Sustainable development education’s pathways and influencing factors for enhancing sustainability behaviors: a survey of Chinese university students

Purpose This study aims to examine the effect of education for sustainable development (ESD) on students’ sustainability behaviors in Chinese higher education institutions (HEIs), aiming to identify the educational enhancement pathways and influencing factors based on students’ perspectives. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from students in Chinese HEIs using an online survey. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data and verify the pathways for enhancing students’ sustainability behaviors through ESD in HEIs. The effects of students’ demographic characteristics, majors, and other factors are also examined. Findings ESD in Chinese HEIs promotes students’ sustainability cognition and behaviors. Students’ sustainability cognition plays a mediating role and has a positive effect on enhancing sustainability behaviors through education. In the influence pathway, the behavioral attitudes of students majoring in humanities and social sciences with high monthly expenditures are more significant for promoting sustainable social participation. Meanwhile, gender and educational level are not significant moderating factors. Research limitations/implications Factors such as cognition are subjective and difficult to measure. The sample’s representativeness warrants further consideration, and there is a lack of time-series change data. Nevertheless, this attempt to examine the mechanism of ESD from students’ perspectives can help assess ESD in HEIs more rationally and make the improvement paths more efficient. Practical implications This study offers evidence to support ESD-related decision-making in Chinese HEIs. It is suggested that HEIs continue to strengthen ESD, focusing on influencing behavior by enhancing students’ sustainability cognition. Pedagogical approaches should be adjusted based on students’ spending habits and majors to maximize educational outcomes and support China’s sustainability ambitions. Originality/value Based on the perspective of Chinese HEI students, this study makes observations about ESD in Chinese HEIs, focuses on the interaction between the sustainability cognition and behaviors of students, and expands the discussion of pathways for HEIs to promote students’ sustainability cognition and behaviors.