Education's role in fostering environmental awareness and advancing sustainable development within a holistic framework

Vitaliy Hnatyuk; Natalia Pshenychna; Svitlana Kara; Valentyna Kolodii; Liliia Yaroshchuk

doi:10.31893/multirev.2024spe012

Keywords:

environmental education

environment

attitude

Abstract

The paper explores the pivotal role of education in nurturing environmentally conscious citizenship and advancing sustainable development. It delves into how education raises public awareness regarding critical environmental issues like pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change. The analysis also probes the influence of education in shaping environmental values, skills, and decision-making abilities crucial for responsible ecological stewardship. Additionally, the paper examines innovative approaches and methodologies applicable in educational programs to enhance environmental literacy and promote active citizen engagement in addressing environmental challenges. The research seeks to investigate the nexus between perception, attitude, and environmental behavior among higher education students majoring in diverse fields such as electrical engineering, mechanics, and economics. Involving 453 students from Ukrainian higher educational institutions, the study employed the Likert scale to gauge students' environmental education, perception, attitude, and behavior. Findings revealed that students actively participating in academic education exhibit engagement in environmental initiatives such as volunteering, event participation, and recycling, along with a keen interest in green technologies and alternative energy sources. Moreover, statistical analysis indicated no significant difference in the awareness of the importance of environmental education across various faculties.
References
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27. Ricoy, M.C. and Sánchez-Martínez, C. (2022). Raising ecological awareness and digital literacy in primary school children through gamification. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(3): 1149. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031149
28. Sabbir, M.M., & Taufique, K.M.R. (2022). Sustainable employee green behavior in the workplace: Integrating cognitive and non‐cognitive factors in corporate environmental policy. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(1), 110-128. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2877
29. Saqib, N., Sharif, A., Razzaq, A., & Usman, M. (2023). Integration of renewable energy and technological innovation in realizing environmental sustainability: the role of human capital in EKC framework. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(6), 16372-16385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23345-6.
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31. Tymoshenko, Y., Kyslenko, D., Kuzmichova-Kyslenko, E. et al. (2022). Features of the pre-trial investigation of air pollution. Environment and Ecology Research, 10(2), 133-145. https://doi.org/10.13189/eer.2022.100203
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34. Zacher, H., Rudolph, C.W., & Katz, I.M. (2023). Employee green behavior as the core of environmentally sustainable organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10: 465-494. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/qvjsf

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

How to cite

Hnatyuk, V., Pshenychna, N., Kara, S., Kolodii, V., & Yaroshchuk, L. (2024). Education’s role in fostering environmental awareness and advancing sustainable development within a holistic framework. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 7, 2024spe012. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2024spe012

[1] Al-Mulla, S., Ari, I., & Koç, M. (2022). Social media for sustainability education: Gaining knowledge and skills into actions for sustainable living International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 29(5), 455-471. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2022.2036856

[2] Arabadzhyiev, D.Yu., Buryk, Z.M., Barshatska, H.Yu. et al. (2020) Establishing interterritorial cooperation of amalgamated territorial communities as a tool to increase their capacity. International Journal of Management, 11(5), 1036-1044.

[3] Artyushok, K., Verstiak, A., Kravchuk, O. et al. (2023). Institutional security in relations of ownership of natural resources: state environmental and economic policy and decentralization. Financial and Credit Activity: Problems of Theory and Practice, 6(53), 376-391. https://doi.org/10.55643/fcaptp.6.53.2023.4233

[4] Bayev, V. V., Bakhov, I. S., Mirzodaieva, T. V. et al. (2022). Theoretical and methodological fundamentals of the modern paradigm of quality management in the field of tourism. Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, 13(2), 338-345. https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.v13.2(58).04

[5] Boeve-de Pauw, J. (2019). Education for environmental citizenship: an opportunity for Flanders (Belgium)? Results of the Flemish SWOT analysis for ENEC. European SWOT analysis on education for environmental citizenship, 51-57.

[6] Dandawate, S., Falor, D., & Patel, H. (2022). A case study on the systematic swot analysis of education first. Fostering Resilient Business Ecosystems and Economic Growth: Towards the Next Normal, 623.

[7] Gal, A. (2023). Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats: a SWOT analysis of a long-term outdoor environmental education program in Israel. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42322-023-00125-5

[8] Hadjichambis, A.C., & Hadjichambi, D. (2022). Education for environmental citizenship pedagogical approach: Innovative teaching and learning for a sustainable future. In Innovative approaches to socioscientific issues and sustainability education: Linking research to practice, 199-215. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1840-7_12

[9] Han, P., Tong, Z., Sun, Y., & Chen, X. (2022). Impact of Climate Change Beliefs on Youths’ Engagement in Energy-Conservation Behavior: The Mediating Mechanism of Environmental Concerns. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7222. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127222

[10] Hawke, S.M., & Spannring, R. (2022). Embodying the Earth: Environmental pedagogy, rewilding waterscapes and human consciousness. In Pedagogy in the Anthropocene: Rewilding education for a new earth, 197-215. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90980-2_10

[11] Henderson, K., & Loreau, M. (2023). A model of Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges and opportunities in promoting human well-being and environmental sustainability. Ecological Modelling, 47, 110164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2022.110164

[12] Husamah, H., Suwono, H., Nur, H., & Dharmawan, A. (2022). Action competencies for sustainability and its implications to environmental education for prospective science teachers: A systematic literature review. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 18(8). https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/12235

[13] Iwasaki, S. (2022). Effects of environmental education on young Children’s water-saving behaviors in Japan. Sustainability, 14(6), 3382. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063382

[14] Izhar, G., Wardani, K., & Nugraha, N.K. (2022). The Development Enviromental Literacy Media Learning for Elementary School Student. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 3(3): 397-404. https://doi.org/10.46843/jiecr.v3i3.116

[15] Linder, N., Giusti, M., Samuelsson, K., & Barthel, S. (2021). Pro-environmental habits: An underexplored research agenda in sustainability science. Ambio, 51(3), 546–556. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-021-01619-6

[16] Mónus, F. (2022). Environmental education policy of schools and socioeconomic background affect environmental attitudes and pro-environmental behavior of secondary school students. Environmental Education Research, 28(2), 169-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2021.2023106

[17] Moustairas, I., Vardopoulos, I., Kavouras, S. et al. (2022). Exploring factors that affect public acceptance of establishing an urban environmental education and recycling center. Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, 25, 100605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2022.100605

[18] Mulska, O., Vasyltsiv, T., Shushkova, Y. et al. (2022). Assessment of the population's social resilience environment (the case of the carpathian region of Ukraine). Problems and Perspectives in Management, 20(1), 407-421. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.20(1).2022.33

[19] Nahursky, O., Krylova, H., Vasiichuk, V. et al., (2022). Utilization of household plastic waste in technologies with final biodegradation. Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology, 23(4): 94–100. https://doi.org/10.12912/27197050/150234

[20] Nguyen, T.L., Huynh, M.K., Ho, N.N. et al. (2022). Factors affecting of environmental consciousness on green purchase intention: an empirical study of generation Z in Vietnam. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 9(1): 333-343. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2022.vol9.no1.0333

[21] Nwanaji-Enwerem, O., Baccarelli, A.A., Curwin, B.D. et al. (2022). Environmentally just futures: a collection of community-driven African environmental education and improvement initiatives. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6622. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116622

[22] Obrecht, M., Feodorova, Z., & Rosi, M. (2022). Assessment of environmental sustainability integration into higher education for future experts and leaders. Journal of Environmental Management, 316: 115223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115223

[23] Piscitelli, A., & D’Uggento, A. M. (2022). Do young people really engage in sustainable behaviors in their lifestyles. Social Indicators Research, 163(3), 1467-1485. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-022-02955-0

[24] Piscová, V., Lehotayová, J., & Hreško, J. (2023). Environmental education in the school system at elementary schools in Slovakia. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 11(4): 650-671. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/13377

[25] Rawtani, D., Gupta, G., Khatri, N., Rao, P. K. (2022). Environmental damages due to war in Ukraine: A perspective. Science of The Total Environment, 850: 157932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157932

[26] Resource and Analysis Center "Society and Environment" (2023), How the war changes Ukrainians: a survey of citizens' opinions about the war, the environment, postwar reconstruction and joining the EU. Analytical note. Available at: https://www.rac.org.ua/uploads/content/674/files/how-the-war-changed-ukrainiansfinalua.pdf Accessed:April 3, 2024.

[27] Ricoy, M.C. and Sánchez-Martínez, C. (2022). Raising ecological awareness and digital literacy in primary school children through gamification. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(3): 1149. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031149

[28] Sabbir, M.M., & Taufique, K.M.R. (2022). Sustainable employee green behavior in the workplace: Integrating cognitive and non‐cognitive factors in corporate environmental policy. Business Strategy and the Environment, 31(1), 110-128. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2877

[29] Saqib, N., Sharif, A., Razzaq, A., & Usman, M. (2023). Integration of renewable energy and technological innovation in realizing environmental sustainability: the role of human capital in EKC framework. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(6), 16372-16385. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23345-6.

[30] Sydorchuk, O., Matsuska, O., Sabadash, V., & Gumnitsky, J. (2014). Parallel-serial Adsorption of Phosphate Ions by Natural Sorbents. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, 6(6). https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2014.30874

[31] Tymoshenko, Y., Kyslenko, D., Kuzmichova-Kyslenko, E. et al. (2022). Features of the pre-trial investigation of air pollution. Environment and Ecology Research, 10(2), 133-145. https://doi.org/10.13189/eer.2022.100203

[32] Verytelnyk, S. (2019). The Formation of Future Sustainable Development of Ukraine: Issues and Current State. MIND Journal, 8: 1-18. https://doi.org/10.36228/mj.8/2019.7

[33] Xavier, L.Y., Jacobi, P.R., & Turra, A. (2019). Local Agenda 21: Planning for the future, changing today. Environmental Science & Policy, 101: 7-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.07.006

[34] Zacher, H., Rudolph, C.W., & Katz, I.M. (2023). Employee green behavior as the core of environmentally sustainable organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10: 465-494. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/qvjsf

Abstract

References

How to cite