IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i6p1717-d215978.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Development and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Student Sustainability Competencies

Author

Listed:
  • Eva-Maria Waltner

    (Department of Biology and Pedagogy of Biology, University of Education Freiburg, Kunzenweg 21, 79117 Freiburg, Germany)

  • Werner Rieß

    (Department of Biology and Pedagogy of Biology, University of Education Freiburg, Kunzenweg 21, 79117 Freiburg, Germany)

  • Christoph Mischo

    (Department of Psychology, University of Education Freiburg, Kunzenweg 21, 79117 Freiburg, Germany)

Abstract

The importance of education, and ESD in particular, for achieving sustainable development is highlighted in the formulation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since the Brundtland Report (1987) and the Agenda 21 conference in Rio in 1992, many measures and programs have been launched. However, no widely accepted and validated assessment instruments are currently available to examine the output levels of ESD on the student side as a means to contribute to monitoring the effects of ESD initiatives. Furthermore, connections to the results of empirical educational research are often lacking. Indeed, operationalization is necessary in order to evaluate actions of fostering ESD. Taking concepts of empirical educational and other relevant research findings (for example, psychology for sustainability) into account, this study develops a reliable and valid approach to measuring sustainability competencies. In this paper, novel data of a first school assessment is presented. One thousand six hundred and twenty-two students (aged from 9 to 16) participated in the survey. The paper-pencil questionnaire covers general (socio-demographic) as well as cognitive, affective, behavioral, application- and curriculum-orientated aspects of sustainability competencies. The evidence for the validity and reliability of the instrument indicates that the presented assessment tool constitutes a suitable instrument by which to measure sustainability competencies in secondary schools. The gathered insights show a path towards the operationalization of sustainability competencies to clarify the needs and achievements of ESD implementation in schools.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Christoph Mischo, 2019. "Development and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Student Sustainability Competencies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:6:p:1717-:d:215978
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/6/1717/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/6/1717/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Counsell, 1999. "Sustainable Development and Structure Plans in England and Wales: Operationalizing the Themes and Principles," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(1), pages 45-61.
    2. Elise Barrella & Elisabeth Pyburn Spratto & Eric Pappas & Robert Nagel, 2018. "Developing and Validating an Individual Sustainability Instrument with Engineering Students to Motivate Intentional Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-24, August.
    3. Gisela Cebrián & Mercè Junyent, 2015. "Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring the Student Teachers’ Views," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Şebnem Feriver & Refika Olgan & Gaye Teksöz & Matthias Barth, 2019. "Systems Thinking Skills of Preschool Children in Early Childhood Education Contexts from Turkey and Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-26, March.
    5. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Antje Brock, 2018. "Development of an ESD Indicator for Teacher Training and the National Monitoring for ESD Implementation in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    6. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    7. Shepherd, Dean A. & Kuskova, Valya & Patzelt, Holger, 2009. "Measuring the values that underlie sustainable development: The development of a valid scale," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 246-256, April.
    8. Wei-Ta Fang & Ching-Yu Lien & Yueh-Wen Huang & Guosheng Han & Guey-Shin Shyu & Jui-Yu Chou & Eric Ng, 2018. "Environmental Literacy on Ecotourism: A Study on Student Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavioral Intentions in China and Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, June.
    9. Terlau, Wiltrud & Hirsch, Darya, 2015. "Sustainable Consumption and the Attitude-Behaviour-Gap Phenomenon - Causes and Measurements towards a Sustainable Development," 2015 International European Forum (144th EAAE Seminar), February 9-13, 2015, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 206233, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    10. Gemma Burford & Peter Tamás & Marie K. Harder, 2016. "Can We Improve Indicator Design for Complex Sustainable Development Goals? A Comparison of a Values-Based and Conventional Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-38, August.
    11. Franz X. Bogner, 2018. "Environmental Values (2-MEV) and Appreciation of Nature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-10, January.
    12. Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Niklas Gericke & Daniel Olsson & Teresa Berglund, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-25, November.
    13. Terlau, Wiltrud & Hirsch, Darya, 2015. "Sustainable Consumption and the Attitude-Behaviour-Gap Phenomenon - Causes and Measurements towards a Sustainable Development," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 6(3), pages 1-16, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sibilla Montanari & Evi Agostini & Denis Francesconi, 2023. "Are We Talking about Green Skills or Sustainability Competences? A Scoping Review Using Scientometric Analysis of Two Apparently Similar Topics in the Field of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-25, September.
    2. Muhammad Saifullah Khalid Malik & Zhanyong Qi & Mussarat Iqbal & Samina Zamir & Balqees Fatima Malik, 2023. "Education for sustainable development: Secondary school teacher's awareness and perception of integration," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1515-1525, June.
    3. Eva-Maria Waltner & Katja Scharenberg & Christian Hörsch & Werner Rieß, 2020. "What Teachers Think and Know about Education for Sustainable Development and How They Implement it in Class," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Jinyuan Guo & Zhixia Chen & Binyao Zheng, 2021. "Postgraduate Competence and Academic Research Performance: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, June.
    5. Ramón Martínez-Medina & José C. Arrebola, 2019. "Analysis of Sustainability Activities in Spanish Elementary Education Textbooks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-14, September.
    6. Werner Riess & Monika Martin & Christoph Mischo & Hans-Georg Kotthoff & Eva-Maria Waltner, 2022. "How Can Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Be Effectively Implemented in Teaching and Learning? An Analysis of Educational Science Recommendations of Methods and Procedures to Promote ESD Goa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-16, March.
    7. Miguel Leiva-Brondo & Natalia Lajara-Camilleri & Anna Vidal-Meló & Alejandro Atarés & Cristina Lull, 2022. "Spanish University Students’ Awareness and Perception of Sustainable Development Goals and Sustainability Literacy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-26, April.
    8. Naresh Giangrande & Rehema M. White & May East & Ross Jackson & Tim Clarke & Michel Saloff Coste & Gil Penha-Lopes, 2019. "A Competency Framework to Assess and Activate Education for Sustainable Development: Addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals 4.7 Challenge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, May.
    9. Ana Alexandra Gora & Simona Cătălina Ștefan & Ștefan Cătălin Popa & Cătălina Florentina Albu, 2019. "Students’ Perspective on Quality Assurance in Higher Education in the Context of Sustainability: A PLS-SEM Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-21, September.
    10. Xia Xiao & Hanwen Qin & Huijuan Fu & Chengde Zhang, 2019. "Improving the Professional Level of Managers Through Individualized Recommendation to Enhance the Quality of Air Pollutant Management in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-15, November.
    11. Katja Scharenberg & Eva-Maria Waltner & Christoph Mischo & Werner Rieß, 2021. "Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-22, November.
    12. 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.
    13. Zhenwen Liu & Hsi-Chi Yang & Yan-Chyuan Shiau, 2020. "Investigation on Evaluation Framework of Elementary School Teaching Materials for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, May.
    14. Francisco Zamora-Polo & Jesús Sánchez-Martín & Mario Corrales-Serrano & Luis Espejo-Antúnez, 2019. "What Do University Students Know about Sustainable Development Goals? A Realistic Approach to the Reception of this UN Program Amongst the Youth Population," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-19, June.
    15. Liang-Ting Tsai, 2019. "Multilevel Effects of Student and School Factors on Senior High School Students’ Ocean Literacy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-12, October.
    16. Bafon Joel Nshom & Yuhala Julia Franka Petyin & Adolphe Mbeh Tanyi & Nchinda Nelson Kekoh & Djeumeni Marcelline Tchamabe, 2025. "Evaluating Strategic Knowledge Management Systems: Digital Literacy/Competences in the Effective Implementation of Education for Sustainable Development in Cameroon Higher Education," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(4), pages 6344-6365, April.
    17. Tobias Hoppe & Alexander Renkl & Tina Seidel & Stephanie Rettig & Werner Rieß, 2020. "Exploring How Teachers Diagnose Student Conceptions about the Cycle of Matter," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, May.
    18. Herlambang Herlambang & Amelia Dwi Fitri & Amirul Mukminin & Muhaimin Muhaimin & Marzul Hidayat & Elfiani Elfiani & Nyimas Natasha Ayu Shafira & Anggelia Puspasari & Susan Tarawifa & Ahmad Abdun Salam, 2021. "Quality Assurance for Sustainable Higher Education: Structural Equation Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-14, April.
    19. Charlotta Bucht & Joachim Bachner & Sarah Spengler, 2024. "Environmental attitude and affective-motivational beliefs towards sustainability of secondary school children in Germany and their associations with gender, age, school type, socio-economic status and," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(5), pages 1-15, May.
    20. Figen Akça, 2019. "Sustainable Development in Teacher Education in Terms of Being Solution Oriented and Self-Efficacy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-16, December.
    21. Amjad Khuda Bakhsh, 2023. "Enhancing Teacher Resilience: Innovative Coping Strategies for Flood Vulnerabilities," International Journal of Innovations in Science & Technology, 50sea, vol. 5(4), pages 708-729, December.
    22. Muhammad Noman Malik & Huma Hayat Khan & Abdoulmohammad Gholamzadeh Chofreh & Feybi Ariani Goni & Jiří Jaromír Klemeš & Youseef Alotaibi, 2019. "Investigating Students’ Sustainability Awareness and the Curriculum of Technology Education in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, May.
    23. Vasiliki Kioupi & Nikolaos Voulvoulis, 2019. "Education for Sustainable Development: A Systemic Framework for Connecting the SDGs to Educational Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-18, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fengtao Guo & Joseph Lane & Yushan Duan & Joseph P. Stoltman & Olga Khlebosolova & Hao Lei & Weiguo Zhou, 2018. "Sustainable Development in Geography Education for Middle School in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-27, October.
    2. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Antje Brock, 2018. "Development of an ESD Indicator for Teacher Training and the National Monitoring for ESD Implementation in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    3. Katja Scharenberg & Eva-Maria Waltner & Christoph Mischo & Werner Rieß, 2021. "Development of Students’ Sustainability Competencies: Do Teachers Make a Difference?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-22, November.
    4. Sarah Verdonk & Keri Chiveralls & Drew Dawson, 2017. "Getting Wasted at WOMADelaide: The Effect of Signage on Waste Disposal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Andy Felix Jităreanu & Mioara Mihăilă & Alexandru-Dragoș Robu & Florin-Daniel Lipșa & Carmen Luiza Costuleanu, 2022. "Dynamic of Ecological Agriculture Certification in Romania Facing the EU Organic Action Plan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-17, September.
    6. Anne-Sophie Gay & Julia M. Warden & Hakan Lane, 2024. "Climate labels and the restaurant industry: a qualitative study," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 369-379, June.
    7. Nina Kolleck & Helge Jörgens & Mareike Well, 2017. "Levels of Governance in Policy Innovation Cycles in Community Education: The Cases of Education for Sustainable Development and Climate Change Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Silvia H. Bonilla & Helton R. O. Silva & Marcia Terra da Silva & Rodrigo Franco Gonçalves & José B. Sacomano, 2018. "Industry 4.0 and Sustainability Implications: A Scenario-Based Analysis of the Impacts and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-24, October.
    9. Carmen Bălan, 2020. "How Does Retail Engage Consumers in Sustainable Consumption? A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-25, December.
    10. Vasiliki Kioupi & Nikolaos Voulvoulis, 2019. "Education for Sustainable Development: A Systemic Framework for Connecting the SDGs to Educational Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-18, November.
    11. Adriana Zait & Andreia Gabriela Andrei, 2019. "Civic Engagement at the Crossroads of Online and Offline Spaces: A PLS-SEM Assessment," Scientific Annals of Economics and Business (continues Analele Stiintifice), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 66(4), pages 559-572, December.
    12. Claudia Arias & Jhon Mario Quiroga Beltrán & Javier Mauricio Martínez Ariza & Javier Bernardo Cadena Lozano & Miguel Angel Bello Bernal, 2022. "Pro-Circular Consumer Profile: An Approach to Their Identification and Characterization Based on the Components of the Value-Belief-Norm Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-36, June.
    13. Mirjam Braßler & Sandra Sprenger, 2021. "Fostering Sustainability Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviours through a Tutor-Supported Interdisciplinary Course in Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, March.
    14. Teresa Berglund & Niklas Gericke & Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Daniel Olsson & Tzu-Chau Chang, 2020. "A cross-cultural comparative study of sustainability consciousness between students in Taiwan and Sweden," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 6287-6313, October.
    15. Anna Beniermann & Martin Glos & Heike Schumacher & Ingo Fietze & Stephan Völker & Annette Upmeier zu Belzen, 2023. "‘Sleep Blindness’ in Science Education: How Sleep Health Literacy Can Serve as a Link between Health Education and Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-22, August.
    16. Sandra Grabowska & Sebastian Saniuk & Bożena Gajdzik, 2022. "Industry 5.0: improving humanization and sustainability of Industry 4.0," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(6), pages 3117-3144, June.
    17. Turck, Angela & Schloemer, Lasse & Terlau, Wiltrud, 2023. "Farmers are caught in Tri-Dilemma - Objectives and Challenges for Biodiversity in German Nature-Protected Areas," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 14(02), June.
    18. Nolte, Kerstin & Schaefer, Kerstin J., 2024. "Widening the gap? Evidence from Germany for changes in the attitude behaviour gap for transportation during COVID-19," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    19. Lisa Richter-Beuschel & Susanne Bögeholz, 2019. "Student Teachers’ Knowledge to Enable Problem-Solving for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-24, December.
    20. Paul Chatterton, 2002. "'Be Realistic: Demand the Impossible'. Moving Towards 'Strong' Sustainable Development in an Old Industrial Region?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(5), pages 552-561.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:6:p:1717-:d:215978. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.