Purpose There are multiple questionnaires in the literature that try to gather university students’ perception about sustainable development (SD), but they are mainly focused on determining the students’ knowledge and attitude about sustainability. As the existing questionnaires did not fit the type of analysis that is intended to carry out, a new questionnaire was developed, adapted to the aims and context (engineering students) of the pretended study. The questionnaire contains two scales; one to determine the level of insertion of sustainability and the other to measure the importance that students give in their training process to the three dimensions of sustainability: economic, environmental and social. This new instrument requires a validation process to ensure its content – validity, reliability and clarity. The aim of this paper is to describe the validation process. Design/methodology/approach This paper shows the validation process of a questionnaire designed ad hoc to measure the students’ perception on SD inclusion level in three current engineering degrees, at the Engineering School of Bilbao (EIB) that belongs to the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). The questionnaire validation process was conducted in three stages: experts on the subject provided their advice to ensure the study objectives, a small number of students contributed to clarify the statement of the questions, and thus, to increase the reliability of the questionnaire and finally, a larger number of students completed the survey to analyse the internal consistency of the two scales in the questionnaire with the Cronbach’s alpha test. Findings As a result of the entire validation process, an appropriate scale has been obtained to measure the importance that students give to the three dimensions of sustainability, economic, environmental and social, and to the sustainability overall. Furthermore, an appropriate scale to measure the insertion level of sustainability in engineering studies has been developed. However, the insertion scale needs a revision in the items of social and economic dimension to be valid to conduct disaggregated studies by dimensions. Originality/value The surveys published in the literature try to determine the knowledge and attitude that students have regarding SD. However, this new questionnaire, whose validation process is described in this paper, aims to know how engineering students of the EIB perceive the level of insertion of SD in their academic programs, from a frequency perspective, and the importance they give to it, both personally and professionally, given to the analysis a holistic perspective. Thus, the questionnaire can be used by higher education institutions to design strategies for inserting SD in engineering studies.

Purpose This paper aims to propose and examine the relationship between students’ perception of service quality and dimensions and their academic achievement. Design/methodology/approach Based on the resource-based view, a conceptual relationship between service quality and dimensions and academic achievement is proposed and tested with a sample of 380 STEM university students who attended secondary schools in a region of Spain. Findings Service quality and four of its dimensions (i.e. empathy, reliability, responsiveness and assurance/confidence) could contribute to students’ academic achievement. The expected effect of tangible elements on academic achievement was not supported by the data. Results were controlled for student’s personal factors that have proven important in explaining academic achievement in previous studies (i.e. need for cognition, need for emotion and self-efficacy). Originality/value Previous research has extensively studied factors affecting students’ academic achievement. However, the direct relationship between service quality and student’s academic achievement has been rarely proposed and examined. Service quality has been mostly viewed as a precursor of student satisfaction and loyalty. This research views service quality as a school higher-order capability that supplements students’ capabilities.

Los objetivos de este trabajo de investigación son presentar y validar un modelo de formación de emprendimiento social basado en competencias que se consideran clave para un buen desempeño de los emprendedores sociales. Se realizó un estudio empírico en una muestra de 103 emprendedores en Galicia (España), con una distribución relativamente similar entre hombres (57%) y mujeres (43%) en un ámbito donde predominaban los hombres. El estudio se basa en el análisis de un total de veinte competencias. Las veinte capacidades estudiadas se distribuyen siguiendo la tipología de capacidades transversales divididas en tres tipos: competencias instrumentales; competencias interpersonales, clasificadas en dos grupos (habilidades intrapersonales y habilidades interpersonales), y competencias sistémicas. Se llevaron a cabo cinco análisis factoriales exploratorios en relación con la clasificación del modelo de competencias diseñado. Las cinco dimensiones obtienen índices de fiabilidad de θ de Armor muy aceptables. El instrumento utilizado fue un cuestionario de autopercepción que recogía las veinte competencias que configuran el modelo de emprendimiento social planteado. Los resultados de los análisis factoriales confirman las cinco dimensiones clave planteadas en el modelo teórico: personal, interpersonal, técnica, organizativa y del entorno social. Palabras clave: formación del emprendimiento; alerta emprendedora; factores de em prendimiento; capacidades emprendedoras Resum. Un model formatiu per al desenvolupament de l'emprenedoria social L'objectiu d'aquest treball de recerca és presentar i validar un model de formació d'emprenedoria social basat en competències que es consideren clau per realitzar un bon desenvolupament dels emprenedors socials. L'estudi empíric es va dur a terme sobre una mostra de 103 emprenedors a Galícia, amb una distribució relativament similar entre homes (57%) i dones (43%) en un àmbit on predominaven els homes. L'estudi es basa en l'anàlisi d'un total de vint competències. Les vint capacitats estudiades es distribueixen seguint la tipologia de les capacitats transversals dividides en tres tipus: competències instrumentals;

No abstract

No abstract