Sustainability as a purpose in life among Dutch higher education students
Elina Kuusisto, Ingrid Schutte
Abstract
Given the prominence of sustainability in current global crises and the commitment of societies to the Sustainable Development Goals, this mixed methods study ascertains how Dutch higher education students (N = 549) integrate sustainability into their life purposes. From quantitative data, we identified four purpose profiles: purposeful (33%), dreamer (32%), self-oriented (18%), and disengaged (17%), signifying a potential commitment to sustainability among over half of the participating students. However, technology students differed from other respondents in that fewer of them were identified as having a purposeful profile and more of them were disengaged. The data reveal happiness (61%), work (22%), and sustainability (22%) as the most frequently mentioned contents of purposes, implying a more self-oriented picture than indicated in the profiles. The two case studies illustrate concrete ways of manifesting sustainability as a purpose in life. We discuss the educational implications of this, especially the need to enhance sustainability education in the domain of technology.