The relationship between the incorporation of sustainability in higher education and the student’s behavior: self-reported sustainable behavior scale

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to describe the development and validation of a scale that measures the self-reported sustainable behavior of students in higher education institutions (HEIs) regarding their knowledge on incorporating sustainability into education, research and outreach, mediated by the attitude toward the triple bottom line. Design/methodology/approach The scale was applied to students from HEIs, with a total of 759 valid cases and respondents from various countries. The technique used was structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis using the SmartPLS software. Findings Respondents’ self-reported sustainable behavior scale was affected by their economic attitude and the knowledge about sustainability that they assimilated. However, the economic dimension received more attention from the participating students. Both for the total sample and for respondents older than the study average, environmental attitude and social attitude did not affect the self-reported sustainable behavior. Research limitations/implications The study’s limitations can offer opportunities for future research, as more constructs should be inserted into the model to check the existence of differences in relation to self-reported sustainable behavior, such as beliefs in the affective stage. Practical implications The practical implication is on the fact that HEIs can use the scale of self-reported sustainable behavior to evaluate the incorporation of sustainability in the students behavior. Thus, with appropriate guidelines, HEIs will be able to analyze the results looking for to achieve balance in the incorporation of sustainability in education, research and outreach in a transdisciplinary way, improving HEI program and preparing future decision-makers to collaborate for sustainable development. Originality/value The originality of the study is on the verification of the influence of sustainability teaching in higher institutions through self-reported sustainable behavior scale, based on the sustainable development goals in three dimensions – cognitive, affective and conative.