Investigation of the attitudes of first-year-students towards

sustainability and environmental awareness at Széchenyi

István University

Viktória Gősi Kövecses PhD, Bálint Lampert, Tiborné Petz, Lajosné Csenger PhD
Széchenyi István University Apáczai Csere János Faculty, Liszt Ferenc Street 42. Győr 9022, Hungary,
[email protected]
Széchenyi István University Apáczai Csere János Faculty, Liszt Ferenc Street 42. Győr 9022, Hungary,
[email protected]
Széchenyi István University Apáczai Csere János Faculty, Liszt Ferenc Street 42. Győr 9022, Hungary,
[email protected]
Széchenyi István University Apáczai Csere János Faculty, Liszt Ferenc Street 42. Győr 9022, Hungary,
[email protected]

Abstract
At the Apáczai Csere János Faculty, we have been teaching environmental and sustainability
education in teacher training for over 20 years. Trainee teacher are prepared for their future profession
- including environmental education - by considering the concept of sustainability. In our previous
studies, we analysed the environmental attitudes of children before and after forest school programs.
Our current research focuses on the older generation. We prepared a questionnaire for first-year
students arriving at the Széchenyi István University in September. It was filled in electronically by 553
students of the nine faculties of the university. Our aim was to study the environmental awareness of
the first-year-university-students. In addition we aimed to survey their environmental attitudes, to map
their knowledge, behaviour and emotions related to sustainability and environmental issues. Our
further goal is to increase the effectiveness of sustainability education in our higher education practice,
considering the results of the study and our resources.

Keywords: environmental attitudes, education for sustainability, sustainable development goals

1. Introduction

Global problems and the humans’ unsustainable lifestyle have become a central issue in
recent decades. At the same time it is inevitable to focus on the competencies that can
contribute to find any solution for this situation (Kollarics, 2019).

Sustainable Development Goals identify key areas that need to be given a place and support at
all levels of education. These include systems thinking, which is the ability to recognize and
understand relationships, analyze complex systems, and manage uncertainty (Könczey, 2017).

1
The second area is forecasting, which is the understanding and evaluation of multiple future
outcomes (possible, probable, and desirable); the ability to create one's own vision and to
apply the precautionary principle; estimating the consequences of actions; managing risks and
coping with change.

Normative competence is the ability to understand and give back the norms and values that
underlie human actions; to negotiate sustainability values, principles, long-term and
immediate goals in the light of conflicts of interest, interrelationships, uncertain knowledge
and contradictions.

Strategic competence is the ability to jointly develop and implement innovative activities that
provide additional sustainability at the local level and beyond.

The next area is collaboration, the elements of which are learning from others; understanding
and respecting the needs, perspectives, and actions of others (empathy); understanding,
connecting with and being sensitive to others (empathic leadership); conflict management in a
group; support for collaborative and participatory problem solving.

Critical thinking: the ability to question norms, customary practices, and opinions, reflection
on one’s own values, perceptions, and actions; and resolution in the sustainability discourse.

Self-awareness: the ability to reflect on our own role in the local community and (global)
society; to continually evaluate and maintain our motivation to act; and deal with our feelings
and desires.

Integrated problem solving: by integrating previous competencies, a comprehensive ability to

apply different problem solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and to
develop viable, inclusive and equitable solutions that help sustainable development
(UNESCO, ed.: Könczey, 2017:10).

In higher education, we also need a methodology and a learning organization that help to
achieve these goals. The key concept of education for sustainability, according to Mária
Kováts-Németh, contains responsibility, humanism, self-regulation, self-limitation,
independence, freedom and decision-making. A responsible person is independent, free,
decisive, able to recognize his / her needs, at the same time able to keep his / her temper, he /
she can work in partnership with his / her fellows, has a basic knowledge of the environment
to plan his / her life properly. With the aim of sustainable development, he/she is able to act in
a given environment to solve problems. (Kovátsné 2006: 75-86).

2
Previously, several studies (Varga, 2006; Kövecsesné, 2009; Major, 2018; Kónya, 2018;
Mónus, 2019; Kopasz, 2020) have researched the environmental awareness and attitudes of
students, high school students or primary school students in relation to a topic of
environmental issues. In the course of our environmental education activities, we also
measured the environmental attitudes of students coming to the forest school in several cases
with the help of questionnaires, conceptual maps and other methods. Our present study was
aimed at first-year students coming to the university. We considered it important to examine
young people leaving the system of public education in order to find out how they think about
environmental issues, what forms of behaviour appear in their attitudes towards the
environment.

In our research, the respondents also gave an answer to the question whether they had studied
in an ecoschool during their previous studies. We considered this important because our
students, who started their first year in 2019, already had the opportunity to study in an eco-
school, where education for sustainability is given a prominent role. "The eco-school network
in Hungary was established in March 2000 on the initiative of the National Institute of Public
Education (OKI), with the professional guidance and direction of Péter Havas, the national
coordinator of OECD ENSI in Hungary, with 22 institutional members and the Ministry of
Education." (Varga, Könczey, Szabó 2016:9) There are currently around 1,100 institutions
who can bear the title of eco-school or perpetual eco-school.

„Any school can become an ecoschool that is committed to enforcing the principles in its
operation as much as possible. These principles include the pedagogical principles of
sustainability being present in the whole process of education and training inside and outside
the school. The principles appear in operation, in feeding, in building partnerships with
students, parents and local actors. Leadership should be committed to ecoschool values. An
environmentally conscious approach should also influence the activities of non-teaching staff.
Sustainability should be present not only in ecological terms, but also in social and economic
terms. ” (Varga, Könczey, Szabó 2016:9)

One of the most popular forms of practice-oriented environmental education based on

experiential pedagogy is the forest school, a network that has expanded enormously since the
1990s, with a number of qualified forest school programs for different ages in all parts of the
country. Our faculty also has graduate teachers who participated in a forest school program in
2000 as senior students, have written their dissertation on environmental education, and today,
as practicing teachers implement environmental education for young children. The Forest

3
School Program, formulated between 2003 and 2008, highlighted one of the most important
objectives, according to which all children should get to a forest school at least once during
their studies. It can be seen from the answers of the respondents that this endeavor did not
achieve its goal, as less than half of our students can only report that they participated in a
forest school program during their studies. Unfortunately, the national program, which started
in 2003, could not be fully implemented, although the first period under the leadership of the
Environment and Communication Program Office was very effective and useful.

After János Lehoczky, according to the term officially used in the forest school program, the
forest school is a special educational and learning organization unit based on the conditions
of the environment. It is a continuous, multi-day, with a different way of organizing teaching-
learning procedure in the school year. Learning is based on pupils’active participation and
cooperation of the students. The teaching is related to the natural, man-made socio-cultural
environment of the chosen location, both in terms of content and curriculum. Its outstanding
educational task is to develop harmonious, healthy living skills and socialization related to
community activities. (Lehoczky, cited by Kövecsesné 2015: 19) Today, unfortunately, in
many cases, groups have the option of 2-3 day- programs, which is a problem because the
digital generation of the twenty-first century, in our experience, needs 2-3 days to break away
from the digital world a bit and get closer to nature.

Fig. 1. Sustainable Development Goals

https://en.unesco.org/sustainabledevelopmentgoals

In September 2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations adopted the new integrated
framework for sustainable development, Agenda 2030 (officially Transforming our world:
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development), outlines ideas for eradicating poverty,
overcoming inequalities, and protecting our Earth’s environmental system.One of the main

4
features of the new framework is that, in contrast to previous development cooperation plans,
it takes a more comprehensive approach to sustainable development programs, setting targets
for each country and region. In the centre of the Agenda there are the Sustainable
Development Goals (Fig. 1.), valid for all nations and not excluding anyone from achieving
them. (https://www.ksh.hu/sdg)

In our research, we were also curious whether our students met the Sustainable Development
Goals, and whether they learned about these areas in details.

56.1% of respondents heard about these goals, 38.5% did not, and 5.4% could not state them.
19.2% of the respondents learned about these goals in more detail, 80.8% are not aware of the
meaning and interpretation of these goals. Within the framework of university education, we
consider it important to develop projects that can guide students in their own field and in their
daily lives, taking these goals into account, and show the system of connections between
them.

Szarka (2011: 21) sees the cause of the problems affecting the Earth in the constant increase
in consumer demand. This is due on the one hand to population growth and on the other hand
to an increase in prosperity. We can clearly say that the growth in consumption will come to a
halt in a short time because the Earth’s energy, water and soil resources, as well as the amount
of some raw materials, are finite. However, this cannot be considered a novelty, as it was
already recognized by the English economist Malthus at the end of the eighteenth century.
(Mátyás, 1996: 22)

In connection with this problem, a long-awaited question is where the limits of growth are.
Where is the boundary from which the consequences of exploitation will become irreversible?

The problems raised in connection with overconsumption are complex and often abstract. It is
useful to present the extent and danger of overconsumption through simple, concrete
(understandable) examples. A good opportunity for this is the ecological footprint, which has
received a lot of criticism however it has a significant role in assessing an individual’s
lifestyle.

„The ecological footprint is the area that can produce the goods needed for a person’s current
way of life without damage (i.e. in a sustainable way). It quantifies the impact of our way of
life on the environment. ” (Rakonczai, 2008:167)

5
Originally it consisted of the following six elements soil (1) and pasture (2) for food; forests
(3-4): for wood and paper consumption, and carbon sequestration due to energy production;
sea (5): fish consumption; land (6): for housing.

The results show the level of consumption of the individual, helping to compare individuals,
even countries. In addition, it confronts us with the limited capabilities of our Earth and our
gradually growing needs. Referring to the individual level can increase the sense of
responsibility. (Rakonczai, 2008:168)

2. Objective of the research

The data collection took place in September 2019 at the nine faculties of Széchenyi István
University. The aim of the research was to survey the environmental attitudes of the first-year
students coming to the university, to map their knowledge, behaviour and emotions related to
sustainability and environmental issues. Among our other goals, we also formulated sample
projects after the survey of students, which with the adequate methods and forms of activity
of sustainability pedagogy would effectively contribute to the formation of environmentally
conscious behaviour, to the sustainable approach to the chosen profession.

In our empirical study, our hypotheses were the following:

H1: The years spent in public education, the results of the effectively implemented
environmental education activities can be seen in the students coming to higher education,
they are reflected in their behavior and way of thinking. We also need to consider the
influences and impacts of family, social media, and social relations, but these areas will be
examined later.

H2: There are significant differences in attitudes towards sustainability among young people
studying in different disciplines.

H3: The impact system of this institutional system can be perceived in the environmental
attitudes of students who have previously attended eco-school.

H4: There is a significant difference in the way of thinking of different age groups in terms of
sustainability and environmental awareness.

Our goals included examining what the younger generation do to protect the environment,
what sources are used to get information related to the environment and sustainability and
what attitudes they have about different environmental issues.

6
3. Methodological bases of the research

We sent our online questionnaire to the first-year students through the Neptun system and
with the help of the Student Government.

Our questionnaire contained 32 questions, of which 9 were open-ended and 23 were closed.
An evaluation scale was used with 11 numerical type questions. The compilation of the
questionnaire was based on the more than twenty years of environmental pedagogy practice of
the Apáczai Faculty. Our central themes were forest education and environmentally
conscious living. In addition to these - knowing the effectiveness of the eco-school program -
we also formulated questions related to this topic. All this - in our later research - provides us
with an opportunity to describe the problem more precisely. To sum up some of the questions
focused on environmentally conscious habits and behavior, while others examined the
attitudes related to sustainability.

The population was grouped according to several criteria and the studies were performed at
the 5% significance level.

In the first case, we organize the population according to the forest school studies (249 people
went, 277 people did not go to the forest school).

We first examined by F-test whether there was a difference in the variance of the two samples
for each question, and then used a two-sample t-test to detect differences (degree of freedom:
524). The values of the t-tests did not reach the critical value for any of the statements (tkrit =
1.65). We can conclude that this grouping does not cause a significant difference in opinions.
We can say that the students of our university have the same attitude towards the
environmentally conscious lifestyle.

4. Summary of research results:

In our research, we were also curious whether our students met the Sustainable Development
Goals, and whether they learned about these areas in details.

56.1% of respondents heard about these goals, 38.5% did not, and 5.4% could not state them.
19.2% of the respondents learned about these goals in more detail, 80.8% are not aware of the
meaning and interpretation of these goals. Within the framework of university education, we
consider it important to develop projects that can guide students in their own field and in their

7
daily lives, taking these goals into account, and show the system of connections between
them.

Szarka (2011: 21) sees the cause of the problems affecting the Earth in the constant increase
in consumer demand. This is due on the one hand to population growth and on the other hand
to an increase in prosperity. We can clearly say that the growth in consumption will come to a
halt in a short time because the Earth’s energy, water and soil resources, as well as the amount
of some raw materials, are finite. However, this cannot be considered a novelty, as it was
already recognized by the English economist Malthus at the end of the eighteenth century.
(Mátyás, 1996: 22)

In connection with this problem, a long-awaited question is where the limits of growth are.
Where is the boundary from which the consequences of exploitation will become irreversible?

The problems raised in connection with overconsumption are complex and often abstract. It is
useful to present the extent and danger of overconsumption through simple, concrete
(understandable) examples. A good opportunity for this is the ecological footprint, which has
received a lot of criticism however it has a significant role in assessing an individual’s
lifestyle.

„The ecological footprint is the area that can produce the goods needed for a person’s
current way of life without damage (i.e. in a sustainable way). It quantifies the impact of our
way of life on the environment. ” (Rakonczai, 2008:167)

Originally it consisted of the following six elements soil (1) and pasture (2) for food; forests
(3-4): for wood and paper consumption, and carbon sequestration due to energy production;
sea (5): fish consumption; land (6): for housing.

The results show the level of consumption of the individual, helping to compare individuals,
even countries. In addition, it confronts us with the limited capabilities of our Earth and our
gradually growing needs. Referring to the individual level can increase the sense of
responsibility. (Rakonczai, 2008:168)

The questionnaire was completed by 554 people from the 9 faculties. This is 14.5% of all
first-year students. 45.5% of the respondents are men and 54.5% are women. 42% of the
participants in the research are under 20 years old, 43% are 20-29 years old old, 7% are 30-39
years old, 7% are also 40-49 years old and 1% is 50-60 years old.

8
Most of the questionnaires were filled in by students of the Faculty of Mechanical
Engineering and Informatics (111 people), the Apáczai Csere János Faculty (104 people), the
Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics (95 people) and the Audi Hungária Faculty (79 people).
The Ferenc Deák Faculty of Law and Political Science (43 people), the Faculty of Health and
Sports Science (43 people) and the Faculty of Architecture, Construction and Transport
Engineering (43 people) were relatively less represented. The Faculty of Arts (2 people) and
the Faculty of Agriculture (14 people) were also represented, but here we could count on
fewer first-year students based on the admission numbers.

Based on the answers of the respondents, it can be seen that 10.5% of the students studied in
eco school at the age of primary school, 49.7% did not learn in eco school and 39.8% could
not say whether their primary school had this title.

According to the answers, 9.9% of respondents studied in eco school during their secondary
school years, 50.1% did not, and 40% did not know if their secondary education institution
had this title. In our research, we looked for correlations between whether our students'
responses showed a significant difference in whether or not they had attended an ecoschool
before.

Participation in the forest school program was also examined as the same background
variable. 44.8% of the respondents participated in a forest school program during their
previous studies, 50.1% did not, 5.1% do not know, did not hear about what a forest school is.

In our research, we also examined whether the students who completed the questionnaire had
already encountered the methodology of measuring the ecological footprint.

According to their answers 34.7% of respondents have already calculated the extent of their
ecological footprint in their lifetime, 62.9% have not, 2.4% do not know what the ecological
footprint is.

The question Do you usually read any articles related to environmental protection and
sustainability in your free time? was given „Yes” answer by 75% and „No” answer by 25% .
Our questionnaire also revealed that 66.7% of the respondents used to talk about
environmental / environmental issues at home in their families.

Fig. 2. shows the sources from which the respondents obtain information related to
environmental protection and sustainability. It can be seen that electronic news sites (index,
origo) (275 answers) serve as the source of information, followed by the facebook (220
answers) followed by thematic websites (174 answers) and web influenza (154 answers).

9
Taking into account these data, it is worth considering the possibilities and methods of
environmental awareness formation through the surfaces, the messages to be conveyed.

11,0% 13,0%
39,7% 34,0% radio
television
printed media
16,4%
facebook
36,1% thematic facebook groups
electronic news sites (index.origo)
electronic newsletters
50,5%
9,8%
web influencers (youtube, instagram)
thematic websites
others
63,0% 18,0%

Fig. 2. Sources of information acquisition

The evaluation of the questionnaires also revealed that 32.2% of our first-year students
participate in some kind of environmental action in their living environment, 67.8% of them
named very few events, only the topics of some events were identified: 87.6% (178
responses) of students participated in a garbage/waste collection program, 9.3% (19
responses) in tree planting, and only one person mentioned the car-free day.

Among the specifically named events the "Take It!", "Take It Yourself!" were the most
common (17 responses), and the “Trash Challenge”, “Critical mass” were also named.
“Greenpeace”, for which the program was unfortunately not specified is actively present in
several environmental and nature protection topics with campaigns and events.

Students also mentioned (in two cases) the “72 HoursWithout Compromise” program that is a
social volunteer action organized by three historic Christian churches. The action calls on the
youth of Hungary to collaborate, to work together for others and our environment.

In the questionnaire, students were asked to rate statements along a five-point numerical
rating scale similar to the Likert scale, where 1: “strongly disagree” and 5: “strongly agree”.

10
Fig. 3. „The news about climate change Fig. 4. “I avoid disposable plastic
is deterrent.” data distribution products.” data distribution

Fig. 5. “When I do shopping, I make Fig. 6. “I am worried that people

sure I only buy what I really need.” destroy nature and forests.” data
data distribution distribution

Fig. 7. „I try to persuade others to act in an environmentally conscious way.” data

distribution

11
In the case of the diagrams made on the basis of the received answers, it can be stated that the
students’attitude towards environmental issues and environmental awareness is positive
especially in connection with “I am worried that people destroy nature and forests. “ (Fig. 5.)
and “When I do shopping, I make sure I only buy what I really need.”(Fig. 4.) statements
where 80% of the students’ answers were agree or strongly agree (more than 50%).

Rather positive, but more divided the statement "I avoid disposable plastic products." (Fig.
3.), where “3- I can’t decide” reached nearly the same value as the values of 4 and 5 (28-
29%). Values 1 and 2 (“strongly disagree” and “disagree”) were given by about 10 percent of
respondents. "I try to persuade others to act in an environmentally conscious way." (Fig. 7.) is
divided similarly to the previous statement. It would be better if the value 5 prevailed, because
it would mean that students are not only committed to the environment themselves, but are
willing to spread this approach.

5. Results of our hypotheses

5.1. Differences among disciplines

The following statements were formulated on the basis of grouping according to

specializations, fields of disciplines (health -22 people, economics - 96 people, law - 44
people, technical sciences - 261 people, pedagogy - 81 people, recreation - 21 people). The
test was completed in a wide variety of specialization, which would have fragmented the
number of groups, so we opted for grouping by disciplines. ue to the appropriate length of the
study, we only highlight the statements for which we found a difference. In this case, several
samples had to be compared based on the difference between the mean values of their same
variable. Therefore, analysis of variance was used.

The first statement, “The news about climate change are deterrent.” shows different opinions
among students. There is a significant difference in the opinion of the students in this
question. Examining the averages, technically oriented students are less afraid of news about
climate change.

The second and third questions - “If the water flows unnecessarily, I will turn off the tap.”
(91.1% of students fully agreed with the statement). “I collect waste selectively.” (49.9% of
students fully agreed with the statement, 27.5% to a lesser extent but agreed with the
statement, 16.5% were indifferent, 4% partially disagreed and 1.4 % completely disagreed) -
did not share the students so much. The answers are not significantly different. The values of

12
the averages show that water wastage is not tolerated by the students of any discipline; they
select and separate the types of waste as much as possible. (Table 1.)

Table 1. “The news about climate change are deterrent.” Analysis of variance according
to grouping by disciplines
Analysis of variance
Factors SS df MS F p-value F krit.
Between groups 42,37723 5 8,475446 7,015499 0,00002 2,231383
Within the groups 627,0055 519 1,208103

Total 669,3828 524

The "I avoid disposable plastic products." statement divided the grade to a greater extent.
There was a significant difference on this issue. From the data of the averages, we can see that
students with recreation and technical orientation agree less with the statement (they produced
an average of 3.5 points compared to the average of 4 and above in other disciplines)

Table 2. "I avoid disposable plastic products." Analysis of variance according to

grouping by disciplines
Analysis of variance
Factors SS df MS F p-value F krit.
Between 25,71934 5 5,143868 4,436385 0,000576 2,231416
groups
Within the 600,607 518 1,159473
groups

Total 626,3263 523

„When I do shopping, I make sure I only buy what I really need." The opinions in the groups
according to the fields of disciplines were not the same, and recreational and technical
students also feel that they are not environmentally conscious enough in their purchases.
(Table 2.)

Table 3. „When I do shopping, I make sure I only buy what I really need." Analysis of
variance according to grouping by disciplines
Analysis of variance
Factors SS df MS F p-value F krit.
Between groups 14,07071 5 2,814142 3,627045 0,003105 2,231416
Within the groups 401,9045 518 0,775877

Total 415,9752 523

„I try to persuade others to act in an environmentally conscious way." In connection with this
statement, it can be stated that students, especially those who want to get a career in law, as

13
well as in the pedagogical field, feel that their goal is to convey an environmentally conscious
approach.

Table 4. „I try to persuade others to act in an environmentally conscious way." Analysis

of variance according to grouping by disciplines
Analysis of variance
Factors SS df MS F p-value F krit.
Between groups 31,67005 5 6,334011 5,674948 0,00041 2,231518
Within the groups 574,8098 515 1,116136

Total 606,4798 520

In connection with the statement "I don't think we're running out of resources on Earth."
students feel that our resources are finite and exploitation must be stopped. (Table 4.)

The responses to the statement - "It is our responsibility how the fate of our planet changes."-,
are consistent with the previous idea. Everyone agreed, there was no significant difference
between the answers.

Table 5. „I try to be environmentally conscious throughout my work and life." Analysis

of variance according to grouping by disciplines
Analysis of variance
Factors SS df MS F p-value F krit.
Between groups 8,710937 5 1,742187 2,907872 0,013365 2,231416
Within the groups 310,3482 518 0,599128

Total 319,0592 523

The answers given for the statement „I try to be environmentally conscious throughout my
work and life." are strange as the results of the students preparing for healthcare careers are
the lowest. (4 points on average, which is lower than the average of 4.5 for others, especially
those who want to get a career in law and in the pedagogical field).

In connection with the statement „I find the news about climate change a riot.” there are
differences in the average of the answers, but overall we can state that the statement is
rejected in all fields of disciplines. Students are seriously concerned about climate change and
its consequences. (Table 5.)

5.2. Evaluation of results by age groups

After examining the students' answers based on the ecoschool pre-studies and grouping the
disciplines, we considered further grouping suitable for examination. We supposed that
different generations have different views on sustainability and environmental awareness. We

14
divided the students into age groups and we examined the opinions of the younger and older
students. Our groups are formed as follows: under 19, 20-29 years, 30-39 years, over 40
years. An interesting situation arose with this grouping. We often hear about differences and
gaps between generations. This was not reflected in the responses to the questions asked in
our study. For two statements - running water and selective waste collection, we obtained a
significant difference of opinion. In both cases, the data show a worse attitude of the 20-29
age group towards the topic. (Table 6.)

Table 6. "If the water runs unnecessarily, I turn off the tap." Analysis of variance
according to age groups
Analysis of variance
Factors SS df MS F p-value F krit.
Between groups 2,371756 3 0,790585 3,443566 0,016601 2,621108
Within the groups 126,2708 550 0,229583

Total 128,6426 553

"I collect waste selectively." statement was answered by students over 40 with a higher
average. The students of this age group presumably have an organized family life and pay
more attention to the cleanliness of their living environment.

Table 7. „I collect waste selectively.” Analysis of variance according to age groups

Analysis of variance
Factors SS df MS F p-value F krit.
Between groups 9,261951 3 3,08731 3,310655 0,01986 2,621108
Within the groups 512,8969 550 0,93254

Total 522,1588 553

It is a common belief that different ways of thinking between the sexes can cause differences
in the opinions and actions of men and women. To demonstrate this belief, we also grouped
students by gender, but in analyzing our studies, we found no demonstrable difference
between men’s and women’s environmentally conscious thinking. (Table 7.)

„What do you do to protect the environment in your everyday life?” The answers to the open-
ended question were categorized according to their content. It can be seen that 67% of the
responses were related to the environmentally friendly solutions in connection with
wastehandling. It seems that students basically see an opportunity to protect the environment
in this area.

15
 1%
11%

Waste
3%

Water
9%
Energy

Nutrition
9%
Transportation
67%
Shaping the environmental
consciousness

Fig. 8. „What do you do to protect the environment in your everyday life?” Percentage
distribution of different topics.

24%

11%
66%

Waste prevention Recycling Selective waste collection

Fig. 9. The percentage distribution of the answers in the topic „Waste”

Within the waste category, unfortunately, waste prevention activities only appear in a quarter
of all activities, although this should be number one, because the most effective way to solve
the waste problem is prevention. Nonetheless, it should be appreciated that our students pay
attention to the selection that contributes to recycling.

16
5.3. Good practices of our students in connection with environmentally conscious
habits

There are some examples of the students’actions: “I avoid disposable plastics, I also try to
avoid fast fashion stores, second hand shops when buying clothes”. Students make sure to
choose durable products and prolong the life of each product.

"I use an Ecosia browser, I selectively collect plastic and paper, I use low energy products."

Ecosia is different from other browsers because developers plant millions of trees worldwide
from their income. We do not know how many students have ever heard about the Ecosia
browser.

“Researching Zero Waste videos, saving, awareness. I lead a Zero Waste lifestyle and
recommend it to everyone. ” In this case, the student tries to live a waste-free life. This seems
impossible, but fortunately, environmentally conscious people tend to share knowledge, so
there is a lot of information about it on the internet (vlog, blog, etc.)

“I grow vegetables and fruit with my family, and we consume them. We strive for chemical-
free production we avoid using fertilizers, which can cause many damages to surface waters
(eg. eutrophication, etc.) ”

"I drink tap water, I don't fly anywhere, because the flight ticket is" cheap ", I don't flush the
toilet with drinking water - :). I don't use climate but plant trees that provide shade, I don't eat
tropical fruit, etc .. ” „Conscious consumption, a conscious lifestyle, part of which is not to let
yourself be influenced by advertisements.”

I arrive with Carshareing, although I live in Pécel, but I work in Budapest. Due to my work
(engineering), I use a relatively large amount of paper but I print only the most necessary
ones. I use "disposable" paper that has been discarded due to a printing error to take notes and
make short sketches." It’s also good to see when someone realizes that among the conditions
that limit our lives and work (distance from the workplace, paperwork for engineering work),
we can find the opportunities that we can protect the environment with.

6. Summary

Analyzing the responses of the 554 students, we can state that environmentally conscious
approach is important for the students at our University. Taking into account the open-ended
questions - which will be evaluated in details in our next study - it can be stated that our first

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hypothesis has been confirmed. The results of the years spent in public education, the
effectively implemented environmental education activities, the social impact, the media, and
the content transmitted by the Internet influence the students coming to higher education,
which is reflected in their behaviour and way of thinking. In the majority of their answers, our
students agreed with our statements in connection with the topics of water, wastehandling and
environmental protection. In the answers given to the open-ended questions, we could read
about a number of positive habits. It should also be mentioned that hopefully the
questionnaire was completed by students who are already interested in the topic and have a
positive attitude towards environmental issues. During the trainings, we definitely consider it
important to implement programs that take into account our experience and the existing
knowledge of the students, which focuses on the activity and responsibility of theirs in
different ways and we can shape the attitude of future intellectuals towards sustainability.

Our second hypothesis, that there are significant differences in attitudes towards sustainability
among young people studying in different disciplines, has been partially confirmed. There are
only a few aspects between young people studying in different disciplines that show
significant differences in attitudes towards sustainability. We can highlight the most
significant issues - climate change, the use of disposable plastics, opinions on deforestation.

Our research has shown that students in pedagogical fields feel that one of their priority tasks
is to change the attitudes of others. This is very forward-looking that the future generation of
teachers is receptive to the topic and education for sustainability is considered an important
and responsible task for them.

Regarding our third hypothesis, there is no significant difference in the environmental

attitudes of students who have previously attended ecoschool. We must reject this assumption.
It seems to be true that environmentally conscious approach is important for the students. This
is very gratifying and also shows that schools consider the development of environmentally
conscious behaviour to be a priority, and in recent times this system of goals and tasks has
been integrated into the pedagogical practice of schools. It is also worth mentioning that there
are many factors regarding the title of ecoschool that students cannot see. For example, the
processes at the organizational level, in the development of the school, or in its documents, in
the development of the buildings go beyond in-class and out-of-class activities. However,
further research is needed to examine the background and cause of it.

Our fourth hypothesis - There is a significant difference in the way of thinking of different
generations in terms of sustainability and environmental awareness - has only been partially
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confirmed. There are only a few differences in the way of thinking of different generations in
terms of sustainability and environmental awareness. For the older age group, presumably
already leading a household, selective waste collection and water consumption are
particularly important.

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About Authors

Viktória GŐSI KÖVECSES PhD is an associate professor at the Széchenyi István

University, Apáczai Csere János Faculty. Kindergarten teacher, teacher-cultural organizer, has
been running forest school programs at the Ravazd Forest School Training Center since 1999,
and is involved in environmental education in public education and higher education. She
obtained her degree in pedagogy as a pedagogy teacher in Pécs, and obtained her doctoral
degree in environmental pedagogy in 2009 at the Doctoral School of Education at Eötvös
Loránd University. She is the president of the Northwest Hungary Branch of the Hungarian
Pedagogical Society, the member of the Hungarian Ornithological Society, the member of the
Forest School Section of the National Forestry Association, the member of the Hungarian
Environmental Education Association, the member of HERA. She is involved in several
university projects and in the organization of several in-service teacher training

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Bálint LAMPERT PhD is a teaching assistant at the Széchenyi István University, Apáczai
Csere János Faculty. He is a primary school teacher with specialization in Environmental
studies, and since 2000 he has been leading forest school programs at the Ravazd Forest
School Training Center. He has planned several projects in full time and postgraduate teacher
training. He graduated in pedagogy in Pécs, and in July, 2020 he defended his doctoral
dissertation at the Gyula Róth Doctoral School of Forestry and Game Management,
University of Sopron, in environmental pedagogy. He is the secretary of the Northwestern
Hungarian Branch of the Hungarian Pedagogical Society, the member of the board of the
Green City Beautification and Environmental Protection Association, the member of the
Hungarian Ornithological Association.

Tiborné PETZ is a teacher assistant at the Széchenyi István University, Apáczai Csere János
Faculty. She is a secondary grammar school teacher with specialization in Mathematics and
Physics. She graduated in Eötvös Loránd University. She obtained her doctoral degree in
mathematics didactics at the Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. She is a
secretary of the Bolyai Society.

Mrs. Lajosné CSENGER PhD works as a master lecturer at the Széchenyi István University,
Apáczai Csere János Faculty. As a primary school teacher, a mentor teacher of English, a
deputy head, and a headmistress she worked in public education for 32 years. She considered
it a priority to develop the environment- and health-conscious behaviour of the students of the
demo school, to obtain the title of ecoschool, and to create a school garden.She graduated in
pedagogy from Eötvös Loránd University. She defended her doctoral dissertation at the Gyula
Róth Doctoral School of Forestry and Game Management, University of Sopron, in
environmental pedagogy. She is involved in university projects and in the organization of
post-graduate teacher training. She is the secretary of the VEAB Hungarian Research
Working Committee.

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