Knowledge Management and Sustainability

A Human-Centered Perspective on Research and Practice

David Israel Contreras-Medina, Julia Pérez Bravo, Elia Socorro Díaz Nieto, David Israel Contreras-Medina, Julia Pérez Bravo, Elia Socorro Díaz Nieto

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000531190
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Sustainable Development
• Index: Economics

Based on the importance of human beings as creators and managers of knowledge towards the achievement of sustainability in the current digital age, this book is an effort to present many studies taking individuals as centers of knowledge and starting points for environmental, social, and economic development.

From various theoretical and empirical studies developed by researchers from Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil, this book presents, in an ordered sequence, the individual as the creator of knowledge, the role of human beings as knowledge managers with and for sustainability, the opportunities for knowledge sharing in virtual research collaborations for sustainability, and the advantages and disadvantages with and for sustainability from a human-centered perspective in the digital era. Moreover, this text describes the antecedents of competitive advantage in a sustainable cooperative network, knowledge management in technology projects, an empirical study of knowledge management of tutorial intervention, a model of processes and knowledge management to increase competitiveness, the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for managing sustainable practices, finishing with knowledge management trends with and for sustainability, from a human-centered perspective in the digital era.

Offering an innovative approach, this book seeks to expand the understanding of the theme of knowledge management and sustainability from the perspective of the human resource as a generator of knowledge. There is mounting focus on knowledge-intensive work and sustainable development in the corporate world. In light of these trends, this edited volume will be of value to researchers, academics, professionals, and advanced students in the fields of management, environment and sustainability, and development studies.

1The Individual as Creator of KnowledgeConstructivist Model in the University, a Theoretical Approach

Lidia Ramírez Lemus, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez Rodríguez and J. M. Barrón Adame

DOI: 10.4324/9781003227939-1

Introduction

The activities that human beings have carried out during their evolution to the present day have changed in a transcendental way, mainly at the end of the 20th century; there were drastic changes in the way we work and the way we communicate, especially for science and technologies. This has influenced the new learning methodologies in higher education as new dimensions in the age of knowledge.

Diverse and new university methodologies are in development, mainly in Latin America. The construction of knowledge at the University is increasingly challenging to achieve due to the new trends in education. Each day more complexity and diversity in variables are generated. This is derived from the decrease in enrollment; as well as equipment to be used, a variety of schools, both public and private, are creating thinking in the generation of new knowledge and implementation of tool methodologies based on competencies, which have been a practical focus for work in any organization, as well as the labor sector demanding it (Brunner, 2000).

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2014), integral education is for all life in a renewed society. It should be longed for due to the new challenges that knowledge management faces and the new paradigms for university education, with learning methodologies and applications in innovation (Calvopiña et al., 2017). For Albarracín and colleagues (2018), the University is considered as a new knowledge-generating institution to expand human knowledge and technology as a determining factor in scientific research. In this sense, this research has the purpose of highlighting the integration of learning teacher-student methodologies at the University and emphasizing some comparisons based on the model of constructivism as primary theoretical support, as well as the importance of Project-Based Learning (PBL), which has been one of the practical pedagogical tools in the classroom in the creation of this knowledge.

In this regard, to understand this research in a particular way, we begin with a short introduction establishing the importance of the contribution of the individual as a creator of knowledge. The following paragraph’s methodology emphasizes the philosophical, psychological argument; later in the development, a retrospective highlights the theoretical support. Finally, a conclusion is presented addressing the strategies used.

Methodology

In this research, the qualitative method of argumentative, philosophical, and documentary types was used, emphasizing the importance of creating knowledge, the maturity of knowledge management, the constructivist model as the main objective of this research, and its relationship with the methodologies of Project-Based Learning. Relevant research by some authors was taken as a basis, reaffirming the philosophical, social, and psychological conception of knowledge management and constructivism as a base model of educational science, as well as the methodologies used as project-based learning strategies, which seeks to create cooperative educational experiences to bring about personal and group change in practice. This is detached from the competency model in university education and as a secondary axis of a practical information in the age of knowledge.

Developing

Theoretical Arguments: The Creation and Management of Knowledge

The idea of knowledge in the history of humanity has been cataloged as the culmination of the development of the scientific method, which has been attributed a paradigmatic question, in which knowledge can be understood by the conformation of the subject and object; by nature, they are the very essence of this conception (Villalobos, 2013). To explain the creation of knowledge as the main idea, the subject’s experience is considered a determinant in the development of any organization or institution to search for directly improving a specific area; therefore, it is considered indivisible (Valhondo, 2003).

Hernández (2014) refers to the fact that:

[…] Knowledge has become one of the most important assets for organizations because its management adds value to its products or services and allows the development of technologies, methodologies, and strategies, which facilitates their insertion and consolidation in the market.

(p. 1)

As a starting point about the first contributions made about knowledge in organizations, Davenport (1994) mentioned the importance of knowledge and the distribution that emanates from it, as the user is given in organizations. Making a reflection regarding Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), knowledge and management is the personal belief of every individual, as a justified truth and as a changing process (Salvador, 2016). For example, some types of tacit knowledge make reference to how the experience skills, attitudes, and perceptions that each person possesses are obtained and applied to manage that knowledge; however, explicit knowledge is acquired by studies that have been done at school, from work with academics, researchers, students; this is the way results of high-quality academic products are obtained (Zebal et al., 2019). When fundamentals of Knowledge Management (KM) are set for Palacios and colleagues (2009), management is considered a tool generated integrally and going through certain principles, practices, and techniques focused on creating, converting, disseminating, and using one’s own knowledge. You have to understand the word management, which comes from the Latin manus (hand), and means the action and consequence of executing things from an operation or project with efficiency and speed (Manrique, 2016).

For the University, knowledge management is recognized as a social process that is both dynamic and continuous, where those involved intervene in the context and knowledge of the individual itself (Al-Zoubi, 2014). Thus, the management of knowledge is immersed in the work done at the University and in Superior Educational Institutions (SEI), which are international organizations that promote progress in its development (Henríquez, 2018). Also, on the other hand, it is considered that from the University, the Knowledge Management (KM) emerges towards a society linked to learning, research, the culture carried out by the institution (UNESCO, 2014; Cuadrado & Carrillo, 2016). Meanwhile, for Alzate and Gallego (2012), the management of knowledge is related to innovation, where the technological processes that lead to the use of resources almost one hundred percent are immersed; this favors efficiency and effectiveness of human capital, which is considered the most important factor generating value in organizations and building new approaches and learning methods.

Constructivism as a Model of Learning

On the other hand, educational policies in Mexico have been immersed, significantly influencing teachers who have been instructed differently, with psychological and pedagogical approaches that respond to new changes and are recommended by international organizations (Díaz-Barriga, 2002). Therefore, constructivism is considered by some as a new fashion predisposition (Mariño, 2002), which has boomed in recent years; some even consider themselves constructivists, according to Chadwick’s (2001) claim. Likewise, there are enriching proposals that argue that constructivism improves certain teaching practices in the teaching-learning process, according to Delval (2001). Thus, constructivism can be considered as an epistemological theory, since knowledge of the person can be built in a good way, the discipline itself in the areas of education, with mechanisms that reinforce plans and programs in the classroom, so that students can be instructed with practical techniques which can quickly be consolidated (Guerra, 2020). To highlight the constructivist structure, it was found that there are philosophical currents related to psychological constructivism. Serrano & Pons (2011) argue that there are several demonstrations of the psychological approach of how theoretical constructivism is sustained; as well, they show that any classification of constructivism is declared cognitively in Piaget’s psychological conception and genetic epistemology and in one case led to the social part that is inspired by Vygotsky’s postulations (Vargas & Acuña, 2020). Reaffirming these ideological proposals, we ask ourselves the question: What to teach? When and how to teach and evaluate? (Chadwick, 2001; Fernández, et al., 2010). Therefore, constructivism is conceptualized as a teacher-student learning model that prioritizes this acquisition of knowledge and in turn is formed over time, as stated by Bada & Olusegun (2015). This is how the university student is guided towards their academic training, through new applied skills to create new learning environments framed in creative thinking applied in real situations.

The New Competencies and the Project Based Learning Method ̶ PBLM

Today it is necessary to create new competitive advantages, supported by the accreditation of new relevant educational programs that respond to institutional demands and a challenging market. In agreement with Bueno (1998), the importance lies in the strategic model based on competencies. The intangible capital allows differentiating the essential competencies and sustaining a competitive advantage in the institutions (Pérez et al., 2016). There are certain ambiguities, as mentioned by Díaz (2006: 35); for this author, the most significant challenge that universities have is to create their educational proposal in a prescribed time, which leads the student to build their language without any limitation. However, talking about social studies should be given a boost to the teaching-learning students with improvements in interactive environments that promote diversity of pedagogical components, where logic, reasoning, and judgment are inserted towards more creative thinking (Mohammed & Kinyo, 2020). According to Kilpatrick ...