Location
Natural Resources Room 109
Event Website
http://uenr.warnercnr.colostate.edu
Start Date
3-24-2012 3:00 PM
End Date
3-24-2012 3:30 PM
Description
A crux of the environmental problem is change resistance and few college students possess the critical analysis and persuasive communication skills needed to engage in this dialogue. Furthermore, there is little appreciation among college students for the diversity of beliefs regarding sustainability issues. We surveyed students enrolled in a First-Year Experience class in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. We used the Dunlap and Van Liere New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) measurement scale to assess the individual student orientations toward nature and the environment. The students enrolled in this class had enrolled voluntarily based on their interest in the study of the environment or natural resources. Therefore, it was no surprise that the score reflected a belief orientation towards sustainability. Survey results allowed these first-year students to discover the range of opinion among members of a relatively homogeneous sample. The survey provided insights regarding the human-centered or eco-centered orientation of their student peers. We used these findings to encourage revision of a draft problem-solving essay. We plan further use of the NEP measurement scale in our curriculum and encourage its adoptions by instructors involved in pedagogy of sustainable thinking.
Sustainability Beliefs of First-year Students in Natural Resources
Natural Resources Room 109
A crux of the environmental problem is change resistance and few college students possess the critical analysis and persuasive communication skills needed to engage in this dialogue. Furthermore, there is little appreciation among college students for the diversity of beliefs regarding sustainability issues. We surveyed students enrolled in a First-Year Experience class in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. We used the Dunlap and Van Liere New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) measurement scale to assess the individual student orientations toward nature and the environment. The students enrolled in this class had enrolled voluntarily based on their interest in the study of the environment or natural resources. Therefore, it was no surprise that the score reflected a belief orientation towards sustainability. Survey results allowed these first-year students to discover the range of opinion among members of a relatively homogeneous sample. The survey provided insights regarding the human-centered or eco-centered orientation of their student peers. We used these findings to encourage revision of a draft problem-solving essay. We plan further use of the NEP measurement scale in our curriculum and encourage its adoptions by instructors involved in pedagogy of sustainable thinking.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/9thBiennial/Sessions/56
Comments
Citation: Orth, DJ, Cowgill, KH, Stauffer, DF, Wiseman, EP. 2012. Sustainability Beliefs of First-year Students in Natural Resources. 9th UENR Biennial Conference. UENR 9th Biennial Conference. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/9thBiennial/Sessions/56/