IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i8p3343-d1630994.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing Knowledge of Sustainable Development Goals Among Diverse Students: A Case Study of Al Qasimia University

Author

Listed:
  • Niematallah E. A. Elamin

    (College of Economics and Management, Al Qasimia University, Sharjah 63000, United Arab Emirates)

Abstract

This research tests and assesses Al Qasimia University students’ knowledge of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The diversity of the university’s student body enhances the sample’s representativeness, allowing for an assessment of SDG knowledge across different populations and cultures. 119 responses were collected through online surveys. The respondents come from 41 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. The results show no statistically significant difference in knowledge levels based on gender. On the other hand, while nationality does not significantly influence the average level of SDG knowledge, place of residence does. Students who reside in economically better-off countries have a higher average knowledge of the SDGs. Moreover, the students perceived economic and social SDGs as more relevant to their future careers than environmental SDGs. This may be explained by their greater exposure to training related to the social and economic dimensions of the SDGs at the university level. The analysis also revealed that students view formal education as a more significant source of knowledge of SDGs than informal education. This highlights universities’ and academic institutions’ critical role in promoting sustainability education. While this research contributes to the literature on students’ knowledge of SDGs, it primarily focuses on students’ perceptions of their knowledge rather than their knowledge itself. Future research will aim to address this limitation by evaluating actual knowledge levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Niematallah E. A. Elamin, 2025. "Assessing Knowledge of Sustainable Development Goals Among Diverse Students: A Case Study of Al Qasimia University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3343-:d:1630994
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3343/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/8/3343/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. G. Abord-Hugon Nonet & T. Gössling & R. Tulder & J. M. Bryson, 2022. "Multi-stakeholder Engagement for the Sustainable Development Goals: Introduction to the Special Issue," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(4), pages 945-957, November.
    2. 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.
    3. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    4. Tasneem Alsaati & Samir El-Nakla & Darin El-Nakla, 2020. "Level of Sustainability Awareness among University Students in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, April.
    5. Aishah Almusalami & Fatema Alnaqbi & Shamma Alkaabi & Roqayyah Alzeyoudi & Mamoun Awad, 2024. "Sustainability Awareness in the UAE: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-16, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Walaa Al Husban, 2025. "The Impact of Integrating Sustainable Development Goals on Students’ Awareness and Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Case Study of Jordan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-24, March.
    2. Nirda de Jesús Colón-Flores & Maira Rafaela Vargas-Martínez & Joselina Caridad Tavarez-De Henríquez & Cándida María Domínguez-Valerio, 2023. "Environmental, Social and Economic Attitudes and Sustainable Knowledge on the Sustainable Behaviour of Engineering Students: An Analysis Based on Attitudes towards Teachers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    3. Chee Keong Khoo & Xin Li & Jianxiang Huang, 2022. "Green Behaviors and Green Buildings: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Public Housing Estates in Hong Kong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-20, August.
    4. Paulina Schiappacasse & Bernhard Müller & Le Thuy Linh, 2019. "Towards Responsible Aggregate Mining in Vietnam," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, August.
    5. Pina Puntillo, 2023. "Circular economy business models: Towards achieving sustainable development goals in the waste management sector—Empirical evidence and theoretical implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 941-954, March.
    6. R. Ebrahimi & S. Choobchian & H. Farhadian & I. Goli & E. Farmandeh & H. Azadi, 2022. "Investigating the effect of vocational education and training on rural women’s empowerment," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. repec:bdu:ojjppa:v:10:y:2025:i:1:p:46-62:id:3297 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Bárbara Galleli & Elder Semprebon & Joyce Aparecida Ramos dos Santos & Noah Emanuel Brito Teles & Mateus Santos de Freitas-Martins & Raquel Teodoro da Silva Onevetch, 2021. "Institutional Pressures, Sustainable Development Goals and COVID-19: How Are Organisations Engaging?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, November.
    9. Anna Napiórkowska & Piotr Zaborek & Marzanna Katarzyna Witek-Hajduk & Anna Grudecka, 2025. "Individual Cultural Values and Charitable Crowdfunding: Driving Social Sustainability Through Consumer Engagement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-26, June.
    10. Sagarika Dey & Priyanka Devi, 2019. "Impact of TVET on Labour Market Outcomes and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Areas: A Case Study from Cachar District, Assam," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 13(3), pages 357-371, December.
    11. Maria Sassi, 2020. "A SEM Approach to the Direct and Indirect Links between WaSH Services and Access to Food in Countries in Protracted Crises: The Case of Western Bahr-el-Ghazal State, South Sudan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-13, November.
    12. Olga Stepanova & Magdalena Romanov, 2021. "Urban Planning as a Strategy to Implement Social Sustainability Policy Goals? The Case of Temporary Housing for Immigrants in Gothenburg, Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, February.
    13. Michel, Hanno, 2020. "From local to global: The role of knowledge, transfer, and capacity building for successful energy transitions," Discussion Papers, Research Group Digital Mobility and Social Differentiation SP III 2020-603, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    14. Hervé Corvellec & Johan Hultman & Anne Jerneck & Susanne Arvidsson & Johan Ekroos & Niklas Wahlberg & Timothy W. Luke, 2021. "Resourcification: A non‐essentialist theory of resources for sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 1249-1256, November.
    15. Wilson Charles Wilson & Maja Slingerland & Frederick P. Baijukya & Hannah Zanten & Simon Oosting & Ken E. Giller, 2021. "Integrating the soybean-maize-chicken value chains to attain nutritious diets in Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(6), pages 1595-1612, December.
    16. Jones, Lindsey & d'Errico, Marco, 2019. "Whose resilience matters? Like-for-like comparison of objective and subjective evaluations of resilience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    17. Ahmed Eid & May Salah & Mahmoud Barakat & Matevz Obrecht, 2022. "Airport Sustainability Awareness: A Theoretical Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, September.
    18. Bin Xue & Bingsheng Liu & Tao Liang & Dong Zhao & Tao Wang & Xingbin Chen, 2022. "A heterogeneous decision criteria system evaluating sustainable infrastructure development: From the lens of multidisciplinary stakeholder engagement," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 556-579, August.
    19. Sudheesh Ramapurath Chemmencheri, 2016. "Social Protection as a Human Right in South Asia," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 10(2), pages 236-252, August.
    20. Ingrid Boas & Frank Biermann & Norichika Kanie, 2016. "Cross-sectoral strategies in global sustainability governance: towards a nexus approach," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 449-464, June.
    21. Joyeeta Gupta & Louis Lebel, 0. "Access and allocation in earth system governance: lessons learnt in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-18.

    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:17:y:2025:i:8:p:3343-:d:1630994. 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.