The Wiley Handbook of Sustainability in Higher Education Learning and Teaching

Working toward a more sustainable future needs action, and a holistic approach, engaging head, heart, and hands. It needs action which is underpinned by understanding, critical thinking, reflection, and inclusion, and allows students to drive change in their own areas of interest. A traditional knowledge‐based education does not give students the experience of taking action and applying their knowledge and thinking skills to driving change in the real world. Therefore, it is imperative that our universities provide spaces for students to take action and to become activist learners and provide the motivation and skills to both drive change, but to also reflect and learn. This requires the development of “activist learning for sustainability” opportunities within the formal, non‐formal/informal, and hidden curricula, that can provide an exciting and innovative approach to meeting the aspirations of a range of agendas within higher education and empower our learners to drive the change they want to see in the world.

We would like to acknowledge the support and discussions around the project with Dr. Sophie Bessant and Dr. Sherilyn MacGregor, the student interviewees, and all the students involved in the project through the years, and to thank the Higher Education for funding to support the project.

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