Knowledge and Opinions Amongst
Youths in Secondary and Tertiary
Education on Sustainable Development
in Penang, Malaysia
Fatin Nabilla Ariffin, Theam Foo Ng and Munirah Ghazali
Abstract The implementations of sustainable development are a global trend and
recently focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda. In ensuring the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda, youths play a vital role in
spreading awareness, understanding, knowledge and good practices in sustainable
development. Thus, this exploratory research aims to determine the level of knowledge and opinions of Malaysian youth towards sustainable development concept
and issues. Furthermore, the level of knowledge and opinions of youth on sustainable development is important for their involvement in future decision-making. A
survey on sustainable development concept and issues was conducted in 2015 at
selected secondary schools and tertiary (higher) educational institutions in the state
of Penang, Malaysia. Cluster sampling method was used whereby 50 respondents
were randomly chosen from each selected place. Data were then analyzed using the
software IBM SPSS Statistic version 22. The findings illustrated the presence of high
level of knowledge especially on environmental dimension of sustainable development. The high level of sustainable development knowledge was reflected in youth’s
opinions whereby they had positive and strong support for strengthening Malaysia’s
sustainable development efforts. The findings of this study can serve as a baseline
data to the sustainable development research.
Keywords Sustainable development · Education · Knowledge · Opinions ·
Youths · Penang
F. N. Ariffin · T. F. Ng (B)
Centre for Global Sustainability Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia
e-mail: tfng@usm.my
F. N. Ariffin
e-mail: fnabillariffin@gmail.com
M. Ghazali
School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800
Penang, Malaysia
e-mail: munirah@usm.my
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_32
515
Youths in Secondary and Tertiary
Education on Sustainable Development
in Penang, Malaysia
Fatin Nabilla Ariffin, Theam Foo Ng and Munirah Ghazali
Abstract The implementations of sustainable development are a global trend and
recently focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda. In ensuring the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda, youths play a vital role in
spreading awareness, understanding, knowledge and good practices in sustainable
development. Thus, this exploratory research aims to determine the level of knowledge and opinions of Malaysian youth towards sustainable development concept
and issues. Furthermore, the level of knowledge and opinions of youth on sustainable development is important for their involvement in future decision-making. A
survey on sustainable development concept and issues was conducted in 2015 at
selected secondary schools and tertiary (higher) educational institutions in the state
of Penang, Malaysia. Cluster sampling method was used whereby 50 respondents
were randomly chosen from each selected place. Data were then analyzed using the
software IBM SPSS Statistic version 22. The findings illustrated the presence of high
level of knowledge especially on environmental dimension of sustainable development. The high level of sustainable development knowledge was reflected in youth’s
opinions whereby they had positive and strong support for strengthening Malaysia’s
sustainable development efforts. The findings of this study can serve as a baseline
data to the sustainable development research.
Keywords Sustainable development · Education · Knowledge · Opinions ·
Youths · Penang
F. N. Ariffin · T. F. Ng (B)
Centre for Global Sustainability Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia
e-mail: tfng@usm.my
F. N. Ariffin
e-mail: fnabillariffin@gmail.com
M. Ghazali
School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800
Penang, Malaysia
e-mail: munirah@usm.my
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development,
World Sustainability Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_32
515