Teaching and Learning Sustainability during and beyond COVID-19: A Review of Business and Management Studies

Abstract

This review article explores how teaching and learning approaches to sustainability in higher education need to be transformed to suit the Business and Management Studies context in Sri Lanka. This is imperative in light of the unprecedented demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a recent proliferation of programs on sustainability in higher education, current teaching and learning approaches do not adequately address the scale of sustainability issues, especially during and beyond the pandemic. The article draws on a semi-systematic literature review on teaching and learning sustainability in Business and Management Studies. It highlights five broad themes that emerged: (1) the necessity for a broader understanding of sustainability, (2) sustainability in the Sri Lankan context, (3) current teaching and learning approaches to sustainability, (4) the need for a transformation, and (5) challenges posed by the pandemic. It argues that a critical skill set amongst students incorporating reflexivity, critique, problem-solving, and social action/engagement, and an attitudinal change that incorporates a holistic/integrated and multi-level approach to teaching and learning sustainability are prerequisites.