Trial Study to Understand the Awareness among University Students toward a Sustainable Future through Personal Attitude Construct Analysis

Abstract

  In order to obtain some basic information useful for promoting the future of Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD), the present study attempted to grasp the awareness toward a sustainable future among university students through Personal Attitude Construct (PAC) analysis. The subjects of research were three university students, and each of them was interviewed separately. First, the interviewer used associative stimulus sentences to test each subject’s awareness towards a “sustainable future.” The investigator then evaluated the subject’s verbal description by PAC analysis.
  The results of the investigation were as follows: (1) The first student, who had no previous volunteer experience, expressed a desire to acquire different kinds of knowledge that would stimulate her interest. (2) Although the second student, who had worked as a volunteer for a while, understood the basis of ESD, he considered the concept of a “sustainable society” questionable. (3) The third student, who was engaged in volunteer activities, appeared to have a good understanding of the relationship between global-scale issues and local familiar issues.
  These findings suggest that, in order to promote HESD in the future, it will be important to establish educational programs that incorporate participatory aspects through which students can grasp the relationship between people and society.