Rethinking Education for Sustainability in Management Education

Abstract

Education for sustainable development (ESD) initially emerged around the 1990s, and it has opened the possibility to re-think areas such as management education. Although the original purpose of inclusiveness and creativity has been gradually replaced by metrics, while keeping the idea of “development as growth” largely unquestioned, drawing upon the work of organisational researchers like Heather Hopfl, this chapter presents a critique of the evolution of ESD in the UK revealing a rationale that transforms guiding principles into metrics, emphasising “efficiency” over “care.” The researchers relate to the principles of humanistic management, in its consideration of social value generation linked to financial success. The authors propose to enhance the notion of “values” by revisiting the concept of “virtues,” particularly in the consideration of sustainability. Finally, the authors draw upon interest in aesthetics and praxis to propose an “aesthetic education for sustainability,” as a critical and purposeful approach of questioning and imagining hopeful ways of living and learning.