Sustainability literacy: Assessment of knowingness, attitude and behavior regarding sustainable development among students in China
University of Edinburgh MA Social Policy and Economics, United Kingdom.
Review
Open Access Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2025, 09(01), 010-022.
Article DOI: 10.53022/oarjms.2025.9.1.0014
Publication history:
received on 08 December 2024; revised on 14 january 2025; accepted on 17 january 2025
Abstract:
Education is critical to achieving the world’s sustainable development (SD). Assessment or measurement is a means to help an education system to accelerate integrating SD content. To have a perception of the gap in relation to the SD action goals, a basic understanding of current students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors (KAB) needs to be established. The study applied a survey to assess Chinese students’ knowingness, attitude and behavior regarding sustainable development. Data were collected from students from all parts of China via an online survey tool, which consists of 887 primary school students and 1661 secondary school students. The results indicate a high level of KAB regarding sustainable development among Chinese students, while this sustainability literacy is mainly embodied in the environmental dimension. In general, the results showed the better KAB of primary-school students than secondary-school students, while there was almost no difference between male and female students. Moreover, knowingness and attitude have significant and positive correlations with behaviors. The results of this study constitute a general sketch of Chinese students’ sustainable knowledge, attitudes and behavior, which could be employed to monitor China’s efforts in fostering education for sustainable development and also to foster curriculum developments and innovations in China.
Keywords:
Sustainability-Literacy Assessment; Sustainable Development Goals; Education For Sustainable Development; Online Survey; Chinese Students
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