UBC Undergraduate Research

UBC students' perceptions of sustainability as a function of faculty and year Anda, Christina; Dubeta, Jay; Eakin, Elizabeth; Elvenaes, Erik; Smith, Isaiah

Abstract

We examine how the perception of the importance of sustainability varies amongst faculty and year throughout the student body at the University of British Columbia using the revised New Ecological Paradigm scale (NEP). The revised NEP is a measure of validation of a “proecological” worldview used extensively in the field of environmental education; primarily to measure the differences in behaviour and attitude relative to underlying values and worldviews (2012 Burkshire). We compare the NEP scores of 278 surveyed students whose faculties (major area of study) were forestry, science, arts, business, and other. In addition to the NEP we use 6 supplemental questions which were provided by our stakeholders to measure perceived campus involvement in sustainability practices and what impact that had on their decisions. We also use the survey to extrapolate if there is a correlation between the number of years on campus and an increased perception of importance of sustainability. We present our data which reflects that there is in fact a relationship between faculty and the perceived importance of sustainability. However there does not appear to be a relationship between the number of years of attendance at UBC and an increase in the perception that sustainability is important. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada