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Environmental, Social and Economic Attitudes and Sustainable Knowledge on the Sustainable Behaviour of Engineering Students: An Analysis Based on Attitudes towards Teachers

Author

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  • Nirda de Jesús Colón-Flores

    (Department of Statistics, Econometrics, Operations Research, Business Organization and Applied Economics, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
    Department of Economic and Social Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago–UTESA, Santiago 51000, Dominican Republic)

  • Maira Rafaela Vargas-Martínez

    (Department of Statistics, Econometrics, Operations Research, Business Organization and Applied Economics, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
    Department of Economic and Social Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago–UTESA, Santiago 51000, Dominican Republic)

  • Joselina Caridad Tavarez-De Henríquez

    (Department of Statistics, Econometrics, Operations Research, Business Organization and Applied Economics, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
    Department of Economic and Social Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago–UTESA, Santiago 51000, Dominican Republic)

  • Cándida María Domínguez-Valerio

    (Department of Economic and Social Sciences, Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago–UTESA, Santiago 51000, Dominican Republic)

Abstract

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is crucial in higher education, providing students with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for a sustainable future. ESD seeks a holistic understanding of sustainability and promotes critical thinking and innovative approaches. Specifically, ESD is very important to address in engineering careers, as engineers will need to establish sustainable solutions in the future. For this reason, the integration of sustainability into university curricula has been studied for some time. In this way, this research analyses the perceptions (attitudes towards teachers; knowledge about sustainable development; environmental, economic, and social attitudes; sustainable behaviours) that engineering students in the Dominican Republic have towards sustainable development. A number of 626 questionnaires completed by engineering students were obtained. Subsequently, the data were analysed in SPSS and PLS-SEM. The results showed that attitudes towards teachers have an impact on engineering students’ knowledge of sustainable development. In turn, the results also showed that knowledge about sustainable development influences both attitudes (economic, social, and environmental) and sustainable behaviours of engineering students. Contrary to other research, this study suggested that economic attitudes are not identified as an antecedent of sustainable behaviours among engineering students. From these results, implications and future lines of research are generated.

Suggested Citation

  • Nirda de Jesús Colón-Flores & Maira Rafaela Vargas-Martínez & Joselina Caridad Tavarez-De Henríquez & Cándida María Domínguez-Valerio, 2023. "Environmental, Social and Economic Attitudes and Sustainable Knowledge on the Sustainable Behaviour of Engineering Students: An Analysis Based on Attitudes towards Teachers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:18:p:13537-:d:1237056
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