Journal Press India^®

Author Details ( * ) denotes Corresponding author

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate Bachelors University students’ level of education on sustainable development and ascertain whether there exists a discrepancy of level of education on the basis of gender. The aim is to study the possibility of any relationship between the education of sustainable development among students and their attitude/behavior towards environment

Design/methodology/approach: For the evaluation of student’s knowledge and behavior, an online survey was used for the data collection. The survey had 329 respondents. This survey data was used to ascertain the level of Education of Sustainable Development (ESD) by using t-test, independent sample t-test and tests like multinomial regression was used for measuring the relationship between their education and behavior.

Findings: The study revealed that students possessed a high level of understanding and knowledge towards sustainable development. The results suggest that there was no particular difference exists on ESD on the basis of gender. Finding on the actions/behavior were also discussed and reported further in paper.

Practical implications/limitations: The paper should assist other students and/or professors in assessing the level of education of bachelor students towards sustainable development. It highlights the need for the younger generation to make a change their attitude towards environment and shift into an action taking mindset. This paper also had limitations such as only bachelor students were considered and no more higher education students were considered for this study. The variables for measuring the difference between education could be increased and should have used more reasonable and practical variables.

Originality value: There is a significant lack of research papers exploring extensive analysis of measuring knowledge of ESD among students across India and the effectiveness of their action. This study explored and analyzed the level of education students possess and its correlation with their action towards sustainable development. Taking into consideration that these students are the future of our country and are pursuing higher education, it is crucial to measure their education level and identify areas where changes are needed on taking actions towards SD.

Keywords

Sustainable Development, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), College Students, Behavior towards sustainable development, Behavioral analysis, Higher Education Institutions.

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