Perceptions Of Sustainable Development Research Articles

Perspectives of the administration of Greek universities regarding the adoption of sustainability practices

PurposeThis study aims to the perceptions of the administration of Greek universities on sustainable development and the role of the administration in the implementation of corresponding practices. Specifically, it examines management’s perception and contribution to sustainable development and assesses the sustainability initiatives taking place in universities and the factors that influence their implementation. The obstacles and motivations in the implementation of these actions are also investigated.Design/methodology/approachFor the empirical analysis, a survey was conducted during the period March–June 2022, addressing questionnaires to 12 rectors or vice rectors dealing with the sustainability of the respective 12 Greek universities. Secondary data about their sustainability practices were also collected from the institutions’ official Web pages.FindingsThe results show that management’s perception of sustainable development mainly concerns the conservation of resources for future generations and the balancing of the economy. Moreover, the findings indicate that universities play a significant role in achieving sustainability by contributing to the educational process, conducting research and serving as a model of sustainability for both the educational community and society as a whole. Financial and institutional barriers are characterized as the most important obstacles for adopting sustainability practices. The most popular motives to promote sustainability issues are financial support of universities, in addition to the governmental support of the leadership and, in particular, of the rectorate authorities.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first conducted among the Greek universities that focuses on administration’s viewpoint and contributes to the international dialogue on the implementation of sustainability by higher education institutions. The results provide preliminary evidence of top management responses to endorse sustainability activities at the higher education institutes in the broader area of Eastern Europe.

Students’ Perception of Sustainable Development in Higher Education in Saudi Arabia

The role of higher education institutions in laying the foundations of sustainable development is undeniable. As the principal educators of tomorrow’s leaders, such institutions can tremendously contribute to implementing and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Many studies highlighted the significance of the students’ awareness and the level of their active engagement as crucial elements in achieving the desired results. Therefore, measuring such awareness and its effect on their daily life and behavior is fundamental in implementing the SDGs. The current study employs an online survey to explore the awareness level of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Saudi universities. SPSS will be utilized to generate the statistical results of the study. The importance of this study stems from the scarcity of research in the field, especially in Saudi higher education institutions. The current research fills in a significant gap at the national level as it provides future researchers and higher education leaders with the much-needed data to prepare strategic plans for future enhancement of the application of the SDGs. It will also propose a set of practical strategies that can be advanced to augment Saudi students’ awareness of the SDGs and their possible application in their daily lives and practices.

The new ecological paradigm and attitudes towards sustainable business practices – a Mexican case study

This study investigates the impact of teaching programmes on perceptions of sustainable development among students. The researchers argue that existing educational programmes must provide a comprehensive approach to mitigating collapse risk. To address this issue, the study developed a teaching programme to be delivered by experienced educators and experts, consisting of lectures, seminars, exercises, research projects, and related activities. The programme aimed to raise awareness of sustainable development and deepen understanding of the complexity of the subject. The results showed that the teaching programme increased students' appreciation of the importance of complexity and the non-linear impacts of Black Swans in the sustainability discourse without changing their adherence to the New Ecological Paradigm. The study highlights the need for education to enable students to deal with problems characterised by complexity, uncertainty, and low probability, as well as high-impact events that pose a non-linear threat to sustainable development.

지역사회 문제 해결 서비스러닝 경험이 지속가능발전 인식에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to analyze how the experience of local problem-solving service learning, which was operated as part of education for sustainable development, affects university students' perception of sustainable development and to suggest an effective way of Education for Sustainable Development. In order to show changes in knowledge, attitude, and behavior about sustainable development the paired t-test was applied targeting 41 students. As a result, only the behavioral level showed a statistically significant difference, but knowledge, attitude, and behavioral levels all improved. In addition, the level of awareness on sustainable development was higher in the active type than in the proposal type. Also, it was found that interests and affection for the region, volition to solve the social problems, confidence for pro-social behavior were formed in the process of solving problems.

INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ON UNDERGRADUATES’ PERCEPTIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The obvious environmental, social and economic crises across the globe are a reminder of the need for environmental education in institutions of higher learning to provide undergraduates with the competence to live sustainably and promote the quality of life for both present and future generations. The study examined the influence of environmental education on undergraduates’ perception of sustainable development. The study adopted the descriptive research design of the survey type. The population of the study comprised all the 2,892 undergraduates in 2017/2018-2020/2021 academic sessions in the Science Education Department, Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. The sample for this study was 120 undergraduates from the Department who were purposively selected for the study. The instrument used for the study was a questionnaire. The instrument was validated by experts in the Faculty of Education, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti. The reliability coefficient was determined using test-retest and a coefficient of 0.88 was obtained. Frequency counts, percentages and mean were used to answer the research questions while the inferential statistics involving Pearson Product Moment Correlation were used to test the hypothesis at a 0.05 level of significance. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that environmental education should be made compulsory for all students due to its potential to inculcate in students, environmental literacy for environmental quality and decision-making process to encourage a healthy society and sustainable future, and should be included in the curriculum in order to promote sustainable development. It was also recommended that parents should endeavour to inculcate moral values in their children for hard work, respect for nature, human diversity and gender equity so as to promote sustainable development in any environment they find themselves. It was also recommended that the university authorities need to embrace and intensify the learning of environmental education towards giving undergraduates the requisite environmental, social and economic literacy that promotes sustainable development.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0056/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Is the future sustainable? Analysis of Generation Z’s social awareness of sustainable development in Poland

Abstract Nowadays, the pace of social and economic development is constantly growing, which has led to many negative effects. In order to stop this negative impact, reference should be made to the assumptions of sustainable development (SD), and young people – Generation Z – should be considered its main promoters. The main objective of this article is to present Generation Z’s perception of sustainable development in Poland. A Computer-assisted web interviewing survey (CAWI, N=1172) was conducted to understand the basic demographics, general issues, SD in a daily context, and SD-related knowledge in 936 cities of Poland. The results have shown that Generation Z in Poland recognises the social and inclusive role of SD. Cost of commodities, social disparities and conflict, and disrupted economic growth were identified as the emerging challenges for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Polish cities.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability of Corporate Performance

A firm has a prospect to surge its assistance for the social order in an interchange of improved repute and development in industry, which finally hints at sturdy fiscal functioning and high productivity. Corporate sustainability is resultant from the perception of sustainable development. It fundamentally mentions toward the part, which corporations can show in gathering the schema of sustainable expansion and necessitates a steady line to financial development, societal evolution, and ecological stewardship. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India emphasizes on anything that ended with returns after they are completed. On the other side, sustainability concerns factoring the societal and ecological influences of directing industry, that is, how revenues are created. Henceforth, ample of the Indian exercise of CSR occurs as a significant constituent of sustainability or accountable industry, which is a greater clue, a statistic obvious from numerous sustainability contexts. The readings on the relationship between CSR and Sustainability by means of monetary functioning include fundamentally two types. The first practices procedure of studying the events to measure the short-run monetary effect (abnormal returns) when organizations involve in their publicly accountable or negligent deeds. The second observes the association among the certain degree of corporate social functioning and variables of long-term financial functioning by using accounting or financial measures of profitability. The objectives of the report are to analyse the impression of CSR proposals of a company on its financial performance, its net profit, and total resources (assets). The data study is done with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software and statistical tools such as correlation and regression are used. The correlation coefficient (a value between −1 and +1) states how sturdily two variables are associated with each other. The regression analysis is a statistical procedure used to estimate the consequences of independent variables on a particular dependent variable. After the analysis, it can be concluded that the CSR is positively correlated with the firm’s PAT (profit after tax) and firm’s total resources (assets) and since the significance value is less than 5% in both the cases of regression (CSR with PAT; PAT and CSR with total assets), therefore it is concluded that CSR acts as a major factor and certain additional factors are also answerable for the transformations in the PAT: profit after tax and total assets of the company.

A corpus-assisted discourse study of Chinese university students' perceptions of sustainability.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) in the higher education context plays a critical role in advancing the cause of sustainable development. However, previous research on university students' perceptions of sustainable development is limited. This study used a corpus-assisted eco-linguistic approach to investigate students' perceptions of sustainability issues and responsible actors to address these issues. This quantitative and qualitative study is based on a corpus of 501 collaborative essays on sustainability written by ~2,000 Chinese university students collected with their permission. The results show that the students had a comprehensive perception of the three dimensions of sustainable development. Environmental issues have received the most attention from students, followed by economic and social issues. With regard to perceived actors, students were inclined to view themselves as active participants in the cause of sustainable development, rather than as observers. They called for coordinated action of all relevant parties, such as the government, business sectors, institutions, and individuals. On the other hand, the author also noticed a tendency toward superficial green talk and anthropocentrism in students' discourse. This study aims to contribute to sustainability education by integrating findings into English as a foreign language (EFL) classes. Implications for sustainability education in the context of higher education are also discussed.

An Analysis of College students' Satisfaction and Effectiveness of Metaverse-Based Plastic-Free Education Program for Sustainable Development: Focusing on Class Immersion and Perception of Sustainable Development

목적 본 연구는 대학생을 대상으로 메타버스 기반의 교육활동에 대한 만족도를 살펴보고, 실제 메타버스 기반 탈 플라스틱 교육 프로그램이 대학생의 수업몰입 증진과 지속가능발전에 대한 인식 개선에 효과가 있는지를 확인하는데 목적이 있다. 이와 더불어 메타버스 기반 탈플라스틱 교육 프로그램 참여에 따른 반응을 함께 살펴보았다. 방법 본 연구의 목적을 달성하기 위해 B광역시 D대학에 재학 중인 대학생 28명을 대상으로 프로그램에 대한 만족도와 효과성을 살펴보기 위한 설문조사와 포커스 그룹 인터뷰를 실시하였다. 자료처리 및 분석을 위해 빈도분석과 대응표본 t-test, 그리고 내용분석을 실시하였다. 결과 첫째, 메타버스 기반 탈플라스틱 교육 프로그램에 대한 만족도가 높은 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 메타버스 기반 탈플라스틱 교육 프로그램은 대학생의 수업몰입 증진과 지속가능발전에 대한 인식 개선에 효과가 있는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 메타버스 기반 탈플라스틱 교육 프로그램은 대학생의 환경에 대한 인식에 변화를 야기하는 것으로 나타났다. 결론 이러한 결과는 지속가능발전을 위한 메타버스 기반 탈플라스틱 교육 프로그램이 대학생의 환경에 대한 인식뿐만 아니라, 수업몰입과 지속가능발전에 대한 인식 개선에도 기여할 수 있음을 시사한다.

Sustainable Development as a Driver for Customer Experience

The concept of sustainable development (SD) has become widely accepted among nations, organisations, and individuals. Recent quantitative and conceptual models have indicated relations between stakeholder perspectives of SD, brand image, and customer satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to estimate a Sustainable Development Index (SDI) as an easy applicable survey item which is used to estimate customer perceptions. By applying a PLS path model, comprising of the EPSI models variables and the suggested items of SDI, this study evaluates relationships between aspects of customer experience and customers’ perception of SD. The estimated score of SDI is further analysed as an approximate measure of universal SD items applied in the literature. As such, the study contributes to the research community by further integrating customer perception of SD in frameworks measuring customer experience. The study data comprises cross-sectional multi-industrial customer perception data, consisting of 606 final respondents. The results show empirical support of the constructed index relation as an approximate measure of universal SD items and as a driving aspect of the customer experience.

PERSEPSI DAN MINAT MANAJEMEN CU TERHADAP PEMBANGUNAN BERKELANJUTAN DAN PELAPORAN BERKELANJUTAN

This study aims to analyze the perceptions of Credit Union (CU) managers regarding sustainable development and interest in sustainable reporting. Respondents were asked to answer the questionnaire personally via google form. The SPSS output which became the focal point included descriptive statistical data, perception frequency and management interest. The results of the study indicate that CU management has a very good perception of sustainable development and sustainable reporting. In addition, CU management also has a high enough interest in implementing sustainable reporting. CU management has a good perception of the triple bottom line concept: profit, people, and planet and is interested in implementing sustainable reporting because it is an embodiment of CU's main value, namely love. The triple bottom line is strategically in line with CU's vision of economic, social and environmental vision and CU's management has implemented it in governance and activities through their work programs and annual budgets.

Higher education students' perceptions of sustainable development in Portugal

Higher education institutions play an increasingly important role in advancing sustainable development. Various studies have demonstrated the key contribution made by teachers to achieving sustainable development. However, few works have addressed students' perceptions in this regard and given that the students of today will be the main influencers and decision-makers of the future, a greater understanding of their beliefs and attitudes towards sustainable development should be gleaned. The aim of this research is to analyse the perceptions of sustainable development held by students at Portuguese public higher education institutions. To this end, a descriptive and exploratory study was conducted by administering an online questionnaire. The sample is made up of 1257 students from different Portuguese public higher education institutions (68.6% women; average age 24.96 years). The results show that although the students recognise the importance of sustainable development and most of them have already heard about the sustainable development goals (16% never heard about them), they believe that the higher education institutions could and should give more training on this matter. Most students state that they would accept a lower salary from a company with a good social and environmental performance in some circumstances. The majority also have pro-sustainability habits and behaviours. Most of the students are concerned about climate change, most speak of some reusing, reducing and recycling practices, but fewer students contribute to sustainable development by participating in activities (e.g., environmental or community volunteering) organised by environmental organisations or the higher education institution. Differences in the behaviours and habits related to sustainability were observed between the students of different genders, ages and scientific areas. The results further present four clusters of students regarding their perception of sustainable development and related practices. The largest cluster (about 45%) includes students who are more concerned about climate change, actively contribute to sustainable development with reuse, reduction and recycling practices, and participate in organised activities to promote the protection of the environment or society. The smallest cluster (about 8%) includes students who are still sceptical about climate change and therefore adopt less environmentally friendly practices. Five years after the publication of the sustainable development goals, students feel that sustainability is starting to be integrated in education. However, the impact on their behaviours and attitudes remains moderate.

Nurses´ and nurse managers´ perceptions of sustainable development in perioperative work: A qualitative study.

To describe how nurses and nurse managers consider sustainable development principles in their daily work, how well they recognise these principles and how these principles are considered in decision-making in perioperative work. Sustainable development involves interpersonal social and cultural relations and long-term economic and ecological thinking in societal decision-making. These dimensions are well-suited for a foundation of decision-making in acute health care. No previous research has been performed on perioperative work from the sustainable development perspective. Qualitative descriptive design was used.Data were collected from perioperative nurses (n=20) and nurse managers (n=6) working in five surgical departments in a Finnish university hospital. Data were analysed by content analysis. The reporting follows qualitative research checklist (COREQ). The principles of sustainable development were poorly known among the participants. Nurse managers considered their opportunities to influence decision-making were reduced by their limited economic knowledge. Resource use, individuality, and ecological viewpoints were emphasised in the decision-making process in perioperative work. Findings reveal that perioperative nurses and nurse managers are aware of economic and ecological sustainability, but they do not actively consider it as part of their work. Social and cultural sustainability must be developed further in decision-making in perioperative work. Perioperative nurses and nurse managers consider that it is important to develop the principles of sustainable development in perioperative work. This research indicates that economic understanding is not guiding decision-making, and there is a lack of knowledge about the benefits of ecological procedures. Social and cultural sustainability are not connected in perioperative work, although there is collaboration between the surgical team and the patient is essential. This study helps to organise operating room management effectively and diversely.

Student Teachers' Change Agency in Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract Previous research shows that teachers are key players in supporting agency in the face of the biggest global challenges of our time, such as climate change and pollution, as teachers educate societies' future decision-makers. The aim of this study was to analyze student teachers' perceptions of change agency and sustainable development. In this qualitative case study, the writings of student teachers (n = 116) were studied in the context of sustainable development education. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings of the research confirmed previous studies showing that student teachers' perceptions of sustainable development were quite narrow. The results indicated that the student teachers wrote mainly about social dimensions of sustainable development; few of them considered economic or environmental dimensions of sustainable development. The results provided new information about the current state of student teachers' perceptions of change agency in the teacher education context. Teacher education should focus more on a holistic view of sustainable development aspects. These findings might be useful in implementing teacher education curricula.

Survey-Based Qualitative Analysis of Young Generation Perception of Sustainable Development in Poland

Abstract Understanding the perception of Sustainable Development can help to identify misconceptions surrounding the concept in order to design better education plans and public policies on this subject. Evaluating the perception of sustainability issues by focusing on the young generation as is an important proxy to imagine what the future holds for in terms of addressing sustainable development. We conducted 177 in-person interviews on a heterogeneous group of students and random volunteers in four cities in Poland to assess their perception of Sustainable Development. The vast majority (89.3%) of the respondents were familiar with the term ‘Sustainable Development’. However, part of them (57%) associated it only to the human and social development dimensions and its institutions, whereas 17.5% related it with its environmental aspects. The results supported by the literature review highlight challenges concerning the path towards a comprehensive perception of Sustainable Development and hence the achievement of the SDGs. Based on these results, we identify opportunities and incentives to bring Poland towards 2030 Agenda.

Sustainable Development in Agriculture and its Antecedents, Barriers and Consequences – An Exploratory Study

This study aims to understand Brazilian family farmers’ perception of sustainable development in agriculture, its antecedents, barriers and consequences. To do so, qualitative, exploratory research was adopted, interviewing 23 farmers. For data collection, an interview script was elaborated followed by content analysis. The results showed that farmers perceived sustainable development in agriculture from 25 definitions. The study identified 19 antecedents of sustainability in agriculture; 20 barriers hindering sustainable development in agriculture; and 14 consequences of more sustainable agriculture. This research contributes to in-depth reflection about the meaning of sustainable development in agriculture, associated with its antecedents, barriers and consequences for agriculture. The results reinforce that conceptualizing and understanding what sustainable development is, is a process and this concept can vary from one context to another. This study aimed specifically to examine Brazilian family farming from the perspective of sustainability.

Perception of Sustainable Development in a Local World Heritage Perspective

Many frameworks, theories and tools exist to help operationalize and comprehend the concepts of sustainable development and sustainability. However, knowledge about how the concepts are perceived at a local level is scarce. The objective of this paper is therefore to gain such insight and, through this, to contribute to the understanding of local sustainability dynamics. A study of perceptions of sustainability was carried out in Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Natural World Heritage Site in Western Norway. Using semi-structured interviews, stakeholders were asked about their perceptions of what sustainable development in Geirangerfjord entails. Several methods of analysis were used, namely, theme analysis, emergent pattern analysis and group comparisons. Furthermore, an approach we call the “What Is Not There (WINT) analysis” was developed to identify themes that are part of the sustainability discourse, but that were not mentioned by stakeholders. Among the results of the analysis are that social dimensions of sustainability dominated the perceptions of stakeholders. Stakeholder perceptions are furthermore context-dependent and are formed by sustainability issues that are close to people’s lives. The study also indicates that place of residence is a strong determinant of perceptions. In this way, the article adds to the existing literature on perceptions of sustainability.

School Leadership for Sustainable Development: A Scoping Review

Sustainable development within educational institutions encompasses an array of objectives as outlined in Agenda 21 (United Nations [UN], 1992). We recognize in this paper that there are cognate terminologies in the field of sustainable development: Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), Education for Sustainability (EfS), Development Education (DE), and Sustainability Education (SE). As stated in the Education for Sustainable Development toolkit (McKeown, 2002), ESD is the terminology most often employed within UN documents; hence, we also employ ESD because it is the term utilized by UNESCO and at the international level. Thus, we avoid the many debates about these terminologies in this paper. 
 
 The fundamental interest of this review is to assess the current status of school leadership for sustainable development in the K-12 context. With the help of a scoping review, three literature databases were combed to achieve this purpose. The findings reveal school leaders’ perceptions of sustainable development as well as their motives for engaging in ESD. Our analysis indicates that school leaders vaguely understand the term ‘sustainable development,’ and they interpret ESD from the lens of the environment and society. Thus, the economy component of ESD may be de-emphasized in implementation efforts.

KEBERLANJUTAN USAHATANI BAWANG MERAH DESA SUNGAI GERINGGING KECAMATAN KAMPAR KIRI KABUPATEN KAMPAR PROVINSI RIAU

ABSTRACT
 
 The way farmers assess the perception of the sustainability of shallot farming will help the government to implement it at the farm level. This research aims to analyze the characteristics of shallot farmers, the perception of farmers on sustainable agriculture, and the relationship between the characteristics of onion farmers with the perception of sustainable development. The location was selected purposively with a reason that Geringging River Village is the initial place for planting shallots in Kampar District which was conducted by 40 farmers. Data were analyzed statistically using a Likert and Chi-Square scale. The results showed that the characteristics of the farmers are productive age, low education level, 2.3 years of farming experience, and the number of dependents of 5 families. The farmers had access to extension workers so that sources of knowledge about sustainable agriculture are obtained from extension staffs. In the economic dimension, the important variables actively cultivate shallot farming and use the high quality of red onion seeds. In the social dimension, there are 6 variables that have very important categories. While the environmental dimension is only variable using proper irrigation water is considered very important. The level of education and sources of knowledge about agriculture had a significant relation to farmers' perceptions of sustainable agriculture. This indicated that sustainable agriculture requires a sufficient level of education, adequate knowledge and a clear source of knowledge.

Localizing the SDGs through tailored-based training solutions targeting students and academics

This paper focuses on understanding, education, and knowledge gaps on topics related to sustainable development such as urban metabolism, responsible use of natural resources, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This work is part of a broader study that aims at disseminating education on topics at all level of societies, including minority groups such as children, elderly, persons with disabilities, students and academics, women, LGBTI+, and homeless and refugees. The current study tackles students and academics specifically and illustrates the relationship between cultural background (country and continent of origin) and perceptions of sustainable development and politics at the local level. For this analysis, data were analysed and collected at the Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy) using structured interviews and survey questionnaires. Findings provide a deeper understanding of students and academic sensitivities of SDGs and local political system spatial patterns by continent across the world.