ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION, ATTITUDES, AND KNOWLEDGE AS KEY FACTORS IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY AMONG HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT STUDENTS

Environmental sustainability in higher education plays an important role in shaping the environmental responsibility of future hospitality professionals, particularly through curriculum integration, knowledge development, and attitude formation. The influence of environmental sustainability integration, students’ attitudes, and knowledge towards environmental responsibility among Hospitality Management students in two selected universities in Surigao del Sur was explored in this study. The study used descriptive- correlational design. Data were obtained from a sample of third year Hospitality Management (HM) students via survey questionnaires to assess the curriculum’s integration of environmental sustainability, students’ environmental knowledge, attitudes, and environmental responsibility. The research instruments were adapted from established sources including University of Florida (2022), Raman (2016), Rogayan and Nebrida (2019), and Legrand et al. (2023). Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used. According to the findings, the participants assessed the integration of environmental sustainability in the curriculum highly. Students indicated moderate environmental knowledge and highly favorable attitudes concerning the environment. Furthermore, they demonstrated high levels of participation in environmental activities, energy conservation, and waste management. Both the integration of environmental sustainability into the curriculum and the attitudes of students were found to have a significant influence on their environmental responsibility, with the findings of the regression analysis indicating that attitudes had the most significant influence. This study emphasizes the importance of incorporating environmental sustainability into the curriculum and encouraging students to have positive attitudes in order to increase their level of environmental responsibility.