Abstract
This study aims at creating and validating an instrument to assess the level of mastery in sustainability competencies of freshmen students in business-related studies. To reach this goal, a questionnaire that captures the level of acquisition of the competencies in sustainability is provided. A three-step process has been followed to analyse the results gathered among first-year students in two Spanish universities. First, eight confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to verify the grouping of the dimensions included in the questionnaire, resulting in 10 competency units in sustainability (CU). Next, we averaged the values of the items included in each CU to facilitate interpretation and then calculated the skill gap; that is, the difference between the level that CU students are expected to achieve on graduation compared to the current level. Third, a series of ANOVA tests were run to investigate potential differences in the level of acquisition due to gender, prior training and educational background, which according to the literature might influence current student knowledge of sustainability. Our results reveal that freshmen enter university with a heterogeneous level of development, both in terms of breadth (different CUs) and depth (the extent to which each CU is developed). The original value of this work stems from the creation of an instrument which is expected to be applicable in a variety of contexts. Additionally, the information it provides assists us in the identification of the CUs that should be further emphasized at university level, and therefore helps professors to prioritise those teaching strategies targeted at overcoming this deficit.
Highlights
The competency units in sustainability (CU) in which students scored lower are those related to ethical and deontological aspects (CU8). Linked to their field of activity, and the methods and tools to estimate the economic viability of a project (CU5_v) with a skill gap of 51% and 52%, respectively
The highest skill gap is found in CU4, which refers to social impact indicators, where the gap is above 60%
Given that today’s students will in the future be responsible for making individual decisions about consumption and production, and some of whom might even influence collective decisions, it is very important to include the principles of sustainability in higher education, regardless of the field of expertise
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. No one questions the emergency planetary situation in which we find ourselves: global warming of the atmosphere, depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, unlimited growth with hyper-consumption in the face of extreme poverty and overpopulation in cities, etc. Resources are limited and humans are depleting the Earth’s natural capital at a dizzying rate. In the 1980s, the concept of sustainability and sustainable development emerged to highlight the situation and solve the difficulties facing the world today, which seriously threaten our future. Various international organisations and bilateral and multilateral agencies such as Official Development Assistance (ODA), the Organisation for Economic
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