Sustainability research is usually emphasized by the environment, and it is essential to note the connection of people, planet, and profit in its definition and subsequent understanding. Sustainability consists of environmental, economic, and social domains. As sustainability is a recently emergent research field, the interdisciplinary approach that includes social and economic components has been limited because it is easier to understand environmental sustainability and easier to observe. Thus, much sustainability research has focused on measuring observable behaviors, and less on latent constructs. The researchers that wrote this chapter introduced two new instruments for measuring sustainability constructs; the Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge (ASK) and Sustainability Attitudes Scales (SAS).
The ASK was first developed in 2014 and was later refined into a set of 12 multiple choice questions. It has been tested with undergraduate students. The ASK questionnaire measures knowledge of all three domains of sustainability. Validity of the ASK instrument was conferred through testing that showed students majoring in environmental studies scored higher ASK scores than non-majors, and seniors more so than freshmen. The ASK can be used to measure the effectiveness of a program at changing environmental knowledge by issuing it before and after a program or comparing a treatment and control group. The ASK does include two questions related to current events (at the time of publishing), which can be a limitation.
The SAS measures attitudes about environmental, economic, and social sustainability, and the intersection of all three. The original scale included 74 items corroborated by sustainability experts. The scale was further refined, and the final scale was tested on 1,000 undergraduate students at Michigan State University in 2016. The final scale includes 11-items, participants respond on a six-point, Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (6) scale to each item. An example item is “The well-being of others affects me.” The SAS was tested against a popular instrument, the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) that also measures attitudes, and the SAS was found to also strongly predict behaviors and beliefs, even more so than the NEP. The SAS can measure one-time assessments of attitudes of individuals or groups, and change in attitudes over time.
Limitations of the study include sample demographics, such that these instruments were tested only on undergraduate students. The researchers stated that the sample size used in the assessments could also be larger to facilitate data consistency. The researchers acknowledged that societal expectations influenced participants' answers in the SAS assessment.
The ASK and SAS instruments show two new ways of measuring dimensions of sustainability in individuals. The researchers recommend using these instruments to evaluate programming, which can inform programming changes or enhance programming reports. The ASK and SAS can also further sustainability research and create new sustainability-focused theories. For example, the ASK was used to challenge the idea that knowledge equates to behavior change, which other research has also shown is incorrect and too simplified.
The Bottom Line
<p>The multidisciplinary nature of sustainability warrants an in-depth discussion about its research and methodology. Past methods mostly studied and assessed environmental behaviors, and less instruments exist to measure more latent constructs like knowledge and attitudes. The authors of this chapter described two new instruments they developed; Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge (ASK) and Sustainability Attitudes Scale (SAS). Tests showed both instruments were reliable and valid. The researchers recommend using these instruments to evaluate sustainability-related programming and further research in the field.</p>
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