Gauging Affective Environmental Sustainability Attributes for Calibrating Green Consumer Behaviour among Students: A Consumer Focused Approach to Sustainability in Higher Education
Author : M. N. Mohamedunni Alias Musthafa and K. M. SajilaVolume 7 No.1 January-June 2018 pp 104-110
Abstract
Multifaceted solutions have been identified in several fields and sectors for confronting the sustainability issues. The integration of sustainability in Higher Education (HE) has always aimed at creating dynamic responsible citizens capacitated to analyse, develop and act with high degree of autonomy and determination for addressing the issues of sustainability. In a purely consumerist state like Kerala, a southernmost state in India, education for green consumerism can be considered as one of the important panacea for addressing environmental sustainability issues. Therefore, this paper intends to examine how far the Affective Environmental Sustainability Attributes (Attitudes, Values and Dispositions) have influenced in adopting sustainable lifestyles among undergraduate students of Kerala. For comprehending this, a survey was conducted by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of 250 undergraduate students of colleges in Kerala. Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis was carried out to analyse the data statistically to derive at valid and generalisable conclusions. The analysis revealed that Affective Environmental Sustainability Attributes significantly predicted the Green Consumer Behaviour of undergraduate students. Hence, it is imperative to embed the principles of learning for sustainability with a consumer focused approach in the curriculum for fostering Green Consumer Behaviour among the students of Higher Education. This should encompass all the domains of learning with specific emphasis on the aspects of affective environmental sustainability attributes across the disciplines paving way for a sustainable community.
Keywords
Environmental Attitudes, Environmental Values, Environmental Dispositions, Green Consumer Behaviour, Higher Education, Sustainability
Full Text:
References
[1] B. Chalkley, “Education for sustainable development: Continuation”, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 235-236, 2006.
[2] International Association of Universities, “IAU Conference: Education for a Sustainable Future. Conference General Report”, 2006. Retrieved from: www.unesco.org/iau/sd/sd_confprague.html. [3] F. Marton, and S. A. Booth, “Learning and awareness”, Psychology Press, 1997. [4] G. E. McKechnie, “Measuring environmental dispositions with the environmental response inventory”, 1970. Retrieved from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.452.7746&rep=rep1&type=pdf [5] T. L. Milfont, J. Duckitt and C. Wagner, “The higher order structure of environmental attitudes: A cross-cultural examination”, Interamerican Journal of Psychology, Vol. 44, No. 2, 2010.
[6] M. Miller, “Learning and teaching in the affective domain”, In Orey, M. (Ed.), “Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching and Technology”, College of Education eBook University of Georgia, Athens, 2005. [7] K. Shephard, “Higher education for sustainability: seeking affective learning outcomes”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 87-98, 2008.
[8] K. Sherren, “Core issues: reflections on sustainability in Australian University coursework programs”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 400-13, 2006. [9] Sibbel, “Pathways towards sustainability through higher education”, International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 68-82, 2009. [10] P. C. Stern, T. Dietz, T. Abel, G. A. Guagnano and L. Kalof, “A value-belief-norm theory of support for social movements: The case of environmentalism”, Human ecology review, pp. 81-97, 1999. [11] P. C. Stern, T. Dietz and G. A. Guagnano, “A brief inventory of values”, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Vol. 58, No. 6, pp. 984-1001, 1998. [12] P. Sutton, “A perspective on environmental sustainability”, Paper on the Victorian Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, pp. 1-32, 2004.