Presentation Schedule
The Relationship Between Parental Involvement in Education for Sustainable Development and the Sustainability Literacy of Elementary School Students (101113)
Session Chair: Pei-I Chou
Saturday, 7 February 2026 11:15
Session: Session 1
Room: Opal 104 (Level 1)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
As the economy and technology continue to evolve, sustainable development has become increasingly vital, requiring joint efforts across generations. Family and school education play a crucial role in fostering sustainability literacy among children, although research on parental involvement in education for sustainable development (ESD) remains limited. This study examines the relationship between students' sustainability literacy and parental involvement through a questionnaire survey using a five-point Likert scale. A total of 626 elementary school students from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, completed a Sustainability Literacy Survey adapted from the Sustainable Development questionnaire (Olsson et al., 2019), while 331 parents completed a Parental Involvement Survey based on Epstein et al.'s (2023) classifications of parental involvement. Findings show that while students reported strong sustainability literacy (M = 4.16), their behaviors lagged in the social (M = 3.87), economic (M = 4.08), and environmental (M = 3.94) dimensions of sustainability literacy. Parents recognized the importance of involvement in ESD (M = 3.90), but their actual engagement was much lower (M = 2.68). A significant correlation exists between parents' perceived importance and their level of involvement (r = .76, p < .01). Furthermore, parents' perceived importance of ESD involvement is positively linked to children's sustainability literacy (r = .21, p < .01), but their actual parental actions do not show the same relationship (r = .09, p = .35). There is still considerable room for improvement in parental involvement in ESD. We suggest that future research builds on this study to strengthen the connections between parental involvement and ESD.
Authors:
Ming-Chang Cheng, Meiho University, Taiwan
Pei-I Chou, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan
About the Presenter(s)
Professor Pei-I Chou is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan
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