University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland

Globalization contributes to the rapid economic growth, technological transformations, and development of human services. These excellent human innovations raise some questions about the risks to the environment, the individual, and society, bringing concerns about a sustainable future. The UN Susta...

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Main Author: Sotto, Rehna
Other Authors: Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos, Department of Language and Communication Studies, Jyväskylän yliopisto, University of Jyväskylä
Format: Master's thesis
Language:eng
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/87616
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author Sotto, Rehna
author2 Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos Department of Language and Communication Studies Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_facet Sotto, Rehna Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos Department of Language and Communication Studies Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä Sotto, Rehna Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Kieli- ja viestintätieteiden laitos Department of Language and Communication Studies Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_sort Sotto, Rehna
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description Globalization contributes to the rapid economic growth, technological transformations, and development of human services. These excellent human innovations raise some questions about the risks to the environment, the individual, and society, bringing concerns about a sustainable future. The UN Sustainable Development Goals was born and its policy on sustainability flows from the international body to the member countries, to the local institutions, and finally to the constituents. With such, local institutions, like higher education institutions, formulate initiatives that are aligned with the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. To gain support, a university, for instance, transfers sustainable development knowledge to its stakeholders. However, there are aspects of sustainability that are not yet fully understood, and sustainability is being defined in varied ways. This master’s thesis aims to provide insights into how university students view campus sustainability in Finland. This is done through conducting a two-week online survey of all attending university students at a Finnish university during the Spring semester of 2023. For the two-week duration, 100 university students voluntarily participated and answered the online questionnaire. The data gathered was analyzed using mixed methods in research. Inductive thematic analysis was performed to analyze the respondents’ answers to the open-ended questions. Whilst a chi-square test was used to ascertain whether there are differences in the categorical variables being tested and an independent sample t-test to present the significant connections between variables. The findings showed evidence that university students associated their understanding and definition of sustainability through an environmental lens and followed by the social dimension which can be related to other previous studies. From the thematic analysis, the respondents defined sustainability by speaking about their own actions in their daily life, their concerns towards others and the environment, and the consequences of their actions towards the future. Respondents also have similar views in terms of their concern towards the future/ present, their views on who should be held responsible for sustainability, and expressed that sustainability is important for them. However, a larger portion of both international and local students exhibit a commitment gap in terms of their participation in the university sustainability initiatives, and one-half of local students in their personal energy use attitudes. Also, a notable finding in the statistical analysis revealed that sustainability classes have no connection to participation in campus sustainability initiatives and energy use attitudes. Another important highlight of this thesis is that it uncovered the importance of communication and raising awareness about sustainability and sustainability initiatives on campus. This may help administrators in the improvement of sustainability communication channels and in the promotion of their sustainability actions at the university.
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spellingShingle Sotto, Rehna University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland sustainability campus sustainability sustainability culture sustainability initiatives globalization Intercultural Communication (maisteriohjelma) Master's Degree Programme in Intercultural Communication 3134 globalisaatio kampukset kestävä kehitys yliopistot opiskelijat korkeakoulut yhteiskuntavastuu globalisation campus areas sustainable development universities students institutions of higher education societal responsibility
title University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland
title_full University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland
title_fullStr University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland
title_full_unstemmed University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland
title_short University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland
title_sort university students perceptions of campus sustainability in finland
title_txtP University students' perceptions of campus sustainability in Finland
topic sustainability campus sustainability sustainability culture sustainability initiatives globalization Intercultural Communication (maisteriohjelma) Master's Degree Programme in Intercultural Communication 3134 globalisaatio kampukset kestävä kehitys yliopistot opiskelijat korkeakoulut yhteiskuntavastuu globalisation campus areas sustainable development universities students institutions of higher education societal responsibility
topic_facet 3134 Intercultural Communication (maisteriohjelma) Master's Degree Programme in Intercultural Communication campus areas campus sustainability globalisaatio globalisation globalization institutions of higher education kampukset kestävä kehitys korkeakoulut opiskelijat societal responsibility students sustainability sustainability culture sustainability initiatives sustainable development universities yhteiskuntavastuu yliopistot
url https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/87616 http://www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202306093685
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