.com/2009/05/11/education/11stuff.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print Accessed:

13 March 2011Kuchertz, A. and Wagner, M. 2010;. The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions – Investigating the role of business experience. Journal of Business Venturing, 24:524-539Leonard, A.2007. The story of stuff: How our obsession with stuff is trashing the planet, our

communities, and our health – and a vision for change. New York, NY: Free Press.Republic of South Africa (RSA), 2011. The minimum requirements for Teacher Education.

Government Gazette, vol. 55 no 34467.Rogers, M. and Ryan, R. 2001. The triple bottom line for sustainability community development.

Local Environment. 6(3):279-289.Scott, W. A. H. and Gough, S. R., 2010. Sustainability, learning and capability: exploring questions of

balance. Sustainability, 2(12):3735-3746.Summers, M. and Childs, A. 2007. Student science teachers’ conceptions of sustainable

development: an empirical study of three postgraduate training cohorts. Research in Science & Technological Education, 25(3):307-327.

UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), 2011. Global Outlook on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) – Taking action together.

Walshe, N. 2008. Understanding students’ conceptions of sustainability. Environmental Education Reaearch. 14(5):537-558.

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