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Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the concept of repair as a foundational element for achieving sustainability within the context of large-scale and long-term socio-technical systems change, with a particular focus on the role of the education system.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the concept of repair as a foundational element for achieving sustainability within the context of large-scale and long-term socio-technical systems change, with a particular focus on the role of the education system. In this context, sustainability can be understood as a nascent surge of development and the inception of a second deep transtition, after the industrial revolution (Schot and Kanger, 2018). In the development of the sustainability surge, which encompasses, among others, a shift to renewables, decentralised generation of energy, design for circularity, decarbonise, internalise environmental costs, and view humanity as part of nature (Mathews, 2013; Kanger et al., 2023), we acknowledge the need to address the enduring impacts of previous surges and the imperative of reparative action from both a decolonial and human development perspective (Mbembe, 2016).

Central to our inquiry is the exploration of transformative spaces facilitated by education, particularly within higher education institutions (Walker, 2024). We argue that building pathways towards reparative futures necessitates critically examining and overhauling education as a socio-technical system that has underlying patterns, routines, values, ways of doing and seeing the world, or rules (Geels, 2004). We focus on the higher education system in particular and explore how knowledge production, the editorial industry, the cultural and aspirational values of families and students, the way the system is regulated and incentivised, and education as a market product have contributed to maintaining unequal and unfair power structures. This involves not only reimagining the rules and structures of the system but also envisioning a future where sustainability (encompassing social, economic, and environmental dimensions) is fully integrated.

The research question driving this paper is: How can we envision a sustainable world cultivated through reparative and transformative educational spaces? To address this question, we draw upon theoretical frameworks, including deep transitions, human development and the capability approach, and mainly upon Walker’s (2024) framework of futures and reparation in education spaces using the Sustainable Futures and Universities in South Africa as a case study. We look at different expressions of sustainability through the transitions normative lenses, using the multi-level perspective (MLP) as a way of understanding long-term processes and also as a guidance for actionable pathways (Geels, 2002). By exploring the implications of building desirable sustainable futures, we aim to propose actionable strategies through reparative and transformative educational practices.

Ultimately, this paper seeks to contribute to ongoing conversations within the field of sustainability by offering a nuanced exploration of the interplay between education, reparative action, and transformative change.