Expectations and Interests of University Students in COVID-19 Times about Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru

Aldo Alvarez-Risco, Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales, Marc A. Rosen, Verónica García-Ibarra, Sandra Maycotte-Felkel and Gabriel Mauricio Martínez-Toro
Additional contact information
Aldo Alvarez-Risco: Carrera de Negocios Internacionales Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales y Económicas, Universidad de Lima, Lima 15023, Peru
Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales: Escuela Nacional de Marina Mercante “Almirante Miguel Grau”, Callao 07021, Peru
Marc A. Rosen: Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON L1G 0C5, Canada
Verónica García-Ibarra: Carrera de Administración de Empresas, Universidad Politécnica Estatal Del Carchi, Tulcan 040102, Ecuador
Sandra Maycotte-Felkel: Carrera de Negocios Internacionales, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Juan de La Barrera 1241, Las Cumbres, 25270 Saltillo, Mexico
Gabriel Mauricio Martínez-Toro: Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, Bucaramanga 680011, Colombia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-19

Abstract: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the world, creating the need for new actions from society, including universities and companies. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are part of a global agenda, but this priority is not significant to university students. Although some research has focused on SDGs and university students, there is a lack of evaluation and comparison in Latin American countries. The current study aims to evaluate student knowledge of the SDGs, the relation of student professional careers to the SDGs, the importance of the SDGs for economic development after the COVID-19 pandemic, and student interest research in SDG issues. The study is carried out with students in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. The instrument was developed and validated. The highest score of level of knowledge was reported in Mexico and the lowest score in Colombia. This outcome can be explained by the availability of training programs in the universities about SDGs. The availability of programs created and promoted by the governments can also be a reason; however, students from Mexico are the ones who felt the most that the authorities are not making efforts to promote the SDGs. With research interests, interests in creating sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production were recognized for the four countries. The outcomes reveal several interesting insights through comparisons among the four countries considered according to descriptive analyses. Some SDGs were found to be more important for some countries than others. Interests were noted in research on some SDGs.

Keywords: sustainable development goals; university; sustainability; sustainability education; COVID-19; Colombia; Ecuador; Mexico; Peru (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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