Sustainability Perceptions:
Views of International Students at a New Zealand Institute
Mary Panko and Rashika Sharma Unitec Institute of Technology
A course in Sustainable Technology
u A level-6 course as part of the Bachelor in Applied Technology.
u Has varied between optional and compulsory.
u Stress opportunities for individuals, their industries and global benefits.
u Highlights potential advantages for companies $$$ as well as social and environmental aspects.
u We have focussed on the Quadruple Bottom Line (Economy, Social, Environmental and Governance) as well as Life Cycles of products.
u Linked classroom instruction to Industrial experiences e.g. guest
lecturers and field trips as well as practical investigations by students.
Methodology
u Initially attempted twice to survey students about their changing attitudes to sustainability on their return to home country, BUT – still a very poor response rate.
u Repeated questionnaire twice with class to acquire sufficient responses.
u Analysed using Google forms.
International students home countries
Students existing knowledge of
sustainability prior to course
Students’ perception of application of
sustainable technologies in home country.
Does learning about sustainability make any difference?
u Widening students’ perceptions of sustainability from
environmental knowledge to an appreciation of economic influences, governance issues and societal impact is
effective (Walshe, 2008).
u In other words, the participants had moved from
‘egocentric’ to a more ‘ecocentric’ point of view (McMillan et al 2004).
u Leads to transferable awareness of sustainability on return to home country. (Panko & Sharma, 2014).
The impact of sustainability education
on student perceptions (their view)
Impact on Students
The example of the Tuk-tuk
The electric car
Powered by a wood- burning stove
References
u McMillan, E.E., Wright, T. & Beazley, K. (2004). Impact of a university- level environmental studies class on students’ values. The Journal of Environmental Education, 35 (3) 19-27, DOI 10.32000/JOEE.35.3.19- 27.
u Panko, M. & Sharma, R. (2014). Integrating Waste Management and Pollution Control in Tertiary Vocation Education Programmes.
International Journal of Information and Education Technology, 6(3).26-30.
u Walshe, N. (2008). Understanding students’ conceptions of
sustainability. Environmental Education Research, 14 (5) 537-558, DOI: 10.1080/13504620802345958
