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Beyond the Classroom: Analyzing the Gap Between Knowledge and Action in Sustainability Within Higher Education Sport Sciences Curricula

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2026 Artículo HIGHEREDU Beyond the Classroom Analyzing the Gap Between Knowledge and Action in Sustainability (Borrego, Ardiaz y Frano) JCR Q2 2,1.pdf(1.67 MB)
Date
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Authors
Francisco José Borrego-Balsalobre ; Arturo Díaz-Suárez ; Frano Giakoni-Ramírez
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Facultades de la UMU::Facultad de Ciencias del Deporte
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Publisher
MDPI
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Actividad Física y Deporte
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/higheredu5030061
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info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Description
Abstract
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are increasingly tasked with fostering pro-environmental agency to address the global climate crisis. Within physical activity and sport sciences, future nautical sports managers occupy a unique role as stewards of marine ecosystems. This study investigates the sustainability consciousness of 170 undergraduate university students from a single institution. It focuses on analyzing the knowledge–action gap within the framework of the 2030 Agenda. Utilizing the Sustainability Consciousness Questionnaire (SCQ-S), this work assessed knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors to quantify this dissonance through a robust non-parametric statistical pipeline. Results indicate a significant knowledge–action gap (𝑟𝐵 = 0.903), representing a large matched-pairs rank-biserial correlation effect size for the Wilcoxon test. Furthermore, Kruskal–Wallis analyses reveal that this discrepancy is transversal across student profiles, suggesting a state of informed paralysis within this specific cohort, where high theoretical mastery fails to translate into sustainable professional routines. Crucially, the frequency of engagement in nature-based sports, encompassing both nautical and terrestrial outdoor activities, does not significantly reduce this dissonance. These contextual findings indicate that physical exposure to nature does not automatically mitigate the knowledge–action gap, highlighting the need for explicit reflective pedagogies in higher education.
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value–action gap , physical activity , sport sciences , nautical activities , active tourism , higher education , environmental stewardship , SDGs , sustainability consciousness
Citation
Borrego-Balsalobre, F. J., Díaz-Suárez, A., & Giakoni-Ramírez, F. (2026). Beyond the Classroom: Analyzing the Gap Between Knowledge and Action in Sustainability Within Higher Education Sport Sciences Curricula. Trends in Higher Education, 5(3), 61. https://doi.org/10.3390/higheredu5030061
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10201/247821
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