Attitudes towards Green Economy Concerns among Higher Education Students in Oman

Abstract

Across the world, people are highly concerned with environmental matters, while worries about risks and threats continue. In recent decades, environmental concerns have drawn more international and national attention, particularly, the green economy, an area of environmental awareness that aims to reduce environmental risks and ecological scarcities, fostering sustainable development without degrading the environment. The present study investigated green economy awareness among the higher education students in Oman in general and Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in particular to assess their knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding the green economy. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire that was delivered to all students of the nine university colleges. The descriptive data analysis revealed that most respondents were aware of the concept of the green economy. While general knowledge and awareness about the concept were generally satisfactory, there were still some misconceptions and a lack of knowledge about some other themes. Statistical tools such as the Chi-square test, WAS and factor analysis were used to analyse any differences in the perception of male and female respondents as well as college background and majors.