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<p>While higher education institutions (HEIs) are significant contributors to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), student perceptions often remain fragmented. This study investigates the complex interplay between institutional discourse, student meaning-making, and behavioral intentions within an elite Chinese university. Employing a mixed-methods approach combining auto-photography and semi-structured interviews, we explore how students conceptualize sustainability and their willingness to act as future change agents. Findings reveal a significant ecological bias, with students’ understandings largely anchored to the visual salience of the campus’s green infrastructure. We argue that the university’s hidden curriculum acts as a selective filter; by prioritizing tangible environmental greening over abstract social and economic justice, the institution implicitly defines the boundaries of sustainability. This cognitive narrowing results in a prevalence of maintenance-oriented behaviors rather than systemic, transformative engagement. The study moves beyond descriptive accounts to offer a process-oriented model of sustainability learning. We conclude that HEIs do not merely teach sustainability; they define the possible through the lived reality of the campus environment. These insights highlight the need for an integrated pedagogy that proactively bridges the gap between environmental protection and social equity to foster truly holistic sustainability agency.</p>

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Undergraduate students’ understanding and willingness to engage in sustainable development: Insights from Chinese higher education

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月16日

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  • Shanyun He,
  • Hongwei Guan,
  • Debby R.E. Cotton,
  • Junqing Zhai

摘要

While higher education institutions (HEIs) are significant contributors to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), student perceptions often remain fragmented. This study investigates the complex interplay between institutional discourse, student meaning-making, and behavioral intentions within an elite Chinese university. Employing a mixed-methods approach combining auto-photography and semi-structured interviews, we explore how students conceptualize sustainability and their willingness to act as future change agents. Findings reveal a significant ecological bias, with students’ understandings largely anchored to the visual salience of the campus’s green infrastructure. We argue that the university’s hidden curriculum acts as a selective filter; by prioritizing tangible environmental greening over abstract social and economic justice, the institution implicitly defines the boundaries of sustainability. This cognitive narrowing results in a prevalence of maintenance-oriented behaviors rather than systemic, transformative engagement. The study moves beyond descriptive accounts to offer a process-oriented model of sustainability learning. We conclude that HEIs do not merely teach sustainability; they define the possible through the lived reality of the campus environment. These insights highlight the need for an integrated pedagogy that proactively bridges the gap between environmental protection and social equity to foster truly holistic sustainability agency.