Applying Systems Approach to Educational-Organizational Change : Improvement of an Interdisciplinary Program, Masters in Sustainable Development

Abstract: After the introduction of the term,  sustainable development, a variety of  academicians from different disciplines tried to conceptualize it in their own way, drawing on these views, many different degrees but with similar titles have been established in many universities all around the world. Masters  program in  Sustainable Development  (MSD) at Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is one the most recent ones. Before starting this study, it was investigated that the expectations of the different actors in this program are not fulfilled completely. Presence of many different ideas and perspectives in addition to the high number of actors involved in the situation made the situation too complex to be fixed easily. Therefore, the Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), as an appropriate approach for improving complex problematic situations,  is  used to reform the organization of  the  MSD in coming years. The process of identifying the  challenges of this program and then  improving some of them in  practice  are described in this thesis. Alongside the  action phase, the applications of Systems Approach in transformation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) are explored.  It is investigated that three levels of learning, i.e. basic, meta-  and epistemic learning, and accordingly three levels of organizational change, i.e. the first, second and third order, need to be recognized, if an ESD program is to be different from the unsustainable trends of education.