Level of Sustainability Awareness among University Students in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Sustainability and Sustainable Development
2.2. Role of Education
2.3. Sustainability Knowledge, Behaviors and Attitudes
2.4. Research Questions
- To what level do students in universities within the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia understand the concept of sustainability?
- Are students in universities within the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia aware of sustainability measures?
- Are students in universities within the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia behaving in a sustainable manner?
3. Methods
3.1. Research Sample
3.2. Instrument
3.3. Data Collection
3.4. Data processing and Analysis
4. Results and Discussion
4.1. Demographic and General Characteristics of Respondents
4.2. Students’ Level of Knowledge in Sustainability
4.3. Students Behaviors and Lifestyle in Different Aspects of Sustainability
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
6. Recommendations and Future Implications
- (a)
- Universities have the biggest role to take in promoting sustainability awareness among students; introducing courses in sustainability to educate students and these courses must be required by all university students and not offered as electives.
- (b)
- Teaching should be in alignment with the social, economic, and environmental trends, as this practice is soon to be crucial for the development and preparation of the next generation of professionals and future leaders.
- (c)
- Universities should apply recycling stations on campuses and that will allow students to practice recycling while they are on campus. Universities should encourage students to choose their final year projects in sustainability, possibly by funding the project or giving incentives. Currently, many projects initiated by students involve renewable energy, green buildings and clean environment, but universities still need to do more.
- (d)
- Universities should host regular workshops and lectures in sustainability by inviting expert speakers or host conferences in sustainability and encourage students to participate.
- (e)
- The government of Saudi Arabia needs to expand the initiatives that started in energy saving and water conservation in line with vision 2030, which focused on using energy resources other than oil, including renewable and electricity tariff reforms to reduce energy consumption. However, the government still needs to do more by launching more awareness campaigns in public places such as shopping centers and through media, especially social media. Knowledge about sustainability in general can be introduced to early-level students at schools. Although this is currently applied to high school students, it needs to be assessed and reviewed.
- (f)
- Local municipalities need to take part in sustainability awareness by providing recycling stations in public places. They can also introduce to residents the use of colored recycling trash bins following the steps of developed countries, and can use three colored bins to collect papers, plastics and general wastes. Also, it is recommended to reduce the waste collection to lesser numbers as it is currently almost on a daily basis.
7. Limitations to the Study
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Source | % |
---|---|
Schools/University | 42.4% |
Social Media | 18.4% |
Friends and Family | 7.6% |
Entertainment Channels | 4.4% |
Books | 3.6% |
News | 2.2% |
Others | 21.4% |
Survey Question | Yes |
---|---|
Do you get a ride in a car to university? | 87.6% |
Do you ever carpool? | 60.3% |
Do you turn lights off when leaving the room? | 79.6% |
Do you apply any measures to reduce electricity use? | 67.7% |
Do you leave water running while brushing teeth? | 44.7% |
Do you apply any measures to reduce water use? | 57% |
Do you prefer buying environmentally-friendly appliances over other types? | 67.9% |
Do you pay attention to energy stars when buying appliances | 55.3% |
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Alsaati, T.; El-Nakla, S.; El-Nakla, D. Level of Sustainability Awareness among University Students in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Sustainability 2020, 12, 3159. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083159
Alsaati T, El-Nakla S, El-Nakla D. Level of Sustainability Awareness among University Students in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Sustainability. 2020; 12(8):3159. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083159
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlsaati, Tasneem, Samir El-Nakla, and Darin El-Nakla. 2020. "Level of Sustainability Awareness among University Students in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia" Sustainability 12, no. 8: 3159. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083159