IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i23p6837-d293061.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analyzing Sustainability Awareness among Higher Education Faculty Members: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia

Author

Listed:
  • Bandar Alkhayyal

    (Department of Engineering Management, College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia)

  • Wafa Labib

    (Department of Architecture, College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia)

  • Talal Alsulaiman

    (Department of Engineering Management, College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia)

  • Abdelhakim Abdelhadi

    (Department of Engineering Management, College of Engineering, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to examine the understanding of sustainability of the faculty members in higher education in Saudi Arabia. One of the main objectives is to explore how they implement sustainability in the courses offered in one of the major non-profit private universities in Riyadh. Findings : A survey was conducted among the faculty members to investigate their awareness on this topic. Survey results were compared between the different departments to understand how the faculty members can contribute to sustainable education if they increase their knowledge through training and workshops related to the topic. The comparative analysis allows us to define the guidelines to build a strong institution that presents itself as a leader and change-driver in the Gulf region. The survey was done among the limited number of faculty members in the benchmark university, searching for answers about sustainability using the top-down methodology. The survey fulfilled the original aim of developing an evidence base of faculty members existing expertise, experience and interest in sustainability. The survey is also an important step to embed sustainability into the benchmark university. It also provides an opportunity to reflect and put forward suggestions on what it means to have sustainability as a core value and strategic priority. Originality/value : According to the Saudi Vision 2030, developed following the UN requirements, the Saudi Government expects companies to be more responsible towards society and sustainable economy. Increasing the understanding and learning of sustainability among faculty members is beneficial to young people to build their professional careers in a sustainable environment, considering the environmental, social, and economic implications. In this context, the role of faculty members is crucial to strengthen the awareness and knowledge about sustainability in higher education among the new generation. The work identified opportunities to engage all staff on what it means to have sustainability as a core value and strategic priority.

Suggested Citation

  • Bandar Alkhayyal & Wafa Labib & Talal Alsulaiman & Abdelhakim Abdelhadi, 2019. "Analyzing Sustainability Awareness among Higher Education Faculty Members: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:23:p:6837-:d:293061
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/23/6837/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/23/6837/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Habib M. Alshuwaikhat & Yusuf A. Adenle & Bilal Saghir, 2016. "Sustainability Assessment of Higher Education Institutions in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Maria Kalamas Hedden & Roneisha Worthy & Edwin Akins & Vanessa Slinger-Friedman & R. C. Paul, 2017. "Teaching Sustainability Using an Active Learning Constructivist Approach: Discipline-Specific Case Studies in Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-18, July.
    3. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    4. Philip Vaughter & Tarah Wright & Marcia McKenzie & Lauri Lidstone, 2013. "Greening the Ivory Tower: A Review of Educational Research on Sustainability in Post-Secondary Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(5), pages 1-20, May.
    5. Gemma Burford & Elona Hoover & Ismael Velasco & Svatava Janoušková & Alicia Jimenez & Georgia Piggot & Dimity Podger & Marie K. Harder, 2013. "Bringing the “Missing Pillar” into Sustainable Development Goals: Towards Intersubjective Values-Based Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-25, July.
    6. Dámaris Cuadrado & Jesús F. Salgado & Silvia Moscoso, 2019. "Prevalence and Correlates of Academic Dishonesty: Towards a Sustainable University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-20, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Okoye Peter Uchenna & Odesola Isaac Abiodun & Okolie Kevin Chuks, 2021. "Optimising the Awareness of Benefits of Sustainable Construction Practices in Nigeria," Baltic Journal of Real Estate Economics and Construction Management, Sciendo, vol. 9(1), pages 62-77, January.
    2. Nur Syazwani Izzati Samdi & Asiyah Kassim & Zoel Ng, 2024. "Youth Awareness on Sustainable Development: The Mediating Effect of Place Attachment in Selangor, Malaysia*," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(8), pages 264-283, August.
    3. Tasneem Alsaati & Samir El-Nakla & Darin El-Nakla, 2020. "Level of Sustainability Awareness among University Students in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, April.
    4. Walter Leal Filho & João Henrique Paulino Pires Eustachio & Adriana Cristina Ferreira Caldana & Markus Will & Amanda Lange Salvia & Izabela S. Rampasso & Rosley Anholon & Johannes Platje & Marina Kova, 2020. "Sustainability Leadership in Higher Education Institutions: An Overview of Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Laiza Andriolo da Rocha Ramos & Francesco Zecca & Claudio Del Regno, 2022. "Needs of Sustainable Food Consumption in the Pandemic Era: First Results of Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-23, August.
    6. Sharifah Nurlaili Farhana Syed Azhar & Noor Adelyna Mohammed Akib & Suzyrman Sibly & Saidatulakmal Mohd, 2022. "Students’ Attitude and Perception towards Sustainability: The Case of Universiti Sains Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-17, March.
    7. Ramin Gharizadeh Beiragh & Reza Alizadeh & Saeid Shafiei Kaleibari & Fausto Cavallaro & Sarfaraz Hashemkhani Zolfani & Romualdas Bausys & Abbas Mardani, 2020. "An integrated Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model for Sustainability Performance Assessment for Insurance Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-24, January.
    8. Despoina Dede & Eleni Didaskalou & Sotirios Bersimis & Dimitrios Georgakellos, 2020. "A Statistical Framework for Assessing Environmental Performance of Quality Wine Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-16, December.
    9. Gamze Sart, 2022. "Impact of Higher Education and Globalization on Sustainable Development in the New EU Member States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-13, September.
    10. Uma Maheswari Gopinath & Nishad Nawaz & Vijayakumar Gajenderan & Hariswaran Balasubramaniyan, 2021. "Antecedents of Emotional Intelligence: Perceived Organizational Support Impact on Ambidextrous Behavior of Standalone Business School Faculty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-12, July.
    11. Aroub Alnasser & Nsreen Musallat, 2022. "Food Sustainability Knowledge among Saudis: Towards the Goals of Saudi Vision 2030," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Emilia Conte, 2018. "The Era of Sustainability: Promises, Pitfalls and Prospects for Sustainable Buildings and the Built Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & David López & Carme Martín & Eva Vidal & Jose Cabré & Joan Climent, 2020. "The Sustainability Matrix: A Tool for Integrating and Assessing Sustainability in the Bachelor and Master Theses of Engineering Degrees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-24, July.
    3. Chandra Sekhar & Reeta Raina, 2021. "Towards more sustainable future: assessment of sustainability literacy among the future managers in India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(11), pages 15830-15856, November.
    4. Habib M. Alshuwaikhat & Ismaila R. Abubakar & Yusuf A. Aina & Yusuf A. Adenle & Muhammad Umair, 2017. "The Development of a GIS-Based Model for Campus Environmental Sustainability Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-23, March.
    5. Betzabe Ruiz-Morales & Irma Cristina Espitia-Moreno & Victor G. Alfaro-Garcia & Ernesto Leon-Castro, 2021. "Sustainable Development Goals Analysis with Ordered Weighted Average Operators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-27, May.
    6. Míriam Hernández-Barco & Jesús Sánchez-Martín & José Blanco-Salas & Trinidad Ruiz-Téllez, 2020. "Teaching Down to Earth —Service-Learning Methodology for Science Education and Sustainability at the University Level: A Practical Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-23, January.
    7. Mohammad A. Alsharif & Michael D. Peters & Timothy J. Dixon, 2020. "Designing and Implementing Effective Campus Sustainability in Saudi Arabian Universities: An Assessment of Drivers and Barriers in a Rational Choice Theoretical Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-23, June.
    8. Leyla Angélica Sandoval Hamón & Ana Paula Martinho & M. Rosário Ramos & Cecilia Elizabeth Bayas Aldaz, 2020. "Do Spanish Students Become More Sustainable after the Implementation of Sustainable Practices by Universities?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-21, September.
    9. Mechthild Donner & Anne Verniquet & Jan Broeze & Katrin Kayser & Hugo de Vries, 2021. "Critical success and risk factors for circular business models valorising agricultural waste and by-products," Post-Print hal-03004851, HAL.
    10. Cornelis Leeuwen & Jos Frijns & Annemarie Wezel & Frans Ven, 2012. "City Blueprints: 24 Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of the Urban Water Cycle," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2177-2197, June.
    11. CHEN, Helen S.Y., 2020. "Designing Sustainable Humanitarian Supply Chains," OSF Preprints m82ar, Center for Open Science.
    12. Jim Butcher, 2006. "The United Nations International Year of Ecotourism: a critical analysis of development implications," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 6(2), pages 146-156, April.
    13. Denise Ravet, 2011. "Lean production: the link between supply chain and sustainable development in an international environment," Post-Print hal-00691666, HAL.
    14. Mara Del Baldo, 2012. "Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in Italian SMEs: the experience of some “spirited businesses”," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(1), pages 1-36, February.
    15. Megan Devonald & Nicola Jones & Sally Youssef, 2022. "‘We Have No Hope for Anything’: Exploring Interconnected Economic, Social and Environmental Risks to Adolescents in Lebanon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, February.
    16. Rigby, Dan & Woodhouse, Phil & Young, Trevor & Burton, Michael, 2001. "Constructing a farm level indicator of sustainable agricultural practice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 463-478, December.
    17. Michael Howes & Liana Wortley & Ruth Potts & Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes & Silvia Serrao-Neumann & Julie Davidson & Timothy Smith & Patrick Nunn, 2017. "Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, January.
    18. Shiferaw, Bekele & Holden, Stein, 1999. "Soil Erosion and Smallholders' Conservation Decisions in the Highlands of Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 739-752, April.
    19. Ibrahim Ari & Muammer Koc, 2018. "Sustainable Financing for Sustainable Development: Understanding the Interrelations between Public Investment and Sovereign Debt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, October.
    20. Parnphumeesup, Piya & Kerr, Sandy A., 2011. "Stakeholder preferences towards the sustainable development of CDM projects: Lessons from biomass (rice husk) CDM project in Thailand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3591-3601, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:23:p:6837-:d:293061. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.