Educational Sustainability Deemed Critical in SHU Poll
Environmental education ranked first in importance
In a new digital survey, 1,500 participants from around the United States weighed in on factors driving or limiting sustainability in education. Conducted by the Sacred Heart University Institute for Public Policy & Civic Engagement, in partnership with GreatBlue Research, each topic was measured by relative importance, personal conceptual alignment, perceived benefits and the overall value to society and communities. The digital survey, completed in late November, involved participants of varied age, race, gender, geography, income and political affiliation.
For the purposes of this survey, Sacred Heart University defined “sustainable education” as “providing educators with real-world applied learning models that connect science, technology, and math education with the broader human concerns of environmental, economic and social systems.” More than three-fifths of respondents (64.1%) were either “very aware” (24%) or “somewhat aware” (40.1%) of the term.
When presented with SHU’s definition, nearly three-quarters of nationwide participants (74.4%) indicated it is “very similar” (32.7%) or “somewhat similar” (41.7%) to their own definition. Alignment skewed to younger participants: 72.9% of those ages 18-34 were aware of the term compared to 49.2% of those ages 65 or older. And respondents living in the Western United States (58.4%) were less aware of the term compared to those living in the Northeast (65%), Midwest (65.3%) or South (67.6%).
When asked to rank various aspects of sustainable education in order of importance, more than one-quarter of respondents (25.4%) ranked “impact on the environment” as the most important characteristic, followed by “science” (23.1%). Additionally,
- 30.4% of women ranked “impact on the environment” first in importance compared to 20.2% of men
- 16.1% of men ranked “technology” first in importance compared to 9.6% of women
- 15.6% of men ranked “math” first in importance compared to 8.1% of women
- And 16.9% of those ages 18-34 ranked “impact on social systems” first in importance compared to 10.7% of those ages 65 or older
More than four-fifths of participants (84.5%) reported sustainable education as either “very important” (52.9%) or “somewhat important” (31.3%) to them. Nearly nine out of 10 respondents (88.4%) felt improving sustainable education would be “very beneficial” (57.7%) or “somewhat beneficial” (30.7%) to the community. Additionally,
- 87% of women indicated sustainable education is important to them compared to 81.2% of men
- 87.3% of those ages 18-34 indicated sustainable education is important to them compared to 81.3% of those ages 65 or older
- 93.3% of Democrats indicated sustainable education is important to them compared to 79% of Republicans
- 92.2% of those ages 18-34 indicated sustainable education is beneficial to the community compared to 85.3% of those ages 65 or older
- And 95.1% of Democrats indicated sustainable education is beneficial to the community compared to 83.5% of Republicans
Likewise, SHU asked participants to respond to questions on corporate sustainability, which was defined as “an approach aiming to create long-term stakeholder value through the implementation of a business strategy that focuses on the ethical, social, environmental, cultural and economic dimensions of doing business.”
When presented with SHU’s definition, more than two-thirds (69.7%) of respondents said it is “very similar” (27.1%) or “somewhat similar” (42.6%) to their own definition. More men (64.8%) than women (53.3%) indicated being aware of the term, and 67.8% of those ages 35-44 indicated being aware of the term compared to 51.5% of those ages 65 or older.
Asked to rank various aspects of corporate sustainability in order of importance, nearly one-half of respondents (48%) ranked “ethical business practices” as the most important characteristic, followed by “responsible economic development” (18.3%). Additionally,
- 55.9% of those ages 65 or older ranked “ethical business practices” first in importance compared to 43.8% of those ages 35-44
- 43.8% of Democrats ranked “responsible economic development” first in importance compared to 22.3% of Republicans
- Over four-fifths of respondents (86.6%) indicated improving corporate sustainability would be “very beneficial” (45.9%) or “somewhat beneficial” (40.7%) to the community
- 85.8% of Democrats indicated corporate sustainability is important to them compared to 71.8% of Republicans
- 84.2% of those earning $100,000 or more indicated corporate sustainability is important to them compared to 70.1% of those earning less than $20,000
- And 93.9% of Democrats indicated corporate sustainability is beneficial to the community compared to 82.5% of Republicans
“Everyone surveyed supported educational sustainability, though it’s interesting to note discrepancies based on age, gender and political affiliation,” says Steven Michels, director of SHU’s Institute for Public Policy & Civic Engagement. “Additionally, while most participants agreed about the benefits of sustainable corporate practices, they differed on ethical considerations and the notion of responsible economic development, especially based on partisan responses.”
This 33-question digital survey was conducted between November 14 and November 23, 2022, involving 1,500 participants. The margin of error is +/- 2.53%.