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Greening the Building Construction Industry: Sustainability Consciousness of Building Technology Education Would-Be Professionals

Received: 27 December 2023     Accepted: 8 January 2024     Published: 23 January 2024
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Abstract

Despite the growing global emphasis on sustainable construction practices and the increasing urgency to minimize the environmental footprint of the construction industry, there remains a critical question mark regarding the preparedness, knowledge, and awareness of certain future professionals – Building Technology Education students. The lack of clarity on whether these students possess adequate knowledge, skills, and a mindset geared towards eco-friendly practices forms the crux of the problem. This study aimed to investigate and address this gap in understanding the sustainability consciousness of Building Technology Education students using a descriptive survey design and adopted the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) as an instrument for data collection. Cronbach alpha reliability test of the instrument yielded a satisfactory α = 0.841. Findings across knowingness, attitudes, and behaviours related to sustainability, reveal that students demonstrated alignment and agreement, indicating not only a robust understanding of sustainability concepts but also a positive inclination and active engagement in behaviours supporting sustainability initiatives. Moreover, comparing academic years revealed a significant difference in sustainability consciousness between final-year students and those in earlier academic stages. This highlights the evolving nature of sustainability awareness throughout the educational journey, suggesting that sustainability consciousness becomes more pronounced as a student progresses in study. These insights are invaluable for educators, institutions, and policymakers, indicating the need for continuous reinforcement of sustainability education and practices throughout the BTE curriculum to foster a more comprehensive and consistent sustainability consciousness among these future professionals, towards greening the building construction industry.

Published in Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 12, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.hss.20241201.12
Page(s) 13-18
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sustainability, Greening, Sustainability Consciousness, Building Technology Education

References
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[3] Green Building Council of Nigeria [GBCN] (2021). About GBCN. https://gbcn.org.ng/about/
[4] Ahn, Y. H., Cho, C.-S., & Lee, N. (2013). Building Information Modeling: Systematic Course Development for Undergraduate Construction Students. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 139(4), 290–300. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000164
[5] Darko, A., Chan, A. P. C., Owusu-Manu, D. and Ameyaw, E. E. (2017). Drivers for implementing green building technologies: An international survey of experts. Journal of Cleaner Production. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.01.043
[6] Kibert, C. J. (2013). Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery. John Wiley & Son Inc.
[7] WCED. (1987). Our Common Future. Brundtland Report, United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development.
[8] Gericke, N., Boeve-de Pauw, J., Berglund, T., & Olsson, D. (2019). The Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire: The theoretical development and empirical validation of an evaluation instrument for stakeholders working with sustainable development. Sustainable Development, 27(1), 35–49. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1859
[9] Alsaati, T., El-Nakla, S., & El-Nakla, D. (2020). Level of Sustainability Awareness among University Students in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 12(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083159
[10] Berglund, T., Gericke, N., & Chang Rundgren, S.-N. (2014). The implementation of education for sustainable development in Sweden: Investigating the sustainability consciousness among upper secondary students. Research in Science & Technological Education, 32(3), 318–339.
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[17] Kalsoom, Q., Khanam, A., & Quraishi, U. (2017). Sustainability consciousness of pre-service teachers in Pakistan. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 18(7), 1090–1107. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-11-2016-0218
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Chukwu, D. U., Okereke, G. K., Ojo, S. A., Okekpa, A. A., Vershima, M. N., et al. (2024). Greening the Building Construction Industry: Sustainability Consciousness of Building Technology Education Would-Be Professionals. Humanities and Social Sciences, 12(1), 13-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20241201.12

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    ACS Style

    Chukwu, D. U.; Okereke, G. K.; Ojo, S. A.; Okekpa, A. A.; Vershima, M. N., et al. Greening the Building Construction Industry: Sustainability Consciousness of Building Technology Education Would-Be Professionals. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2024, 12(1), 13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20241201.12

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    AMA Style

    Chukwu DU, Okereke GK, Ojo SA, Okekpa AA, Vershima MN, et al. Greening the Building Construction Industry: Sustainability Consciousness of Building Technology Education Would-Be Professionals. Humanit Soc Sci. 2024;12(1):13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20241201.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.hss.20241201.12,
      author = {Daniel Uchenna Chukwu and Godwin Keres Okereke and Samson Abayomi Ojo and Anayo Alagba Okekpa and Mark Nande Vershima and Isaac Chinedu Kechere},
      title = {Greening the Building Construction Industry: Sustainability Consciousness of Building Technology Education Would-Be Professionals},
      journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
      volume = {12},
      number = {1},
      pages = {13-18},
      doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20241201.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20241201.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20241201.12},
      abstract = {Despite the growing global emphasis on sustainable construction practices and the increasing urgency to minimize the environmental footprint of the construction industry, there remains a critical question mark regarding the preparedness, knowledge, and awareness of certain future professionals – Building Technology Education students. The lack of clarity on whether these students possess adequate knowledge, skills, and a mindset geared towards eco-friendly practices forms the crux of the problem. This study aimed to investigate and address this gap in understanding the sustainability consciousness of Building Technology Education students using a descriptive survey design and adopted the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) as an instrument for data collection. Cronbach alpha reliability test of the instrument yielded a satisfactory α = 0.841. Findings across knowingness, attitudes, and behaviours related to sustainability, reveal that students demonstrated alignment and agreement, indicating not only a robust understanding of sustainability concepts but also a positive inclination and active engagement in behaviours supporting sustainability initiatives. Moreover, comparing academic years revealed a significant difference in sustainability consciousness between final-year students and those in earlier academic stages. This highlights the evolving nature of sustainability awareness throughout the educational journey, suggesting that sustainability consciousness becomes more pronounced as a student progresses in study. These insights are invaluable for educators, institutions, and policymakers, indicating the need for continuous reinforcement of sustainability education and practices throughout the BTE curriculum to foster a more comprehensive and consistent sustainability consciousness among these future professionals, towards greening the building construction industry.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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    T1  - Greening the Building Construction Industry: Sustainability Consciousness of Building Technology Education Would-Be Professionals
    AU  - Daniel Uchenna Chukwu
    AU  - Godwin Keres Okereke
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    JO  - Humanities and Social Sciences
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    AB  - Despite the growing global emphasis on sustainable construction practices and the increasing urgency to minimize the environmental footprint of the construction industry, there remains a critical question mark regarding the preparedness, knowledge, and awareness of certain future professionals – Building Technology Education students. The lack of clarity on whether these students possess adequate knowledge, skills, and a mindset geared towards eco-friendly practices forms the crux of the problem. This study aimed to investigate and address this gap in understanding the sustainability consciousness of Building Technology Education students using a descriptive survey design and adopted the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ) as an instrument for data collection. Cronbach alpha reliability test of the instrument yielded a satisfactory α = 0.841. Findings across knowingness, attitudes, and behaviours related to sustainability, reveal that students demonstrated alignment and agreement, indicating not only a robust understanding of sustainability concepts but also a positive inclination and active engagement in behaviours supporting sustainability initiatives. Moreover, comparing academic years revealed a significant difference in sustainability consciousness between final-year students and those in earlier academic stages. This highlights the evolving nature of sustainability awareness throughout the educational journey, suggesting that sustainability consciousness becomes more pronounced as a student progresses in study. These insights are invaluable for educators, institutions, and policymakers, indicating the need for continuous reinforcement of sustainability education and practices throughout the BTE curriculum to foster a more comprehensive and consistent sustainability consciousness among these future professionals, towards greening the building construction industry.
    
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Author Information
  • Department of Industrial Technical Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

  • Department of Industrial Technical Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

  • Department of Industrial Technical Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

  • Department of Industrial Technical Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

  • Department of Industrial Technical Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

  • Department of Industrial Technical Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria

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