The project, which was led by Research and Development Manager for The Group, Dr Mahruf Shohel, focused on involving students as the co-creators of a sustainability curriculum for the Bedford College Group with the intention of making it available to other educational institutions.
Working with three other colleagues, students and teachers worked together to develop a Level 4 undergraduate module outline to provide knowledge, skills and tools to better understand climate change, social justice and sustainability. Through a collaborative effort, the students and teachers developed an introductory module titled ‘Introduction to climate change, social justice, and sustainability’.
As a result of this work, Dr Mahruf Shohel was invited to write a blog on the research project to feature in the highly prestigious ‘The BERA Bites’ series which presents selected articles from the BERA Blog on key topics in education to serve as teaching and learning resources for students and professionals in education.”
Dr Shohel said: “To have our work featured by The BERA is an absolute privilege and demonstrates the impact The Bedford College Group is making in the research field and the impact on sustainability education. The research outcomes offer invaluable insights into student engagement and involvement in curriculum development. The Bedford College Group envisions the integration of climate change education and sustainable development across its diverse education and training programmes.”
The research project was made possible following the award of the BERA BCF Curriculum Investigation Grant. The BERA’s biennial awards are much sought after across the UK and Mahruf and colleagues won the substantial sum based on the Group’s existing commitment to sustainability issues across the board.
Dr Shohel added: “It is a priority to make research, innovation and growth an integral part of activities for all teaching staff across The Group. To achieve the strategic objectives of The Group, an R & D strategy will be embedded in a way that creates a research-informed, teaching-focused, community-oriented, leading educational institution.”
Before joining The Bedford College Group, Dr Shohel previously worked in research, teaching and development roles in several universities including Cambridge, Manchester, Sussex, Glasgow, Leicester, Sunderland, Aberystwyth, the Open University and Bucks New University, as well as development organisations including UNICEF.
The featured blog can be found here: BERA Bites, issue 12: Education and the environment | BERA