Comparing the Effect of Scientific Background on University Students’ Environmental Views

Eleftheria Fytopoulou (), Evangelia Karasmanaki and Georgios Tsantopoulos ()
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Eleftheria Fytopoulou: Department of Forestry and Management of Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street, 68 200 Orestiada, Greece
Evangelia Karasmanaki: Department of Forestry and Management of Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street, 68 200 Orestiada, Greece
Georgios Tsantopoulos: Department of Forestry and Management of Environment and Natural Resources, Democritus University of Thrace, 193 Pantazidou Street, 68 200 Orestiada, Greece

World, 2024, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: Creating an environmentally aware society is not an easy task and requires knowledge about what affects the formation of environmental views. At the same time, to contribute to environmental protection, individuals with different educational backgrounds need to have environmental awareness, because their decisions as future professionals may affect the environment. The problem, however, is that there is not adequate research on the association between educational background and environmental views. To address this gap, the aim of this study is to investigate whether scientific background affects environmental views and attitudes. Specific objectives are to examine whether scientific background affects university students’ views on environmental issues as well as their attitudes towards the solution to environmental problems. To achieve this aim, a comparative study was performed on two student groups: students attending environmental studies and students attending classical studies. The results showed that non-environmental students were less willing to change their habits to protect the environment and to participate in environmental actions compared to environmental students who expressed a pronounced willingness to do so. However, both student groups did not acknowledge their personal environmental responsibility. Categorical regression revealed that students’ certain sociodemographic variables affected their willingness to change habits. However, other additional variables are recommended to be analyzed in future studies. The results from this study provide support for making changes in the curricula of non-environmental departments and for carrying out actions to reinforce the participation of students in initiatives aimed at raising environmental awareness.

Keywords: environmental studies; sustainable education; sustainability efforts; higher education curricula; questionnaire survey; environmental views; curriculum design; educational background (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G15 G17 G18 L21 L22 L25 L26 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 R51 R52 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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