DETERMINANTS OF ACADEMIC YOUTH'S ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IDEA OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The paper presents findings of a study conducted among academic youth in over 30 European countries. The aim of the study was to find out students' opinions and attitudes towards the idea of sustainable development. Respondents' responses to the question concerning living in accordance with the principles of sustainable development have been analysed. When considering the variations in the answers provided to this question, attention was paid to the youth's nationality, which was generalised by grouping their home countries into three categories: EC15, EU28-15, outside of the EU. It has also been examined whether the variation in the responses was impacted by the level of education as declared in the survey section containing respondents' socio-demographic data, i.e. first-, second- or third-cycle studies. Variation in the responses by gender as well as by respondents' background and place of residence, i.e. city or rural area, has also been addressed. The data were obtained by means of a survey questionnaire developed in the English language and processed using pivot tables prepared in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.