The Role of the College and Faculty Members in Raising Awareness of the Environmental Dimension of Sustainable Development

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the role of the Faculty of Economics and its faculty members in raising awareness of the environmental dimension of sustainable development, and the level of environmental awareness among students of the Public Administration Department. To achieve the study's objectives, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to a convenience sample of (359) students, of which (96) complete questionnaires were retrieved. Data was analyzed using the 27th edition (2020) of the IBM SPSS Statistics program and the Smart PLS program for data processing and analysis, to answer the study's questions and test the hypotheses. The study revealed a gap between theoretical knowledge acquired from traditional curricula and its practical application and transformation into responsible environmental behavior, due to excessive focus on the cognitive aspect and the absence of practical activities. The study also concluded that the role of faculty members is often limited to theoretical guidance due to a lack of administrative and training support for field activities. Furthermore, students exhibit good individual environmental behaviors (such as rationalization/conservation), but collective participation and volunteer initiatives are weak, resulting from a lack of institutional support and weak university sustainability standards. The study revealed no substantial effect of gender or age on the level of students' environmental awareness and practices. Finally, the study showed a strong and complementary relationship between the institutional role of the Faculty (the strongest influence) and the role of faculty members in promoting sustainable environmental behavior, confirming that they are two essential factors in developing a culture of sustainability.