Effects of education for sustainable development on personal norms regarding the scarcity of drinking water

Cruz, Thayse Santos da; Gomes, Sônia Maria da Silva; Figueiredo, Paulo Soares; Kouloukoui, Daniel; Cruz, Erisson Souza Barreto da

doi:10.5902/1983465969079

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Articles • Rev. Adm. UFSM 15 (spe) • Dec 2022 • https://doi.org/10.5902/1983465969079 copy

Effects of education for sustainable development on personal norms regarding the scarcity of drinking water

Efeitos da educação para o desenvolvimento sustentável nas normas pessoais quanto à escassez de água

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

This study aims to investigate effects of education for sustainable development (ESD) on university students’ personal norms regarding the scarcity of drinking water in light of the value-belief-norm theory (VBN).

Design/methodology/approach:

The empirical research was developed at the Federal University of Bahia. The final sample was composed of 1,096 university students. The questionnaire was validated qualitatively and quantitatively. For hypothesis testing, Structural Equation Modeling was employed.

Findings:

Results indicated that the level of education for sustainable development positively impacted only biospheric values. The findings demonstrate that the impact of education for sustainable development depends on its quality, quantity, distribution, and diffusion in curricula.

Research implications:

This research is based on VBN theory and contributes to the body of literature of EDS. It suggests that individuals’ values are in fact guiding principles of their beliefs.

Practical implications:

Biospheric values were found to have a positive effect on ecological beliefs. Nevertheless, it was found that in order to feel a moral obligation to act, students need to believe that, in fact, drinking water scarcity is a serious problem for society.

Social implications:

This research adds insights to the matter of educating the younger generation of students in view of the recent (2021-2022) water crisis in Brazil.

Originality/value:

The analysis of effects of “level of education for sustainable development” on individuals’ values, impacting the VBN chain to explain student coping with drinking water scarcity is an original contribution of this study.

Keywords:
Education for sustainable development; Drinking water scarcity; Value-belief-norm theory; Sustainability

Factors	Cronbach's Alpha	# of ltems	Factors	Cronbach's Alpha	# of ltems
Level of Education for Sustainable Development	0.954	4	Hedonic Values	0.579	3
Altruistic Values	0.675	4	Ecological Beliefs	0.654	3
Biospheric Values	0.851	4	Utilitarian Beliefs	0.482	3
Egoistic Values	0.71	5	Personal Norms	0.828	5

Factors/Items	Factor Loading	p-value	Factors/Items	Factor Loading	p-value	Factors/Items	Factor Loading	p-value
level of education for sustainable development			Biospheric Values			Ecological Beliefs
1	0,902	<0.01	1	0,897	<0.01	1	0,553	<0.01
2	0,879		2	0,793		2	0,757
3	0,947		3	0,73		3	0,559
4	0,934		4	0,653		3	0,559
Egoistic Values						Personal Norms
1	0,51	<0.01				1	0,751	<0.01
2	0,573					2	0,649
3	0,728					3	0,763
4	0,502					4	0,549
5	0,56					5	0,797

Indicator	Values	Acceptable Ranee
CMIN/DF	3,47	<3
NFI (Normed Fit Index)	0,942	≥0.9
TLI (Tucker-Lewis Index)	0,952	≥0.9
CFI (Comparative Fit Index)	0,958	≥0.9
GFI (Goodness-of-fi t Index)	0,947	≥0.9
RMSEA (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation)	0,047	<0,08
SRMR (Standardized root mean residual)	0,0473	<0.1

Hypothesis Testing			Standardized coefficients	p-value
Education	→	Biospheric Values	0,068	0,037
Education	→	Egoistic Values	0,041	0,252
Biospheric Values	→	Ecological Beliefs	0,437	***
Egoistic Values	→	Ecological Beliefs	-0,074	0,057
Ecological Beliefs	→	Personal Norms	0,598	***

Hipotheses	Status
H1a: There is a positive impact of the level of education for sustainable development on altruistic and biosoheric values.	Partially accepted
H1b: There is a negative impact of the level of education for sustainable development on egoistic and hedonic values.	Not accepted
H2a: Altruistic and biospherical values have a positive effect on ecological beliefs about drinking water.	Partially accepted
H2b: Egoistic and hedonic values have a positive effect on utilitarian beliefs about drinking water scarcity.	Not tested
H3a: There is a positive impact of ecological beliefs on personal norms of coping with drinking water scarcity.	Accepted
H3b: There is a negative impact of utilitarian beliefs on personal norms of coping with drinking water scarcity.	Not tested

Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Avenida Roraima nº 1000, Prédio 74C, Sala 4210 - Cidade Universitária - Centro de Ciências Sociais e Humanas (CCSH) - Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Cep: 97105-900, Tel: +55 (55) 3220-9242 - Santa Maria - RS - Brazil
E-mail: rea@ufsm.br

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[1] AUTHORS

1. Thayse Santos da Cruz Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Caruaru, Pernambuco, Brazil. Doctor in Administration, Federal University of Bahia, School of Management. Professor at Federal University of Pernambuco, School of Management. E-mail: thayse.cruz@hotmail.com.

	Questionnaire Question
	Dimension	Analyze the following values, how important is each value to you? Your answers can range from -1 to 7. -1 (minus one) means that the value is opposite you. The higher the number the more important the value, so 7 (seven) means that the value is of utmost importance to you.
Block I	Hedonic Values	PLEASURE: joy, satisfaction of desires
		ENJOY LIFE: enjoying food, sex, leisure, etc.
		SELF-INDULGENT: doing pleasant things
	Egoistic Values	SOCIAL POWER: having control over others, dominance
		WEALTH: material goods, Money
		AUTHORITY: the right to lead or command
		INFLUENCER: to have impact on people
		AMBITIOUS: to work hard, aspire to rise in your career
	Altruistic Values	EQUALITY: equal opportunities for all
		A WORLD IN PEACE: free of wars and conflicts
		SOCIAL JUSTICE: fighting injustices, caring for the weak
		HELPFUL: working for the well-being of others
	Biospheric Values	RESPECT THE EARTH: harmony with other species
		UNITY WITH NATURE: feeling integrated with nature
		PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT: preserving nature
		PREVENT POLLUTION: protection of natural resources

	Questionnaire Question
	Dimension	On a scale of 1 (totally disagree) to 5 (totally agree), indicate how much you agree with the following beliefs.
Block II	Utilitarian Beliefs	There is no shortage of drinking water
		Humans have the right to use all the water they desire
		Science will solve water supply problems before they become serious
	Ecological Beliefs	I consider water to be a scarce resource that must be carefully preserved
		Drinking water will run out very soon if we don't change the way we consume it
		The scarcity of drinking water is a serious problem for society

Block III of the Questionnaire	Questionnaire Question
	Dirnension	On a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), please indicate how much vou a11:ree with the following personal norms.
Block III	Personal Norms	I feel personally obligated to save as much water as possible.
		I feel guilty when I waste water.
		People like me should do everything they can to reduce water use.
		I would be a better person if I saved water.
		I feel morally obligated to save water, regardless of what others do.

Block IVof the questionnaire	Questionnaire question
	Dimension
	Level of Education for Sustainable Development	On a scale of 0 (No content), 1 (Very unfamiliar) to 10 (Very familiar), please rate the presence of sustainable development-related content in the courses you have taken throughout your course
		On a scale of 0 (No contents), 1 (Very Bad) to 10 (Very Good), please rate the quality of the contents related to sustainable development in the courses vou have taken along your course.
		On a scale of 0 (No contents), 1 (Very isolated) to 10 (Very widespread), please rate the diffusion and distribution of contents related to sustainable development in the courses you have taken along the course.
		On a scale of 0 (No content), 1 (Very little) to 10 (Very much), please rate the amount of sustainable development related content in the courses you have taken throughout your course

R-square (R2)	Egoistic Values	Biospheric Values	Ecological Values	Personal Norms
R-square (R2)	0,002	0,005	0,197	0,357