Biographical Learning in the Context of Sustainability Transitions: Conceptual Reflections and Methodological Insights

Elisa Thevenot

doi:10.4312/as/19722

Authors

Elisa Thevenot University of Tübingen, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/as/19722

Keywords:

biographical learning, sustainability education, life course narratives, sustainability transitions, adult learning

Abstract

Sustainability education often aims to empower individuals to help lead society toward more environmentally and socially responsible ways of living. This paper offers an alternative approach to addressing the challenges of adult learning in sustainability transitions. Rather than learning for sustainability, the processes of learning from sustainability discourses are explored. The paper provides conceptual and methodological insights into using a biographical approach to advance research in adult education and social change. Two empirical examples are provided to illustrate how individuals reframe sustainability and turn it from a public concern to a personal one, thereby developing a sense of agency. The concept of biographical learning is central, as it suggests that narrating and reflecting on one’s life trajectory in the broader context of sustainability discourses can facilitate learning to understand, address, and remain an actor of one’s own life in these times of rapid social change.

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