Experiencing Sustainability Education: Insights from a Living and Learning Programme

Abstract

This article reports findings from the preliminary assessment of the Sustainable Living and Learning Community (SLLC) Programme, a yearlong and sustainability-focused living and learning programme. Using a multimethod approach that triangulates its findings based on quantitative and qualitative analysis of surveys, pre- and post-programme questionnaires and reflective journals, we found that a majority of students in the SLLC programme not only developed more nuanced understandings of the terms sustainability and consumption but also acknowledged their own roles in perpetuating unsustainable forms of consumption. Furthermore, 75 per cent of SLLC students modified their habits and behaviours with sustainability in mind and developed a deeper sense of agency that led some students to view sustainability as a form of activism.