Co-curricular engagement, moral quotient, and pro-environmental behaviors of university students in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND

The continuous degradation of the environment requires us to change our current poor eco-friendly behaviors towards more pro-environmental actions. Hence, it is essential to understand the factors promoting pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). To this end, this study was designed to investigate the relationship between moral quotient (MQ) and PEBs mediated by the sense of obligation of university students engaged in co-curricular activities.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 683 university students was recruited as study participants. Pro-Environmental Behavior Scale (PEBS) and Moral Quotient Questionnaire (MQQ) originally developed by Janmaimool and Khajohnmanee (2020) were translated into Bangla and the factor structures and validities were determined. Mediation analysis was employed to examine the role of sense of obligation between the relationship of MQ and PEBs. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analysis was run to test whether pro-environmental behavior was predicted by the sense of obligation, global citizenship, and moral quotient. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to study the effects of co-curricular engagement on MQ and PEBs.

RESULTS

Exploratory factor analyses revealed a single-factor structure for both PEBS and MQQ and the same factor retention emerged through parallel analyses. Good internal consistency reliabilities for both measures were evident through Cronbach's alphas and McDonald's omegas. The concurrent validity of the Bangla PEBS and MQQ was confirmed through the positive association of PEBs with global citizenship and a positive relationship of MQ with the sense of obligation. Importantly, the results indicated that sense of obligation partially mediated the relationship between MQ and PEBs. Regression analysis also found the sense of obligation and MQ as the strong predictors of PEBs. ANCOVA results showed that co-curricular engagement had significant effects on moral quotient and pro-environmental behaviors of the students after controlling for the effects of academic performance.

CONCLUSION

Altogether, it can be suggested that universities should focus on enhancing students' environment-related co-curricular activities to promote their sense of moral obligation on environmental issues, ultimately leading to eco-friendly behaviors for a sustainable environment.