Changes of Students’ Environmental Perceptions after the Environmental Science and Biology Courses: VMU Case

Higher education is one of the actors in the whole education system providing platform for access of people from different branches of science, different views and perceptions and creating possibilities for more environmentally friendly and sustainable lifestyles and professional decisions. The aim of the study was to determine and assess the change in students’ ecological attitudes and behaviour after two elective courses of Environmental Science and Biology at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), Lithuania. Based on ecological paradigm and behaviour-related issues, survey results reveal a relatively high environmental consciousness of students and this could explain why they have chosen these particular courses. However, both negative and positive changes took place after the courses. More detailed curriculum analysis and a survey of students’ attitudes selecting other courses should be carried out in order to include environmental and sustainability issues in other courses at the University.