Environmental behavior of graduate students: An international structural equation model applied to the brazilian context O comportamento ambiental de estudantes de graduação: um modelo internacional de equações estruturais aplicado no contexto brasileiro

Abstract

With the growing need for citizens to adopt more criticality and reflection into their routine on issues related to greater environmental preservation and, above all, that this higher level of awareness is translated into behavioral changes in search of a more sustainable society, formal education, especially within the scope of undergraduate courses, has shown significant signs that it may contribute to this process. In order to clarify the relation between formal education and sustainable behavior, this article aims to present the application and assessment in Brazil of a structural equation model developed with undergraduate students in Malaysia. The sample of this study consists of 446 undergraduate students from courses in the field of Business in São Paulo city and a confirmatory factor analysis was performed by using the software Lisrel® , to support the discussion and conclusions. As result of the research, it was inferred that education for sustainability allows these students to develop sustainable attitudes as participation in recycling programs, interest in programs on sustainability, economy in water use, etc.