DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/jsp.2024.25052

Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes in Behaviors about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) In Lagos State University, Lagos Nigeria

*Fatai Olakunle Ogundele  -  Department of Geography and Planning, Faculty of Social Sciences, Senior Lecture, Nigeria
Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji-Bello  -  Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Professor, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria
Adejuwon Adewale Adeneye orcid  -  Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria
Open Access Copyright 2024 Journal of Sustainability Perspectives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Citation Format:
Abstract

The present study examined students’ knowledge and attitudes in behavior about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at Lagos State University, Lagos State, Nigeria. The data for the study were extracted and analyzed from the 353 copies of structured questionnaires that were self-administered to students across the ten (10) faculties. Data was analyzed using simple percentages, tables, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and logistic regression analysis. Results showed that a good percentage (77.1%) of the respondents had knowledge of and were aware of the term SDGs. Social media (33.1%), lectures (14.4%), and television (12.5%) were the prominent sources of SDGs awareness by the respondents who claimed they were aware of the term SDGs. The level of awareness of the various SDGs also varied among the students with most students being aware of 14 of the SDGs (77%), while the remaining (23%) claimed they were not familiar with three goals (9, 12, and 17). The result of the awareness further showed that among the SDGs they claimed they were aware of (91%) were for SDG 1 (NO POVERTY), while, the percentage of the level of awareness for the remaining varied from 1.1% to 13.5%. The students displayed behavioral support toward the actualization of sustainable development goals by encouraging a sustainable energy approach, encouraging sustainable consumption patterns, and discouraging biodiversity loss through their behaviors. Based on these findings, it is strongly recommended that the universities in Nigeria revise and incorporate the teaching of the SDGs into their academic curricula. This step will afford the students adequate knowledge about the UN SDGs and how these can be achieved and sustained.

Fulltext View|Download

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Original Articles
Language : EN
Recent articles
Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes in Behaviors about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) In Lagos State University, Lagos Nigeria Campus 5.0: Monitoring Vehicle Emissions for More Sustainable Mobility Utility Model for Climate Change Adaptation at El Bosque University: Circular Economy Approach to Paper and Cardboard Waste More recent articles
  1. Adedeji, E. O., Adebayo, O. A., Chikezie, J., Joshua, D. A., Oyediran, O. B., & Onihunwa, J. O. (2021). Knowledge, Awareness and Perception of Sustainable Development Goals among Agricultural College Students in Niger State, Nigeria. KIU Interdisciplinary Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(1), 345-353
  2. Afroz, N., & Ilham, Z. (2020). Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice of University Students towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Journal of Indonesia Sustainable Development Planning, 1(1), 31-44
  3. Ahmed and Ruby (2023). The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Sustainability Initiatives at the Local Level”, Journal of Cleaner Production, 233: 1004-1015
  4. Amaonye, C. B., & Anyaeji, A. V. (2024). Level of awareness and perception of Nigerian undergraduate students on the United Nations sustainable development goals. West African Journal on Sustainable Development, 1(1), 79-87
  5. Bayaga A. (2010). Multinominal logistic regression: usage and application in risk analysis. Journal of Applied Quantitative Methods, 5 (2): 288-297
  6. Concina, E., & Frate, S. (2023). Assessing University Students’ Beliefs and Attitudes towards Sustainability and Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review. Trends in Higher Education, 2(4), 705-717
  7. Dlamini, S., Block, E. K., & Mathibela, N. (2023). Knowledge of and attitudes towards Sustainable Development Goals among adults in South Africa. South African Geographical Journal, 105(3), 384-401
  8. Ekere, M.E. (2023). A Mid-Term Review of Nigeria’s Progress Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. AKSU Journal of Administration and Corporate Governance, 3(3): 35-47
  9. Erhabor, N. I. & Don, J. U. (2016). Impact of environmental education on the knowledge and attitude of students towards the environment. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 11 (12): 5367-5375
  10. Grotenhuis, M. T. and Thijs, P. (2015). Dummy variables and their interactions in regression analysis: examples from research on body mass index. Retrieved from: https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1511/1511.05728.pdf
  11. Hdeib, R., Aouad, M., Awawdeh, S., & Mahfoodh, S. A. (2024). Assessing students' awareness, attitudes, and actions towards sustainable development goals (SDGs). In 2024 ASU International Conference in Emerging Technologies for Sustainability and Intelligent Systems (ICETSIS) (pp. 188-194). IEEE
  12. Hu Y, Tang, H.B., Liu, N.N., Tong, X.J., Dang, W., Duan, Y.M., Fu, X.H., Zhang, Y., Peng, J., Meng, F.L., & Zhou, J.Q.. (2013) Telomerase-null survivor screening identifies novel telomere recombination regulators. PLoS Genetics 9(1): e1003208
  13. Huang, H. & Lin, Y. K. (2014). Undergraduate students’ attitudes toward biodiversity. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2(4): 379-386
  14. Leiva-Brondo, M., Lajara-Camilleri, N., Vidal-Meló, A., Atarés, A., & Lull, C. (2022). Spanish university students’ awareness and perception of sustainable development goals and sustainability literacy. Sustainability, 14(8), 4552
  15. Licy, C.D., Vivek, R., Saritha, K., Anies, T.K. & Josphina, C.T. (2013). Awareness, attitude and practice of school students towards household waste management. Journal of Environment, 2 (6): 147-150
  16. Liu, J. Y., Fujimori, S., Takahashi, K., Hasegawa, T., Wu, W., Geng, Y., ... & Masui, T. (2020). The importance of socioeconomic conditions in mitigating climate change impacts and achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Environmental Research Letters, 16(1), 014010
  17. Nasim, A. and Ruby (2023). Role of Educational Institutions in Achieving Sustainable Development International Journal of Humanities Social Science and Management (IJHSSM) Volume 3, Issue 3, May-June, 2023, pp: 102-10
  18. Novieastari, E., Pujasari, H., Abdul Rahman, L. O., Ganefianty, A., & Rerung, M. P. (2022). Knowledge, perception, and awareness about Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among students of a public university in Indonesia. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 60(4), 195-203
  19. Odoom, D., Mensah, E. O., Dick-Sagoe, C., Lee, K. Y., Opoku, E., & Obeng-Baah, J. (2024). Examining the level of public awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa: Empirical evidence from Ghana. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(3), 6221-6238
  20. Olonade, O., Balogun, I., George, T., Adetunde, C., Ozoya, M., & Adebayo, M. (2022). Academic Performance and Secondary School Students’ Disposition: Imperatives for Sustainable Development Solutions for the Africa We Want. In The United Nations and Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 133-148). Cham: Springer International Publishing
  21. Omisore, A. G., Babarinde, G. M., Bakare, D. P., & Asekun-Olarinmoye, E. O. (2017). Awareness and knowledge of the sustainable development goals in a University Community in Southwestern Nigeria. Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences, 27(6), 669-676
  22. Oziwele, E. P., & Ilaya, M. E. (2022). Level of Awareness of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals in Delta State, Nigeria. SAU Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 7(3), 105-113
  23. Smaniotto, C., Battistella, C., Brunelli, L., Ruscio, E., Agodi, A., Auxilia, F., ... & Sisi, S. (2020). Sustainable development goals and 2030 agenda: Awareness, knowledge and attitudes in nine Italian universities, 2019. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(23), 8968
  24. Stockburger, D. W. (2012). Multiple regression with categorical variables. Retrieved from: http://www.psychstat.missouristate.edu/multibook/mlt08m.html
  25. United Nations (2015). Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 2015. Accessed March 25, 2017. Available at https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/21252030%20Agenda%20for%20Sustaina ble%20Development%20web.pdf
  26. Zamora-Polo, F., Sánchez-Martín, J., Corrales-Serrano, M., & Espejo-Antúnez, L. (2019). What do university students know about sustainable development goals? A realistic approach to the reception of this UN program amongst the youth population. Sustainability, 11(13), 3533

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update:

No citation recorded.