Social Learning of Sustainability in a Pandemic—Changes to Sustainability Understandings, Attitudes, and Behaviors during the Global Pandemic in a Higher Education Setting

Abstract

When people learn from each other and change their behavior accordingly, this is called social learning. COVID-19 not only taught us new habits to limit contagion, imposed restrictions also limited people’s everyday practices and behavior. Our study aims to analyze how (much) the pandemic may have incidentally fostered social learning of sustainability (SLS), representing a shift from rule-based behavior and forced behavior changes to more associative and potentially long-lasting sustainable behavior. To answer this question, we analyzed data from two mixed-method surveys with which we approached two customized samples in a higher education setting in Australia (n = 100) and Austria (n = 264). The findings show that in a higher education and, specifically, a university context, there are less sustainable practices evaluated as stable and “new normal” than assumed. Still, sustainability is more rule-related and less associative, predominantly in Australia. Nevertheless, a certain degree of awareness of what sustainable practices are can be observed mainly in Austria. As a broader implication, the study at hand leads to the conclusion that through COVID-19, sustainability at least became more tangible. Furthermore, universities as a specific institution have the potential to put sustainability higher on their agenda and take responsibility for social change. In the conclusion and outlook of the paper, limitations of the study as well as future research potential on social learning processes for sustainable development are presented and discussed.

Repercussions and Legacy of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Manaus, Brazil: The Health Managers’ Perspective

“…The reports also disclose the reflections about attributing a new meaning to the value of life, grief, and death; how to see the world; and what is actually deemed important in the everyday routine (Catania et al, 2021). Pandemics lead to behavioral changes and collective learning, having an influence on perceptions and actions such as sustainability (Weder et al, 2022), self-construal, and time framing, which mediate communication efficacy (Gong et al, 2022). The pandemic brought the invisible to light, both in society and in people, reverberating in each individual’s subjectivity, in valuable lessons for the entire world (Schwarcz & Starling, 2020).…”

The Role Of Income, ICT Adoption And Leisure Time In Maintaining Employee Mental Health

“…Likewise, the perceived lack of work availability to carry out activities outside of working hours, which is associated with receiving information and overloading tasks through available communication channels, causing overwork or overload and low performance which increases the likelihood of experiencing stress-related symptoms, Volume 4, No 1, January 2022 tension, physical and mental exhaustion, anxiety, uncertainty, and insecurity. When COVID-19 was widespread, due to the fact that sudden changes in daily dynamics have implied a transformation in habits and lifestyles that affect leisure activities, healthy entertainment, and rest; was established as a basic principle for health care (Weder, Yarnold, Mertl, Hübner, Elmenreich, & Sposato, 2022).…”