Perception of sustainable construction among Nigerian university students: a case study analysis

PurposeStudents' perception of sustainable construction (SC) practices provides insights into the readiness of future professionals to adopt SC practices. This study aims to evaluate the source of students' knowledge of SC, students' perception of SC, the importance of SC features and the factors influencing students' level of awareness. Design/methodology/approachUsing a case study of one of the foremost public universities in Nigeria, a quantitative research approach was adopted. A closed-ended questionnaire was distributed to 292 final-year built environment students, and 121(41.4%) questionnaires were completed and analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis. The course modules were also analysed using content analysis. FindingsThe findings revealed that knowledge sources were primarily from academic and internet sources. Also, the results showed an averagely high level of awareness of the terms/concepts, and these have a significantly positive mean difference, at p-value < 0.05. An examination of the importance attached to SC shows that energy/water efficiency (mean = 4.14) was more highly rated, followed by economics (mean = 4.01), occupant health and safety (mean = 3.99) and waste reduction and sustainable materials (mean = 3.87). Factors influencing students' awareness relate to a lack of clear understanding of what SC is all about, the volume of information available on social media about SC, and the level of awareness/enthusiasm about SC. While the result of agreement analysis showed a high degree of consensus across both genders with three of the four SC themes, the study showed a low level of consensus on the factors influencing students' awareness of SC. Research limitations/implicationsPotential biases based on the case study approach should be noted. However, the findings could aid academics/educators in understanding factors that drive students' perceptions of SC. Practical implicationsAn intentional emphasis by faculties will afford students the needed footing in achieving the sustainable development agenda through cleaner construction practices and facilitate a smooth transition into environmentally responsible professionals. Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is perhaps the first study examining the perception of students on SC and the influencing factors along gender lines using the "Rank Agreement Analysis".