Sustainable Consumption Practices of Students through Practice-Oriented Approach of Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Sustainable consumption practice is an effective approach to educating the younger generation in how to achieve sustainability in the future in agreement with sustainable development principles. This article aims to examine Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) knowledge and sustainable consumption practices. This study has three areas of focus, namely, (i) to study the difference between ESD knowledge and sustainable consumption practices among genders; (ii) to assess the difference between ESD knowledge and sustainable consumption practices by location; and (iii) to analyse the relationship between the variables of ESD knowledge and sustainable consumption practices. This quantitative study was conducted by using a questionnaire instrument. Two types of sampling techniques have been used, namely stratified sampling technique for the selection of schools and random sampling technique to select respondents at the selected schools. This study finds that ESD knowledge among male and female students differs, while sustainable consumption practices are the same in both genders. Next, in terms of sustainable consumption practices, there are differences between male and female students. Findings in regard to the location show that there is no difference between the school students in urban and rural areas in terms of ESD knowledge, except for the sustainable consumption practices variable, which shows significant mean differences between the groups of students from urban and rural areas. Overall, the students had acquired ESD knowledge and sustainable consumption practices. However, when examining the location of the schools, it turns out that the ESD knowledge of the students is similar but in practice the urban school students are better at implementing it. Thus, all parties, especially the schools, local communities, government agencies and non-governmental organisations can expand sustainability practices towards all levels of age and all school locations.

The Importance of Environmental Knowledge for Private and Public Sphere Pro-Environmental Behavior: Modifying the Value-Belief-Norm Theory

“…Some studies that examined systems or knowledge of environmental issues found an insignificant relationship between knowledge and pro-environmental behavior [54,62,74,92]. Ahmad and Ariffin [30] and Mahat et al [93] stated that environmental knowledge does not necessarily result in pro-environmental actions. The results of Paҫo and Lavrador [26] pointed to the lack of relationship between knowledge and behavior.…”

The Role of Mental Health and Sustainable Learning Behavior of Students in Education Sector Influences Sustainable Environment

“…These findings are due to the fact that awareness and extensive research are playing a very important role in helping educational policy makers reshape their curriculum according to the new demands of the growing and well-aware world. The awareness for a sustainable environment has been the key factor in the universities and colleges while delivering the content of the studies ( Godemann et al, 2014 ; Sivapalan et al, 2016 ; Mahat et al, 2017 ; Badea et al, 2020 ). The findings of the study are in accordance with the previous studies conducted by many authors.…”

“…Limiting the behaviors that are unsustainable for the environment can help in decreasing the deterioration of the surrounding at the mass level; hence, to shape the behaviors of people education is necessary ( Shephard, 2015 ; Caniglia et al, 2018 ; Calvo et al, 2020 ; Lister et al, 2021 ). Educating the younger generation in such a way creates the attitudes, responsibilities, skills, and understanding of the concept of environmental stability in their minds as children ( Mahat et al, 2017 ; Badea et al, 2020 ). It has also been argued that as adolescents in their secondary schools, it is easier to implant the values since they are more receptive and can easily develop sustainable behavior and also induce this in others ( Calvo et al, 2020 ; Nie et al, 2020 ).…”

Factors Affecting Environmental Activism, Nonactivist Behaviors, and the Private Sphere Green Behaviors of Thai University Students

“…On the contrary, some studies indicated that university students did not convert environmental knowledge into environmental actions. Empirical investigation revealed that students exhibiting a high level of environmental knowledge did not report high practices of green behaviors (Ahamad & Ariffin, 2018; Mahat, Hashim, Nayan, Saleh, & Haron, 2017). Therefore, the role of environmental knowledge in promoting PEBs can vary, depending on different situations and contexts.…”