Sustainability as a life purpose among first-semester students at a private university in Malaysia

In response to the global sustainability crisis, education for sustainable development has become a pressing priority for universities in emerging nations, but nurturing students’ commitment to sustainability remains a challenge. Guided by the theoretical concepts of life purpose and sustainability, this descriptive study explores how first-semester students at a private university in Malaysia integrate sustainability into their life purpose statements. From analysing the life purpose statements of 1,506 students across 22 science and social science disciplines, three purpose profiles have been identified: purposeful (39.4%), dreamer (9.5%), and self-oriented (29.1%), with a balance (22%) that did not submit their life purpose statements. The finding indicates that nearly half of the students are prosocial and likely to be committed to sustainability. Among the 943 students with prosocial purpose profiles, the majority (68.9%) expressed support for social sustainability, 23.9% expressed support for economic sustainability, and a minority (5.5%) expressed support for environmental sustainability. This study also reveals distinct purpose profiles and dominant commitment to social, economic, or environmental sustainability among students from various disciplines. The four interview responses exemplify how students with different purpose profiles perceive their roles towards sustainability. This study discusses the importance of sustainability among university students in an emerging nation. It contributes to the sustainable higher education agenda of emerging nations by underscoring the need to enhance environmental sustainability education across various disciplines.