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Supporting the Sustainability Journey of Tertiary International Students in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2013

Liz Sidiropoulos ,
Irene Wex  and
Jonathan Sibley
Liz Sidiropoulos*
Affiliation:
Central Queensland University Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Irene Wex
Affiliation:
Central Queensland University Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Jonathan Sibley
Affiliation:
Central Queensland University Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Liz Sidiropoulos, Lecturer in Business Programs, Adjunct Research Fellow, IERC, Central Queensland University Melbourne, 108 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia. Email: l.sidiropoulos1@cqu.edu.au
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Abstract

This article reports the findings of a pilot Education for Sustainability (EfS) program implemented in 2011 for international students in a multi-campus distributed learning environment at an Australian university. It outlines the context of the pilot EfS program and reports survey findings of the environmental attitudes and sustainability worldviews of international students. The pilot EfS program entailed in-class presentations to students in a variety of Business and IT programs at diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Students were introduced to sustainability concepts and the role of graduate skills in their future professional practice. Students were also encouraged to adopt personal sustainability behaviours and assisted to connect their individual courses/programs to sustainability outcomes. Surveys consisting of open-ended questions and the Revised NEP (New Environmental Paradigm) questionnaire were conducted in a range of settings in order to develop an understanding of the sustainability attitudes and knowledge of international students. These were conducted in participating and non-participating EfS classes and also in classes with and without sustainability topics in the curriculum. The findings report the impact of these sustainability interventions on students’ environmental views and attitudes. Finally, these findings are contextualised in suggested routes for scaffolding the learning journey of international students towards sustainability.

Keywords

sustainabilityenvironmentattitudesinternationalpedagogybusiness
Type
Feature Articles
Information
Australian Journal of Environmental Education , Volume 29 , Issue 1: Creating our next courageous steps , July 2013 , pp. 52 - 79
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2013 

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