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How Does Sustainability Become Professionally Relevant? Exploring the Role of Sustainability Conceptions in First Year Students

Author

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  • Anna Sundermann

    (Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany)

  • Daniel Fischer

    (Institute for Environmental and Sustainability Communication, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany
    School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA)

Abstract

One of the main objectives of higher education for sustainable development is to nurture holistic conceptions of sustainability in students, so that they can use sustainability as an approach to analyze and solve complex problems in their future professional fields. Existing studies have shown that students differ substantially in how relevant they consider the concept of sustainable development to their future careers. Previous studies have identified socio-demographic characteristics, disciplinary background and past experiences with sustainability education as potential influencing factors. To date, the relationships between one’s own “understanding” of sustainability (sustainability conception) and the importance students attach to sustainability has hardly been investigated. This case study offers a first systematic examination of how the perceived professional relevance of sustainability is influenced by different individual characteristics and sustainability conceptions. Based on data from a recent survey of n = 1364 first year undergraduate students from 14 different major subjects, our findings indicate that in addition to the previously reported individual characteristics like sex and academic affiliation, sociocultural sustainability conceptions are an important influential factor for the perceived importance of sustainability for their professional contexts. However, the regression analysis shows that the model based on predictors found in the literature lacks incremental power. This paper unveils that further research is needed on the underlying factors that explain the strength of perceived relevance of sustainability in students and that these influences need to be taken more into account in curriculum development.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Sundermann & Daniel Fischer, 2019. "How Does Sustainability Become Professionally Relevant? Exploring the Role of Sustainability Conceptions in First Year Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:19:p:5155-:d:269048
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daniel Fischer & Franziska Haucke & Anna Sundermann, 2017. "What Does the Media Mean by ‘Sustainability’ or ‘Sustainable Development’? an Empirical Analysis of Sustainability Terminology in German Newspapers Over Two Decades," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(6), pages 610-624, November.
    2. Anna Reid & Peter Petocz & Paul Taylor, 2009. "Business Students’ Conceptions of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 1(3), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Robinson, John, 2004. "Squaring the circle? Some thoughts on the idea of sustainable development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 369-384, April.
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    5. Rodrigo Lozano & Michelle Y. Merrill & Kaisu Sammalisto & Kim Ceulemans & Francisco J. Lozano, 2017. "Connecting Competences and Pedagogical Approaches for Sustainable Development in Higher Education: A Literature Review and Framework Proposal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-15, October.
    6. Heather Elliott & Tarah Wright, 2018. "Canadian Student Leaders’ Conceptualizations of Sustainability and Sustainable Universities," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 12(2), pages 103-119, September.
    7. Beate Littig & Erich Griessler, 2005. "Social sustainability: a catchword between political pragmatism and social theory," International Journal of Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(1/2), pages 65-79.
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    1. Rocío Valderrama-Hernández & Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & Lucía Alcántara Rubio & Dolores Limón-Domínguez, 2019. "Methodology to Analyze the Effectiveness of ESD in a Higher Degree in Education. A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, December.
    2. Maura A. E. Pilotti & Runna Al Ghazo, 2020. "Sustainable Education Starts in the Classroom," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-13, November.
    3. Anna Oberrauch & Helga Mayr & Ivan Nikitin & Tanja Bügler & Thorsten Kosler & Christian Vollmer, 2021. "“I Wanted a Profession That Makes a Difference”—An Online Survey of First-Year Students’ Study Choice Motives and Sustainability-Related Attributes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-28, July.
    4. María Consuelo Sáiz-Manzanares & Sara Gutiérrez-González & Ángel Rodríguez & Lourdes Alameda Cuenca-Romero & Verónica Calderón & Miguel Ángel Queiruga-Dios, 2020. "Systematic Review on Inclusive Education, Sustainability in Engineering: An Analysis with Mixed Methods and Data Mining Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    5. Sadia Akhtar & Kashif Ullah Khan & Fouzia Atlas & Muhammad Irfan, 2022. "Stimulating student’s pro-environmental behavior in higher education institutions: an ability–motivation–opportunity perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4128-4149, March.
    6. Jordi Martínez-Ventura & Eduardo de-Miguel-Arbonés & Carla Sentieri-Omarrementería & Juanjo Galan & María Calero-Llinares, 2021. "A Tool to Assess Architectural Education from the Sustainable Development Perspective and the Students’ Viewpoint," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-40, August.
    7. Yuan Ma & Jingzhi Men & Wei Cui, 2020. "Does Environmental Education Matter? Evidence from Provincial Higher Education Institutions in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-13, August.

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