An Analysis of the Environmental Attitudes of Undergraduate Construction Management Students using the New Ecological Paradigm Scale

Institutions generally lack formal processes to identify the impact that environmental initiatives may have on students, but one possible solution is the use of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale to monitor these potential changes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the change (if any) in environmental attitudes of undergraduate year two BSc. in Construction Management students following the completion of one semester of the Environmental Management module at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in 2021/2022. The research methodology employed a bounded case-study, which included the dissemination of two questionnaires (pre and post the module delivery in semester one). Consequently, one of the limitations is it does not consider other groups, modules, disciplines, or institutions. The findings demonstrate that all the NEP scale questions exhibited shifts toward a stronger pro-ecological stance over the duration of the study. The changes highlighted were that; respondents’ pro-environmental attitudes have undergone a positive change, their awareness that humans are consuming too many resources and that these resources are finite has increased, and they have become more aware of damage that humans are causing to the environment; and that there is a requirement to act now to prevent further environmental harm. It is important to monitor any affect environmental education has on students and that the use of the NEP scale can enable an evaluation of the success of third level education in contributing to changes in the affective attributes of students.