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Exploring the Moderating Role of Environmental Education in Promoting a Clean Environment

Author

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  • Lianfeng Ma

    (School of Finance and Economics, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China
    Planning and Financial Department, Guangzhou Civil Aviation College, Guangzhou 510403, China)

  • Pomi Shahbaz

    (Department of Economics, Division of Management and Administrative Science, University of Education, Lahore 54770, Pakistan)

  • Shamsheer ul Haq

    (Department of Economics, Division of Management and Administrative Science, University of Education, Lahore 54770, Pakistan)

  • Ismet Boz

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, Ondkuz Mayis University, Samsun 55139, Turkey)

Abstract

Environmental education plays a significant role in improving environmental knowledge and shaping the eco-friendly lifestyles of young people. Young people’s daily actions and habits will determine the future of the Earth as a planet. The literature regarding youths’ environmental knowledge, climate change awareness, environmental attitude, and their impact on pro-environmental intentions and sustainable household consumption practices is very scarce. Therefore, this study explored the relationship between environmental knowledge, climate change awareness, environmental attitude, and the pro-environmental intentions of university students. The study also assessed the moderating effect of environmental education on pro-environmental behavior and sustainable household consumption practices, providing a comparative analysis of students with and without environmental education, which is unique in the literature. The data were collected from 2137 Chinese university students selected through a purposive and random sampling method through survey questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) were used to analyze the collected data. The findings revealed that environmental knowledge, climate change awareness, and environmental attitudes of the students positively affected their pro-environmental intentions. Moreover, pro-environmental intentions also positively affected the adoption of sustainable practices. The result also showed that the impact of pro-environmental intentions on sustainable consumption practices was greater for those whose education included environmental courses than for those whose education did not. Therefore, it is suggested that environment-related courses be incorporated into the study plans of each discipline as a compulsory subject for promoting green intentions and shaping eco-friendly lifestyles for environmental sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Lianfeng Ma & Pomi Shahbaz & Shamsheer ul Haq & Ismet Boz, 2023. "Exploring the Moderating Role of Environmental Education in Promoting a Clean Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8127-:d:1148671
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Shruti Ashish Lahoti & Shalini Dhyani & Mesfin Sahle & Pankaj Kumar & Osamu Saito, 2024. "Exploring the Nexus between Green Space Availability, Connection with Nature, and Pro-Environmental Behavior in the Urban Landscape," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-15, June.
    2. Ilia Gugenishvili & Annika Laine‐Kronberg, 2025. "The Influence of Prior Knowledge and Perceived Impact on the Connection Between Attitudes and Sustainable Behavior," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 4099-4111, June.
    3. Wei Wang & Pomi Shahbaz & Babar Aziz & Muhammad Nadeem, 2024. "Examining the Relationship Between Ecological Commitment, Environmental Knowledge, and Farmers’ Nature-Friendly Behavior: Investigating the Moderating Influence of Environmental Legislation," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, August.
    4. Aybike Bayraktar & Georgios Kleftodimos & Leonidas Sotirios Kyrgiakos & Christina Kleisiari & George Vlontzos & Hatem Belhouchette, 2024. "Assessing climate change awareness among Mediterranean university students: a comparative study of French and Greek universities," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 14(4), pages 666-680, December.
    5. Shizheng Tan & Wei Li & Xiaoguang Liu & Chen Liang & Yaqi Wang & Naa Adjeley Sackey, 2025. "Social trust, past behavior, and willingness to pay for environmental protection: evidence from China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(8), pages 20071-20099, August.
    6. António Cardoso & Amândio Silva & Manuel Sousa Pereira & Jorge Figueiredo & Isabel Oliveira, 2025. "Sustainable Consumption Intentions Among Portuguese University Students: A Multidimensional Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-25, August.
    7. Ling Pan & Shamsheer ul Haq & Xiaohua Shi & Muhammad Nadeem, 2024. "The Impact of Digital Competence and Personal Innovativeness on the Learning Behavior of Students: Exploring the Moderating Role of Digitalization in Higher Education Quality," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(3), pages 21582440241, August.

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