James Ayers

James Ayers is a University Lecturer at the Department of Strategic Sustainable Development within the Faculty of Engineering at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) in Karlskrona, Sweden. His academic work centers on sustainability leadership education and transformative learning processes within higher education contexts.

Dr. Ayers specializes in research areas including Sustainability Leadership, Education for Sustainable Development, Transformative Learning, and Strategic Sustainable Development. His scholarship examines how educational design can cultivate leaders capable of addressing complex sustainability challenges, with particular focus on intrapersonal capacities that enable effective leadership in sustainability transitions.

His recent publications reveal a consistent focus on understanding transformational learning processes within sustainability leadership education, particularly examining the Master's in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability program at BTH. His work identifies essential components of transformative learning including community, place, pedagogy, concepts and content, disorientation, and hope and agency.

Dr. Ayers has contributed significantly to understanding the 'inner dimension' of sustainability work, identifying eight key intrapersonal capacities that change agents describe as beneficial: the ability to Hold complexity, Foster a learner's mindset, Deeply value others, Let be, Show up as one's full self, Regulate and manage the self, Persist with lightness, and Ensure one's wellbeing.

His methodological approaches include qualitative action research, surveys, interviews, content analysis, and thematic analysis. He has collaborated extensively with colleagues including Merlina Missimer and Jayne Bryant on sustainability education research.