Exploring sustainability literacy: developing and assessing a bottom-up measure of what students know about sustainability

Kuehl, Colin; Sparks, Aaron C.; Hodges, Heather; Smith, Eric R. A. N.

doi:10.3389/frsus.2023.1167041

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…As higher education institutions and society at large increasingly prioritize the importance of individuals' comprehension of sustainability, the need for accurate assessments of sustainability knowledge becomes more signi cant. The development of improved measures of sustainability knowledge is expected to enhance sustainability education and, in the long run, foster a population with higher levels of sustainability literacy [30].…”

Section: Background Sustainability Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the sustainability literacy of undergraduate students in a first-year writing course

Erguvan

2024

Preprint

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The significance of sustainability is increasingly accepted in society, with a consensus that higher education institutions should play a more active role in this field. As higher education institutions and society increasingly prioritize individuals' comprehension of sustainability, the need for accurate assessments of sustainability knowledge becomes more significant. To this end, this study aims to evaluate the sustainability literacy levels of students enrolled in a first-year composition course using a mixed-method sequential explanatory design. The quantitative phase involved 221 students who completed a questionnaire assessing their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and familiarity with sustainability concepts and topics. Following this, 60 students were asked to write an essay identifying Kuwait's significant sustainability challenges and proposing solutions. The results showed that gender, high school type, grade point average (GPA) value, and previous exposure to sustainability cause significant differences in students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes about sustainability and that the students primarily associate sustainability challenges with environmental problems; social and economic challenges are rarely mentioned in essays.

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Section: Background Sustainability Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the sustainability literacy of undergraduate students in a first-year writing course

Erguvan

2024

Preprint

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“…As higher education institutions and society at large increasingly prioritize the importance of individuals' understanding of sustainability, the need for accurate assessments of sustainability knowledge becomes more significant. The development of improved measures of sustainability knowledge is anticipated to enhance sustainability education and ultimately cultivate a population with higher levels of sustainability literacy (Kuehl et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What difference does one course make? Assessing the impact of content-based instruction on students’ sustainability literacy

Erguvan

2024

Humanit Soc Sci Commun

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Composition studies, with their cross-disciplinary role in students’ academic lives, can be essential in placing sustainability at the center of students’ learning. This research assessed the impact of content-based instruction on students’ sustainability literacy in a first-year composition course through a mixed-method design. In the quantitative part of this case study, 221 students in different classes of a first-year writing course in a higher education institute in Kuwait during the Fall term of 2022 were first given a pretest to determine their sustainability literacy levels. During a 6-week period, 121 students participated in the content-based instruction emphasizing sustainability, while 100 students comprised the control group, receiving curriculum without any emphasis on sustainability. The allocation of students in these two groups was random, determined solely by the classes they were enrolled in at the beginning of the semester. At the end of the semester, both the experimental and control groups were given a posttest to measure the impact of the instruction on their sustainability literacy levels. For the qualitative component, 60 students from the experimental group and 60 students from the control group were tasked with composing an essay identifying Kuwait’s major sustainability challenges and proposing corresponding solutions. The impact of content-based instruction on students’ literacy levels was measured by conducting a qualitative and quantitative content analysis on their writing. The results showed that the experimental group students made statistically significant improvements in their sustainable literacy levels, scored better on the posttest, used more sustainability terms and concepts, and identified more sustainability-related challenges and solutions in their essays.

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“…Kuehl et al [31] suggest that as higher education institutions and society at large increasingly prioritize the importance of individuals' comprehension of sustainability, the need for accurate assessments of sustainability knowledge becomes more significant. Thus, the development of improved measures of sustainability knowledge is expected to enhance sustainability education and, in the long run, foster a population with higher levels of sustainability literacy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the sustainability literacy of undergraduate students in a first-year writing course

Erguvan

2024

Discov Educ

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With sustainability becoming a familiar concept in society, higher education institutions have also started playing a more active role in this field, showing an increasing interest in students’ comprehension of sustainability. This interest has led to the need for developing methods of assessing students’ sustainability knowledge, as observed in many scholars’ and institutions’ research efforts. To this end, this study aims to evaluate the sustainability literacy levels of students enrolled in a first-year composition course using a mixed-method sequential explanatory design. The quantitative phase involved 221 students who completed a questionnaire assessing their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and familiarity with sustainability concepts and topics. Following this, 60 students were asked to write an essay identifying Kuwait’s significant sustainability challenges and proposing solutions. The results showed that gender, high school type, grade point average (GPA) value, and whether they heard about the term sustainability before caused significant differences in students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes about sustainability. Also, the students primarily associate sustainability challenges with environmental problems; social and economic challenges are rarely mentioned in essays.

show abstract

Exploring sustainability literacy: developing and assessing a bottom-up measure of what students know about sustainability

Cited by 7 publications

References 42 publications

Assessing the sustainability literacy of undergraduate students in a first-year writing course

Assessing the sustainability literacy of undergraduate students in a first-year writing course

What difference does one course make? Assessing the impact of content-based instruction on students’ sustainability literacy

Assessing the sustainability literacy of undergraduate students in a first-year writing course

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