Bridging the Gap Between <scp>SDG</scp> Learning and Civic Engagement: A Configurational Perspective in the Context of University Social Responsibility

ABSTRACT This study challenges the common assumption that learning about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is consistently associated with civic engagement in higher education. Adopting a configurational perspective, it examines how different learning patterns are associated with variations in participatory outcomes. Drawing on the knowledge–attitude–skills (KAS) framework, the study analyses survey data from undergraduate students within a higher education system shaped by University Social Responsibility (USR) policy initiatives. The findings show that SDG learning does not demonstrate a uniform association with civic engagement. Instead, the relationship varies according to how learning experiences are configured across knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Three configurations are identified: balanced, misaligned, and low engagement. Building on this insight, the study reinterprets the relationship among SDGs, USR, and Global Citizenship Education (GCED) as a mechanism‐based framework. In this framework, SDGs define the content of learning, USR provides the context for practice, and GCED functions as an integrative mechanism that connects knowledge, attitudes, and skills. These elements are interconnected through learning processes that shape how educational experiences are associated with civic engagement. Overall, this study offers a configurational lens for understanding sustainability education and highlights the need to rethink higher education policy agendas in Asia by focusing on how learning is structured rather than only on what is taught.