Pro-Environmental Behaviors and Environmental Value Orientation of Vocational College Students in China

Abstract

As vocational education directly prepares the future labor force, the pro-environmental behavior (PEB) of students in vocational colleges has important impacts on the transformation toward a green economy and sustainable development. Drawing upon the New Environmental Paradigm Scale and the Student Environmental Behavior Scale, this study surveyed 1034 vocational college students in Hunan province, China. Their responses were analyzed using factor analysis and cluster analysis to identify “anthropocentric” and “ecocentric” students, and the differences in their respective pro-environmental behaviors were examined. Furthermore, this study explored the impact of environmental value orientation on vocational college students’ PEB through a regression model. This study found significant differences in the PEB of “anthropocentric” and “ecocentric” vocational college students, which were most obvious when it came to energy conservation. However, both types of students were not actively involved in change-oriented behaviors. In addition, this study found that different environmental value orientations had a significant impact on vocational college students’ PEB. The research findings were interpreted in light of features of vocational education in China, and the authors argue that environmental education in Chinese vocational education requires a paradigm change.