Analysing the relationship between university students’ ecological footprint and their connection with nature and pro-environmental attitude
Author
Fernández, Mónica
Cebrián, Gisela
Regadera González, Elisa
Fernández, María Yolanda
Publication date
2020ISSN
1660-4601
Abstract
In the last decade, universities worldwide have adopted various measures intended to promote sustainability in higher education and include it in the curriculum. However, although this paradigm shift appears to be contributing to students’ acquisition of the knowledge, skills and values necessary to fight for a more sustainable world, serious global crises such as the present SARS-CoV-2 pandemic oblige us to rethink our behaviour and spur us to accelerate the move towards a deep-seated commitment to the environment and people. Therefore, the aims of this study were (a) to explore consumption habits in students at four Spanish universities by analysing their individual ecological footprint (EF); (b) to develop indices of connection with nature and a pro-environmental attitude and to determine relationships between these indices and students’ consumption. Among other factors, our results showed that private university students have a higher EF than public university students; that food consumption has the greatest impact on individuals’ EF; and that those who consume more sustainably do not show a more pro-environmental attitude or feel a greater connection with nature. Therefore, we conclude that there was no apparent direct relationship between study participants’ convictions and their daily behaviour. There is a pressing need in education to demonstrate the connection between our actions and their environmental impact.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
37 - Education
502 - The environment and its protection
504 - Threats to the environment
6 - Applied Sciences. Medicine. Technology
Keywords
Ecologia
Desenvolupament sostenible
Ensenyament universitari
COVID-19 (Malaltia)
Medi ambient
Aliments -- Consum
Ecología
Desarrollo sostenible
Enseñanza superior
COVID-19
Medio ambiente
Alimentos -- Consumo
Ecology
Sustainable development
University education
COVID-19
Natural environment
Food consumption
Pages
14
Publisher
MDPI
Collection
17; 23
Is part of
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Citation
Fernández, Mónica; Cebrián, Gisela; Regadera, Elisa [et al.]. Analysing the relationship between university students’ ecological footprint and their connection with nature and pro-environmental attitude. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020, 17, 8826. Disponible en: <https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/8826>. Fecha de acceso: 26 feb. 2021. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17238826
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Ciències de la Salut [745]
Rights
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/