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The Attitude of Construction-Related Students toward Sustainability in the Built Environment in South Korea Hyuksoo Kwon1, Yong Han Ahn2 and Hyunik Shin3

ABSTRACT Sustainability has become an important consideration in the construction industry, and it must support the triple bottom line of environmental, social and economic benefits. As construction students are becoming leaders and innovators in construction, it is necessary to motivate construction students to learn the concept of sustainability, and to learn the sustainable design and construction skills which can be implemented in their daily activities. This study investigates the level of the construction student's familiarity and interest toward sustainability, their attitude toward sustainability, and the factors influencing student's attitude toward sustainability in Republic of Korea. To accomplish the main objectives, this study employs a piloted survey instrument created and developed by the authors. This is a descriptive and correlation study using responses from architecture and architectural engineering students at four universities in the mid-eastern region of South Korea. Using descriptive statistics and multiple regressions using SPSS version 17, this study measured the level of familiarity with the concept of sustainability and the sustainable design and construction skills. It also identified the factors which affect students’ attitude toward sustainability. With this study, it is possible to help educators motivate and teach students to improve their attitude toward sustainability in the built environment.

KEYWORDS Sustainability, Sustainable Construction, Construction Education, Students’ Attitude

INTRODUCTION Construction is a industry that significantly influences our economy, natural environment, natural resources and health. The construction industry is one of the largest industries in the Republic of Korea, employing over 1.7 million people (7.8% of national employment) and generating over 15.9 % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), $136 billion in revenue in 2008 [1]. At the same time, the construction industry contributes to major environmental issues and problems including global warming, climate change, ozone depletion, soil erosion, desertification, deforestation, acidification, loss of diversity, land pollution, water pollution, air pollution, and depletion of natural resource and fisheries [2, 3, 4 & 5]. With the recognition of the challenges and issues associated with construction activities, the construction industry has introduced and implemented the concept of "sustainability", green building, and sustainable development. The sustainability movement in the construction industry has the goal implement sustainable design and construction practices and strategies (Figure 1) in construction projects [2 & 6].

1 Ph.D., Curriculum and Instruction, Virginia Tech, Email: kwon06@vt.edu. 2 Ph.D., LEED AP, Assistant Professor, Construction Management, East Carolina University, Email: ahny@ecu.edu 3 Ph.D., Professor, Architecture, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Email: hishin@kumoh.ac.kr

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Kwon, H., & Ahn, Y. H., & Shin, H. I. (2010, June), The Attitude Of Construction Related Students Toward Sustainability In South Korea Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16377