Rubaya Rahat, Claudia Calle Müller and Mohamed ElZomor
While the efforts at the curriculum level to promote sustainability and resilience have been increasing, it is critical to determine effective approaches to advance the awareness…
Abstract
Purpose
While the efforts at the curriculum level to promote sustainability and resilience have been increasing, it is critical to determine effective approaches to advance the awareness of social equity of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) students in such a context. This study aims to explore AEC students’ awareness and perception of societal inequalities within resilient infrastructure systems and investigate the efficacy of a training approach to cultivate concepts related to sustainable, equitable and resilient infrastructure (SERI).
Design/methodology/approach
The study surveyed AEC students and gathered data about students’ awareness of equity in resilient infrastructure systems, their desire to promote systemic change and relevant demographics. Furthermore, the study implemented training within a sustainability course and conducted a post-training survey.
Findings
The results revealed that although the majority of the students demonstrated a promising level of awareness, some students lacked knowledge related to infrastructure inequity issues. In addition, the findings indicated that guided training could improve the students’ understanding as well as boost their confidence to address and mitigate infrastructure inequity issues in resilient infrastructure development.
Originality/value
The findings of the study are valuable for increasing awareness of infrastructure equity and can motivate educators to develop targeted strategies and educational modules, ensuring that AEC students possess the essential knowledge and perspectives to develop equitable, sustainable and resilient infrastructures.
Details
Keywords
Claudia Calle Müller, Piyush Pradhananga and Mohamed ElZomor
The built environment is responsible for approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumption, 30% of raw material use, 25% of solid waste, 25% of water use, 12% of land use and…
Abstract
Purpose
The built environment is responsible for approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumption, 30% of raw material use, 25% of solid waste, 25% of water use, 12% of land use and 33% of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, environmental improvement and decarbonization are becoming increasingly critical objectives for the construction industry. Sustainable construction can be achieved through several practices, including: considering life-cycle assessment, circular construction, resource efficiency and waste management and providing eco-efficient materials, reducing energy demands and consumption and incorporating low-carbon technologies and renewable energy sources. To achieve sustainable construction goals, it is critical to educate the future workforce about decarbonization, circular construction and how to overcome the challenges involved in transitioning to sustainable construction. This study aims to understand the gap in student knowledge related to decarbonization and circular construction and the importance of incorporating these topics in civil engineering and construction management curricula.
Design/methodology/approach
This study surveyed 120 undergraduate and graduate students at one of the largest minority-serving institutions in the USA to understand the gap in student knowledge related to decarbonization and circular construction as well as the importance of incorporating these topics in civil engineering and construction management curricula. The authors conducted several statistical measures to assess the consistency, reliability and adequacy of the sample size, including the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy, the normality test to evaluate the appropriateness of using an ordered probit regression analysis and a multicollinearity test to observe the correlation between independent variables. The data was analyzed using ordered probit regression analysis to investigate the need for a curriculum that serves in educating students about decarbonization and circular construction.
Findings
The results of this research highlight the gaps in students’ knowledge pertaining to sustainable practices and the importance of providing future construction workforce with such knowledge to tackle global inevitable challenges.
Originality/value
The findings of this study contribute to sustainable construction bodies of knowledge by advocating for a reformed curriculum to prepare the future workforce and adopt less carbonized, more circular approaches within the engineering and construction industry.
Details
Keywords
Rubaya Rahat, Claudia Calle Müller and Mohamed ElZomor
Construction education rarely addressed the importance of disseminating knowledge on infrastructure equity, thus impeding progress toward creating equitable and sustainable…
Abstract
Purpose
Construction education rarely addressed the importance of disseminating knowledge on infrastructure equity, thus impeding progress toward creating equitable and sustainable developments. This study aims to investigate the existing sustainability courses under the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE) accredited construction management (CM) programs to examine the integration of infrastructure equity topics and assess improvement in CM students’ knowledge and awareness to address this issue through an intervention.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve these objectives, this research reviewed the sustainability course descriptions of the ACCE-accredited undergraduate and graduate CM curricula. Furthermore, the study implemented a workshop within a CM sustainability course that taught the students about the key concepts of infrastructure equity as well as how to address this issue by leveraging the Envision infrastructure rating system.
Findings
The course review results showed that most sustainability courses lack topics such as infrastructure equity and social sustainability. Moreover, the analysis of pre- and postworkshop surveys indicated that guided training could improve the students’ understanding as well as boost their confidence to address and mitigate infrastructure inequity issues.
Originality/value
The findings of the study are valuable for increasing awareness of infrastructure equity and facilitating the future construction workforce with the required expertise to develop equitable infrastructure systems.