Sustainable Consumption Through Education for Sustainability in Higher Education Institutes in Qatar

The impact that Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has on the development of sustainability awareness among students attending Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is a crucial intersection for sustainable global futures. It has been argued that the simple acquisition of sustainability knowledge is not adequate for the actualization of sustainable practices, despite the fact that knowledge plays a fundamental role in comprehending sustainable awareness. The purpose of this research is to identify the pathways through which ESD influences sustainability awareness and, as a result, sustainable practices among students attending Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), while considering the complex interaction that exists between knowledge, attitudes, and practices within the sustainability education context. ESD is an emerging subject, however, the interlinkage and effect of sustainability knowledge, attitude, and practice in HEIs in Qatar are relatively new. This dissertation explores the impact of ESD in terms of sustainability knowledge, attitude, and practice in HEIs in Qatar.

Furthermore, within Education for Sustainable Development, this dissertation mainly focuses on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). Using an extensive literature review and a survey, this research looks at the factors in the education system, such as the Curriculum, the Community, and the Campus. The academic understanding of consumption consists of two categories: immediate consumption and contextual consumption, according to the literature.

Contextual consumption is influenced by policy measures like taxation, whereas immediate consumption is driven by factors such as the cost of the product and its impact on the environment which is targeted in this research. Education is a key contributor in encouraging environmentally conscious consumer practices for immediate consumption, and it is expressed within the literature that HEIs are the most effective suppliers for such sustainability initiatives. Moreover, within the literature, the consciousness questionnaire is one of the tools to assess sustainability awareness among students, in this research an altered consciousness questionnaire was used to gather data about the factors affecting student’s sustainability knowledge, attitude, and practice. The study aimed to assess the understanding of sustainable development among higher education students in Qatar, focusing on knowledge, attitude, and practice using an altered consciousness questionnaire to gather statistics about the factors affecting student’s sustainability knowledge, attitude, and practice. A total of 472 responses were collected from 212 students enrolled in Qatar's HEIs. The results showed that students have a decrease in positive effects towards sustainability from knowledge to attitudes and practices. Over 80% of students have an adequate understanding of sustainability-related knowledge, and 64% have a favorable attitude towards it. Students engage in positive sustainability practices approximately 47% of the time. The study also found that external factors to the educational environment such as the Curriculum, the Community, and the Campus, such as social media, news, and family and friends, are responsible for providing knowledge, attitudes, and practices. As the most important component in terms of sustainable consumption, assessing sustainability practice is explored through behavioral nudging through a sustainability challenge conducted within a graduate-level course, and the students' educational environment impact on sustainable practices is evaluated.

The research that was conducted revealed that students in higher education who were enrolled in education for sustainability contexts demonstrated an average of approximately four percent more sustainable practices when compared to their counterparts who were not enrolled in education for sustainability contexts. Understanding the impact of Education for Sustainable on students' sustainability practices in higher education would allow for the development and implementation of an effective educational intervention addressing and increasing sustainability in the educational context as well as providing effective metrics for the design of new educational interventions to address future sustainability goals.