Chinese International School Students Discuss Sustainability: A Mixed Methods Study in Guangdong, China

This mixed-method study was conducted at an international school near Guangzhou, China and included a total of 40 Likert-scale questionnaires, a focus group and nine individual interviews with the 100% Han Chinese student population. Significant results demonstrated that many of the ideas about sustainability shared by students were interconnected and could not easily be separated, that students felt that awareness was an important first step to acting sustainably, that despite moving around students were connected to special places and that this student population was able to internalize seemingly contradictory ideas about sustainability. While this study focuses on a specific student population, several strategies for teachers are proposed, which may prove effective in any classroom around the world. Including the inclusion of humans in ecological models, as assignments designed to help students see the hidden consequences of their choices and how a big impact is made through many small impacts.