SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Yükseköğretim ve Bilim Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 16 Sayı: 1

Sustainability Among University Students: The Relationship Between Carbon Footprint Awareness and Environmental Health Literacy

Üniversite Öğrencilerinde Sürdürülebilirlik: Karbon Ayak İzi Farkındalığı ve Çevre Sağlık Okuryazarlığı İlişkisi

Türkan Akyol Güner(ZONGULDAK BÜLENT ECEVİT ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0003-0138-0669
Tülay Ayyıldız(ZONGULDAK BÜLENT ECEVİT ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0002-8924-5957
Pages
139–146
Publication Date
2026-04-30
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The findings revealed that students demonstrated high levels of carbon footprint awareness (68.35 ± 9.08) and environmental health literacy (92.59 ± 12.26).

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:T his study aimed to determine the levels of environmental health literacy and carbon footprint awareness among university students and to examine the relationship between these two variables.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Conducted with a descriptive and correlational design, the research included 423 undergraduate students enrolled at a public university in Türkiye.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:The findings revealed that students demonstrated high levels of carbon footprint awareness (68.35 ± 9.08) and environmental health literacy (92.59 ± 12.26).
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Sürdürülebilirlik · Yükseköğretim · Çevre Sağlık Okuryazarlığı

Abstract

T his study aimed to determine the levels of environmental health literacy and carbon footprint awareness among university students and to examine the relationship between these two variables. Conducted with a descriptive and correlational design, the research included 423 undergraduate students enrolled at a public university in Türkiye. Data collection was carried out using the Environmental Health Literacy Scale and the Carbon Footprint Awareness Scale. The findings revealed that students demonstrated high levels of carbon footprint awareness (68.35 ± 9.08) and environmental health literacy (92.59 ± 12.26). Female students scored significantly higher than males on both scales (p < 0.05). Students who regularly participated in nature walks, reported higher environmental sensitivity, and perceived their environmental knowledge as sufficient showed significantly higher scores on both scales (p < 0.001). Correlation analysis demonstrated a significant and positive association between environmental health literacy and carbon footprint awareness (r = 0.577, p < 0.001). These f indings suggest that cognitive and experiential factors play an important role in shaping university students’ environmental awareness and sustainability-related attitudes. Increasing environmental literacy may therefore contribute to strengthening sustainability awareness among young adults.

Özet

Bu araştırma, üniversite öğrencilerinin çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığı ile karbon ayak izi farkındalık düzeylerini ortaya koymayı ve söz konusu değişkenler arasındaki ilişkiyi analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırma, tanımlayıcı ve ilişkisel bir model doğrultusunda yürütülmüş olup, örneklem Türkiye’de bir devlet üniversitesinde eğitim gören 423 lisans öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Veriler, Çevre Sağlığı Okuryazarlığı Ölçeği ve Karbon Ayak İzi Farkındalığı Ölçeği kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Bulgular, öğrencilerin karbon ayak izi farkındalığı (68.35 ± 9.08) ve çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığı (92.59 ± 12.26) düzeylerinin yüksek olduğunu göstermiştir. Kadın öğrencilerin ölçek puanlarının her iki ölçekte de erkek öğrencilere göre daha yüksek ve anlamlı olduğu belirlenmiştir (p < 0.05). Düzenli olarak doğa yürüyüşlerine katılan, çevresel duyarlılığı yüksek olan ve çevresel bilgi düzeyini yeterli olarak algılayan öğrencilerin her iki ölçekte de anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek puanlara sahip olduğu saptanmıştır (p < 0.001). Korelasyon analizi sonuçları, çevre sağlığı okuryazarlığı ile karbon ayak izi farkındalığı arasında pozitif, güçlü bir ilişki olduğunu göstermiştir (r = 0.577, p < 0.001). Bu bulgular, bilişsel ve deneyimsel faktörlerin üniversite öğrencilerinin çevresel farkındalığı ve sürdürülebilirliğe yönelik tutumlarının şekillenmesinde önemli rol oynadığını göstermektedir. Dolayısıyla, çevresel okuryazarlığın artırılması genç yetişkinlerde sürdürülebilirlik farkındalığının güçlendirilmesine katkı sağlayabilir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Güner, T. A., Ayyıldız, T. (2026). Sustainability Among University Students: The Relationship Between Carbon Footprint Awareness and Environmental Health Literacy. Yükseköğretim ve Bilim Dergisi, Cilt: 16 Sayı: 1, 139–146. https://doi.org/10.5961/higheredusci.1835507

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (39)

  1. Aeschbach, V. M. J., Schwichow, M., & Rieß, W. (2025). Effective ness of climate change education: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1563816. https://doi.org/10.3389/fed uc.2025.1563816
  2. Amorim-Maia, A. T., Anguelovski, I., Chu, E., & Connolly, J. (2022). Intersectional climate justice: A conceptual pathway for bridg ing adaptation planning, transformative action, and social equity. Urban Climate, 41, 101053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. uclim.2021.101053
  3. Ballew, M., Leiserowitz, A., Roser-Renouf, C., Rosenthal, S., Kotch er, J., Marlon, J., Lyon, E., Goldberg, M., & Maibach, E. (2019). Climate change in the American mind: Data, tools, and trends. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 61(3), 4–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/00139157.2019.1589300
  4. Berland, O., & Leroutier, M. (2025). The gender gap in carbon footprints: Determinants and implications (Working Paper No. 424). Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Sci ence. https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/ the-gender-gap-in-carbon-footprints-determinants-and-im plications/
  5. Buta, B. O., Froner, M. B., & Tabak, B. M. (2025). Scale validation and prediction of environmental health literacy in Brazil. Sci entific Reports, 15, 14703. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598 025-98435-9
  6. Carducci, A., Fiore, M., Lorini, C., Federigi, I., Verani, M., Ferrante, M., & Bonaccorsi, G. (2022). Environmental health literacy: An index to study its relations with pro-environmental behaviors. European Journal of Public Health, 32(Suppl 3), ckac130.074. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckac130.074
  7. Clayton, S. (2020). Climate anxiety: Psychological responses to climate change. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 74, 102263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102263
  8. Çelik, Ö. M., Köksal, E., Akpınar, Ş., Bozkurt, B. K., Gövez, N. E., Dazıroğlu, M. E. Ç., Ermumcu, M. Ş. K., & Tek, N. A. (2024). As sociation between ecological footprint awareness and health literacy in adults: A population-based study from Turkey. In ternational Journal of Environmental Health Research, 34(1), 295–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2022.2147906
  9. Goldwert, D., Patel, Y., Steensen Nielsen, K., Goldberg, M. H., & Vlasceanu, M. (2025). Climate action literacy interventions in crease commitments to more effective mitigation behaviors. PNAS Nexus, 4(6), pgaf191. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnex us/pgaf191
  10. Finn, S., & O’Fallon, L. (2017). The emergence of environmental health literacy: From its roots to its future potential. Envi ronmental Health Perspectives, 125(4), 495–501. https://doi. org/10.1289/ehp.1409337
  11. Flecke, S. L., Huber, J., Kirchler, M., & Schwaiger, R. (2024). Na ture experiences and pro-environmental behavior: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Environmen tal Psychology, 99, 102383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jen vp.2024.102383
  12. Gifford, R., & Nilsson, A. (2014). Personal and social factors that in f luence pro-environmental concern and behaviour: A review. International Journal of Psychology, 49(3), 141–157. https:// doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12034
  13. Hatty, M., Goodwin, D., Smith, L., & Mavondo, F. (2023). Speak ing of nature: Relationships between how people think about, connect with, and act to protect nature. Ecology and Society, 27(3), Article 17. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-13369-270317
  14. Hunter, L. M., Hatch, A., & Johnson, A. (2004). Cross-national gender variation in environmental behaviors. Social Science Quarterly, 85(3), 677–694. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0038 4941.2004.00239.x
  15. Jones, C. M., & Kammen, D. M. (2011). Quantifying carbon foot print reduction opportunities for U.S. households and com munities. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(9), 4088 4095. https://doi.org/10.1021/es102221h
  16. Kim, J. H., Moon, N., Heo, S. J., & Kwak, J. M. (2024). Effects of environmental health literacy–based interventions on indoor air quality and urinary concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, and cotinine: A randomized controlled trial. Atmospheric Pollution Research, 15(1), 101965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2023.101965
  17. Li, Y., Wang, B., & Saechang, O. (2022). Is female a more pro-en vironmental gender? Evidence from China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(13), 8002. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19138002
  18. Lindsey, M., Chen, S. R., Ben, R., Manoogian, M., & Spradlin, J. (2021). Defining environmental health literacy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21), 11626. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111626
  19. Matos, M. G. D., Branquinho, C., Domingos, L., Botelho Guedes, F., Cerqueira, A., & Gaspar, T. (2025). Bridging the gap: Environ mental health literacy as key to adolescent well-being and sus tainable behaviors. Sustainability, 17(8), Article 3594. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su17083594
  20. Okada, M., Okamura, T., & Zushi, K. (2013). The effects of in-depth outdoor experience on attitudes toward nature and environ mental concerns. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 5(3), 99–113.
  21. Pan, W.-L., Fan, R., Pan, W., Ma, X., Hu, C., Fu, P., & Su, J. (2023). The role of climate literacy in individual response to climate change: Evidence from China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 405, 136874. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136874
  22. Papagiannaki, K., Kotroni, V., & Lagouvardos, K. (2024). Assess ing the effects of citizen climate literacy and attitudes on their ‘greening’ behaviour in a climate change hotspot region of the Eastern Mediterranean. Climate, 12(9), 146. https://doi. org/10.3390/cli12090146
  23. Ram, S. A., MacLean, H. L., Tihanyi, D., Hannah, L., & Posen, D. (2023). The complex relationship between carbon literacy and pro-environmental actions among engineering students. He liyon, 9(11), e20634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023. e20634
  24. Rigon, A. (2025). A review of intersectionality and climate change and the potential of intersectional participatory methods and storytelling to co-produce climate justice. Climate and Devel opment, 17(10), 892–904. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2025.2477105
  25. Rosa, C. D., Profice, C. C., & Collado, S. (2018). Nature experienc es and adults’ self-reported pro-environmental behaviors: The role of connectedness to nature and childhood nature experiences. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1055. https://doi. org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01055
  26. Telesca, G., Rullo, M., Molinario, E., Grzymała-Moszczyńska, J., Prislei, L., Aragao, A., Borges, F., Fidalgo, S., Graça, M., Lopes, D., Paixão, M., Jakulyte, D., Strakšienė, G., Diez, M., Recio, J., Song, K., Flores-Vivar, J., Varona Aramburu, D., Castro, L., & Melacarne, C. (2025). Exploring university students’ envi ronmental literacy, attitudes, and behaviors: Evidence from six countries (Version 1). OSF. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf. io/8vnby_v1
  27. Tien, Y., & Huang, J. (2023). Gender differences in pro-environ mental behavioral intentions, environmental values, tolerance of environmental protection cost, and confidence in citizen participation in environmental policies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 32(5), 4813–4823. https://doi.org/10.15244/pjoes/168851
  28. Toplu, F. (2023). Development of environmental health literacy scale (Public Health Specialization Thesis, İstanbul Universi ty–Cerrahpaşa). https://toad.halileksi.net/wp-content/up loads/2024/03/cevre-sagligi-okuryazarligi-olcegi-35531-toad. pdf
  29. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://sdgs.un.org/2030agen da
  30. Üstgörül, S., Akkaya, B., Palazzo, M., & Micozzi, A. (2024). Devel opment and validation of carbon footprint awareness scale for boosting sustainable circular economy. Sustainability, 16, 8199. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16188199
  31. van Daalen, K. R., Jung, L., Dada, S., Othman, R., Barrios-Ruiz, A., Malolos, G. Z., Wu, K. T., Garza-Salas, A., El-Gamal, S., Ezzine, T., Khorsand, P., Wyns, A., Paniello-Castillo, B., Gepp, S., Chow dhury, M., Santamarta Zamorano, A., Beagley, J., Oliver-Wil liams, C., Debnath, R., Bardhan, R., de Paula, N., Phelan, A., & Lowe, R. (2024). Bridging the gender, climate, and health gap: The road to COP29. The Lancet Planetary Health, 8(12), e1088 e1105. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00270-5
  32. Whitmarsh, L., & O’Neill, S. (2010). Green identity, green living? The role of pro-environmental self-identity in determining consistency across diverse pro-environmental behaviours. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(3), 305–314. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2010.01.003
  33. Wiedmann, T., & Minx, J. (2008). A definition of ‘carbon footprint’. In C. C. Pertsova (Ed.), Ecological economics research trends (pp. 1–11). Nova Science Publishers.
  34. Wright, L., Kemp, S., & Williams, I. (2011). Carbon footprinting: To wards a universally accepted definition. Carbon Management, 2(1), 61–72. https://doi.org/10.4155/cmt.10.39
  35. Xiao, C., & McCright, A. M. (2012). Explaining gender differences in concern about environmental problems in the United States. Society & Natural Resources, 25(11), 1067–1084. https://doi. org/10.1080/08941920.2011.651191
  36. Zarcadoolas, C., Pleasant, A., & Greer, D. S. (2005). Understanding health literacy: An expanded model. Health Promotion Inter national, 20(2), 195–203. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/ dah609
  37. Zelezny, L. C., Chua, P., & Aldrich, C. (2000). Elaborating on gen der differences in environmentalism. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 443–457. https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00177
  38. Zhao, Z., Gong, Y., Li, Y., Zhang, L., & Sun, Y. (2021). Gender-re lated beliefs, norms, and the link with green consumption. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 710239. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpsyg.2021.710239
  39. Rigon, A. (2025). A review of intersectionality and climate change and the potential of intersectional participatory methods and storytelling to co-produce climate justice. Climate and Devel opment, 17(10), 892–904. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2025.2477105