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Manuscript ID : 10344 Visit : 70 Page: 181 - 195

10.22034/jest.2017.10344

Article Type: Original Research

A Study of Agricultural Students' Awareness, Attitude and Behavior toward Sustainable Development

Subject Areas : environmental management

Masoud  Rezaei 1 (Member of scientific board, Agricultural Department, Iranian Institute of Encyclopedia Research, Tehran, Iran*(Corresponding Author).)
Mahdi  Khodaei Motlagh 2 (Member of scientific board, Faculty of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Arak, Arak, Iran)

Received: 2015-01-19 Accepted : 2015-10-29 Published : 2017-03-21

Keywords: Awareness, Attitude, BEHAVIOR, Sustainable development, student,

Abstract :

Context and Purpose: The aim of this research was to investigate agricultural students' awareness, attitude and behavior toward sustainable development at Arak University. Methodology: Survey method was applied in this research. The statistical population of this study was agricultural students at Arak University from which 101 students were selected using simple randomized sampling. A questionnaire was developed to gather data. Validity and reliability of the research instrument were confirmed based on the evaluation of experts and Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient (environmental behavior=0.78, environmental awareness=0.71 and attitude toward environment=0.79) respectively. Findings: The findings indicated that 77.2% of the students had a high level, 20.8% had a medium level and 2% had a low level of awareness toward sustainable development. Furthermore, 33.7% of the students had a strong, 36.6% had a moderate, and 29.7% had a weak attitude toward sustainable development. The results of correlation analysis revealed that there was a significantly positive relationship between these sets: awareness and attitude, awareness and behavior, and attitude and behavior toward sustainable development. The relationship between students' attitudes and behavior toward sustainable development with G.P.A. were also significant. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that attitude and gender predict 57% of variation in the agricultural students' behavior toward sustainable development. Conclusion: environmental education and changing students' attitude toward environment are prerequisites for achieving sustainable development.     

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