Journal Article

Education for Sustainability: Perceptions of Sustainability Habits in Different Academic Cultures

Costa, Alexandra R., Viegas, Clara, Fidalgo, André Vaz, Lima, Natércia, Alves, Gustavo R., Orozco-Rodríguez, Claudia

2025

Overview

With the substantial expansion of technology in education during the COVID-19 pandemic, with certain practices even demonstrating a positive impact on environmental sustainability, five years later, it has become pertinent to examine the current perceptions of teachers and students regarding its utilization. This work explores how students and teachers from different countries and academic cultures perceive and incorporate sustainable habits into their daily lives. The focus is on transportation choices, food consumption, and the use of resources. The results of an adapted questionnaire, which was distributed to 855 students and 124 teachers, reveal meaningful differences: students tend to adopt more sustainable transport habits. In contrast, teachers demonstrate a greater commitment to reducing food waste and conserving resources. Cross-country comparisons also highlight differences. When focusing on the major samples (Portugal and Mexico), Portuguese participants scored higher in terms of food and resource sustainability, whereas Mexican participants relied more on public transport. These insights shed light on how sustainability is shaped not only by individual awareness but also by context and educational culture. Furthermore, the findings emphasize the ongoing role of higher education institutions in inspiring meaningful change and fostering a mindset of sustainability in future generations.

• Publisher: MDPI AG
• Subject: Annual reports / Curricula / Higher education / Literature reviews / Pandemics / Perceptions / Population / Scientific method / Social behavior / Students / Sustainable development / Teachers