Transforming attitudes towards sustainable development: A comparative analysis of the curricular impact in two universities

Abstract

Abstract- The objective of this study was to determine the impact of the inclusion of the course "Sustainable Development Goals" on attitudes towards sustainable development of university students in Peru. This work contributes to Sustainable Development Goal four, promoting quality education that fosters sustainability, in line with the 2030 Agenda. The approach was quantitative, applied, and descriptive-comparative design. The non-probabilistic convenience sample consisted of 302 students: University 1 (198) without a course related to sustainability and University 2 (104) with such a course. A validated questionnaire was used that evaluated four dimensions: environmental, economic, social and educational. The results show that students from university 2 reached a high level in attitudes towards sustainability (78.8%), compared to university 1, where the average level predominated (81.8%). The Mann-Whitney U test analysis (p<0.05) showed significant differences between universities in all dimensions. These findings underline the importance of integrating sustainability into university curricula to strengthen positive attitudes towards sustainable development. Keywords – Sustainability, attitudes towards sustainable development, higher education.