Creating Sustainable Behaviour Change UWE Bristol (University of the West of England)

Overview

The Department of Geography and Environmental Management offers a portfolio of short courses that focus on the urgent challenges faced by organisations, communities and government in effecting sustainable change in individual behaviour, business practice and wider society.

The courses are suitable for professionals in existing sustainability roles who need to update their knowledge and skills, as well as career changers and recent graduates who are looking to build and differentiate their CV in the highly competitive sustainability sector.

Key Features

• This Creating Sustainable Behaviour Change course at the UWE Bristol (University of the West of England) explores the nature of human behaviour within the context of the promotion of environmentally sustainable, low carbon and healthy behaviour. 

• The historical context of the term 'behaviour change' will be examined in terms of changing political relationships between the individual, the state and civil society. 

• A range of different theoretical approaches to understanding behaviour will be studied and evaluated within the context of the promotion of a range of sustainable, pro-social and pro-environmental behaviours.

• A range of case studies and examples of government tools and strategies for promoting behaviour change will be critically examined.

By the end of the module the student should be able to:

• Critically discuss the philosophical, ethical and ideological underpinnings of current discourse on behaviour change.
• Critically discuss a range of theoretical approaches to understanding the drivers for human behaviour, including economic, psychological and sociological approaches.
• Critically discuss and evaluate a range of behaviour change models, interventions and policy-based initiatives applied to issues of sustainability, and develop implications for policy, practice and research.
• Make critical use of relevant theoretical frameworks and concepts in the planning and implementation of behaviour change interventions.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how behaviour change interventions can be evaluated and measured.