Exploring personal definitions of sustainability and their impact on perceptions of sustainability culture
International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education
ISSN: 1467-6370
Article publication date: 26 August 2021
Issue publication date: 24 February 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory analysis of campus community member (i.e. students, faculty, staff) definitions of sustainability, their perceptions of select elements of sustainability culture and the relationship between the two.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers implemented a cross-sectional design where participants from two higher education institutions in the USA completed an online survey. The 352 respondents from James Madison University and 349 respondents from Wofford College included students, faculty and staff members. Descriptive statistics were used to examine patterns in the quantitative data, and an inductive theme approach was used to analyze the qualitative data.
Findings
This study provides evidence that sustainability is often viewed from an environmental lens, and personal definitions of sustainability may impact perceptions of campus sustainability culture elements. Generally, the highest rated elements of culture examined (i.e. university actions, signs and symbols and institutional commitments) were all aligned with the environment dimension of sustainability and consistent across sustainability definitions. However, respondents with a more integrative definition of sustainability expected to see elements of culture that aligned with the social dimension of sustainability at a considerably higher rate than the respondents who reported more narrow definitions of sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
Lack of generalizability, low response rates and self-selection bias are some of the limitations of the study.
Practical implications
Personal definitions of sustainability may impact campus community member perceptions of sustainability culture and progress on their campuses. Practitioners may use this study to inform development of more effective strategies for creating and assessing the culture of sustainability that colleges and universities are pursuing.
Originality/value
The empirical analysis of campus community members on two very different campus communities responds to Owens and Legere (2015) who argue for further studies to understand the concept of sustainability at other higher education institutions that are at different stages of pursuing sustainability. This paper links research about sustainability definitions to the emergent research on campus sustainability culture, filling a gap between these two areas.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate Dr Anne L. Metz’s contributions to the survey design and Ms Claire E. Habel’s contributions to the review of the literature when both were graduate students at James Madison University. The authors also thank Dr Amy Telligman, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Wofford College, for administering the survey at her institution, and Dr Kaye Savage, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Wofford College, for pursing the collaboration. The authors also thank the anonymous reviewer and editors for their guidance.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Conflicts of interest: the authors declare no conflict of interest.
Citation
Alexander, R., Jacovidis, J. and Sturm, D. (2022), "Exploring personal definitions of sustainability and their impact on perceptions of sustainability culture", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 686-702. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-11-2020-0426
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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