Designing Principles for Regenerative Higher Education in Times of Sustainability Transitions

Summary

This thesis explores how higher education ought to be (re)designed to connect with transitional challenges that unfold all around our institutions with the intention of redirecting destructive systemic pathways towards more (re)generative ones. This thesis shows that meaningful engagement in such challenges provides an appropriate educational response in times of climate crisis. The research also unveils that the main resistances that may get in the way of regenerative education exist primarily within the hearts and minds of educators. In the end the thesis proposes a set of eight design principles that can help educators transform their teaching in ways that will enable students to be more meaningfully connected to making the world a more just and sustainable place.