Leading change for sustainability in schools: designing a computer simulation for Vietnam context

Abstract

The challenge to educate the next generation of citizens for sustainable development requires educators to develop and use new active learning approaches that impact the knowledge skills and attitudes of learners. This thesis presents a comprehensive research and development project aimed at redesigning and adapting the Leading Change for Sustainability – Business (LCS-B) simulation for use in the Vietnamese educational context. The thesis is comprised of four related research that describe the redesign process and outcome. Chapter 2 consisted of a bibliometric review of research on education for sustainable development (ESD) in K-12 schools. While this systematic review identified a growing literature on education for sustainable development, it was noted that the literature has been dominated by contributions from Western developed nations where sustainability problems and solutions may differ from those encountered in developing societies. The review also highlighted a tendency for scholars in this literature to emphasize commentary and critique and a need for more empirical research on teaching and learning methods on sustainability issues. In Chapter 3, the researcher used an integrative review method to analyze the whole-school approach to sustainability. This review analyzed conceptual models and practices employed in whole school approaches to educating for sustainability in four different countries. This review yielded actionable principles that could be used to inform the whole school approach to ESD in the new Leading Change for Sustainability in Schools simulation. Chapter 4 presents the comprehensive research and development (R&D) approach that was used to create the new simulation. This R&D process consisted of eight steps, covering review and planning, design, testing, evaluation, and dissemination. The redesign of the existing business simulation required two significant adaptations. In the first step, the existing simulation needed to be redesigned to reconceptualize the implementation of sustainability from a business organization to that of a K-12 school system. In the second step, the new K-12 schools simulation was culturally adapted in order to make it applicable to educators in Vietnam. The result was a new culturally-adapted, Leading Change for Sustainability in Schools-Vietnam computer simulation presented in the Vietnamese language. The description of the R&D project presented in Chapter 4 includes student perception data drawn from a mixed methods study of a training intervention conducted with 32 graduate students in a Master's degree program in educational administration in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The mixed data supported the viability of the new simulation and also offered recommendations for revision of the simulation and teaching approach used with it. Chapter 5 was comprised of a quasi-experimental, mixed-method research study of the efficacy of the LCSS-V simulation for use with K-12 educators, teachers, and administrators in Vietnam. The study evaluated change in learners' knowledge of change management for sustainability, attitudes towards sustainability, and skill performance resulting from a four-week learning module built around the LCSS-V simulation. The results demonstrated significant improvement in learners' outcomes after using the LCSS-V simulation, providing evidence of its effectiveness. This study also contributes to the literature on simulation-based learning and teaching for sustainability, offering an innovative and effective teaching method for educators in Vietnam. It is worth noting that the LCSS-V simulation was designed to address specific challenges for sustainability in the Vietnamese educational context.