Development and validation of a questionnaire for measuring awareness of campus sustainability among students and faculty members
Suzan Abdel-Rahman, Naglaa Mohamed Hamed, Doaa Ahmed Haridy, Sherien Moustafa, Mahmoud Hassan SaidPurpose
Most previous studies have focused on university management practices and the measures taken to transform higher education institutions into green university campuses, without sufficiently addressing tools to assess campus sustainability awareness. This study aims to fill this gap by developing and validating a reliable tool to assess student and faculty awareness of campus sustainability standards.
Design/methodology/approach
Face-to-face survey responses were collected from 650 students and faculty members in 18 faculties at Cairo University, Egypt. The initial questionnaire consisted of 40 items and underwent face and content validity. Construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha.
Findings
The final tool consisted of 33 items and revealed a three-factor structure, explaining more than 45% of the total variance. Discriminant validity was confirmed by interdomain correlations below 0.7, while convergent validity was demonstrated by positive and statistically significant correlations between items and their domain means. Fit indices demonstrated a good model fit (RMSEA < 0.08, CFI > 0.9, RMR < 0.08, GFI > 0.9, TLI > 0.9, NNFI > 0.9, and a standardized 2 < 5). Overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.861, with values exceeding 0.8 for all domains.
Originality/value
The study provides a valid and reliable tool for assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to campus sustainability. This tool can help identify gaps between knowledge and actual practice, supporting evidence-based strategies to improve environmental practices and promote the transformation of universities into sustainable green campuses.