Title: Contours of Contemporary Research: Perspectives Across Disciplines
Chief Editors: Dr. S. Durga, Dr. S. Sathyapriya, and Dr. V. A. Jane
ISBN: 978-81-17787-25-0
Chapter: 11
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59646/880/11
Authors: Dr. Abraham S, Dr. M. Devanathan, and Rajasekar M
Abstract
The interconnected challenges of climate change, ecological degradation, social inequality and technological disruption require higher education institutions to reconsider their contribution to sustainable development. Conventional sustainability education, largely centred on environmental awareness and resource efficiency, is increasingly insufficient to cultivate the competencies necessary for systemic transformation. This conceptual chapter advances Regenerative Higher Education (RHE) as an educational orientation that extends beyond mitigating adverse impacts towards strengthening ecological resilience, social wellbeing and institutional responsibility. It proposes the Regenerative Education Transformation Framework (RETF), integrating transformative learning, sustainability competencies, institutional culture and regenerative agency. The framework conceptualises learner development as a progression from sustainability awareness and literacy to systems thinking, transformative learning, competencies, regenerative agency and responsible action. Educational leadership, educator capability, digital innovation and stakeholder engagement constitute enabling institutional conditions. The chapter further positions universities as living learning ecosystems in which curriculum, research, governance, campus operations and community partnerships collectively support sustainability transformation. Its principal theoretical contribution is the conceptualisation of regenerative agency as a mechanism connecting sustainability competencies with transformative action. Implications for institutional practice, educational policy and future empirical research are discussed.
Keywords: Sustainability competencies, transformative learning and education for sustainable development.