The influence of environmental clubs in Chinese universities on the development of core competencies for conservation leadership among college students

doi:10.17520/biods.2023425

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Improving conservation leadership is essential for developing a new generation of citizens who possess the leadership and action skills required for future biodiversity conservation efforts. This research centers on college students who are members of environmental clubs, aiming to explore the impact of college environmental clubs on the development of college students’ core competencies in conservation leadership.

Methods We employed a mixed-methods approach that integrated qualitative interviews and questionnaires to analyze the interview data by means of rooted theory three-level coding in order to identify the constructs of conservation leadership core competencies, and t-test, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and path analysis to explore the relationship between participation in college environmental clubs and conservation leadership core competencies and pro-environmental actions.

Results The conservation leadership core competencies concept encompassed a multifaceted dimension with biodiversity knowledge, conservation vision, interpersonal skills, and empowering leadership. Membership in a college environmental club and active participation in club activities had been demonstrated to significantly enhance participants’ core conservation leadership competencies, particularly in the domains of biodiversity knowledge, conservation vision, interpersonal skills, and empowering leadership. Additionally, these experiences had been found to indirectly influence pro-environmental action. Path analysis revealed that participation in environmental clubs had a significant effect on all aspects of core conservation leadership competencies, with participation in environmental clubs directly and positively influencing an individual’s biodiversity knowledge (β = 0.02, P < 0.01), conservation vision (β = 0.18, P < 0.001), interpersonal skills (β = 0.08, P < 0.001), and empowering leadership (β = 0.04, P = 0.09). Meanwhile, the core conservation leadership competencies significantly predicted pro-environmental action, with conservation vision (β = 0.43, P < 0.001) and empowering leadership (β = 0.52, P < 0.01) showing significant positive predictions of pro-environmental action, and biodiversity knowledge (β = -0.17, P < 0.01) and interpersonal skills (β = -0.12, P < 0.01) were significantly negatively correlated with pro-environmental action. t-tests indicated that college students who participated in college environmental clubs demonstrated enhanced effectiveness in conservation vision (pre-test mean = 4.26, SD = 0.40; post-test mean = 4.31, SD = 0.45), interpersonal skills (pre-test mean = 3.74, SD = 0.49; post-test mean = 3.82, SD = 0.46), and empowering leadership. (pre-test mean = 3.95, SD = 0.41; post-test mean = 4.03, SD = 0.52) and pro-environmental action (pre-test mean = 3.59, SD = 0.54; post-test mean = 3.81, SD = 0.63) demonstrated an increase, although only the pro-environmental action reached a statistically significant level.

Conclusions Encouraging and supporting college students to form and participate in environmental clubs, as well as to initiate environmental projects, can significantly contributes to the development of conservation leadership competencies among college students. This approach offers an effective educational model for advancing biodiversity conservation education.

Key words: conservation leadership, environmental club, pro-environmental action, college students

Zekun Zhang, Jin Chen. The influence of environmental clubs in Chinese universities on the development of core competencies for conservation leadership among college students[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2024, 32(7): 23425.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2023425

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2024/V32/I7/23425

Figures/Tables 8

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变量 Variable	项目 Item	频次 Frequency	百分比 Percentage
性别 Gender	男 Male	29	50.9
性别 Gender	女 Female	28	49.1
地区 Region	东北 Northeast China	3	5.3
	华北 North China	5	8.8
	华东 East China	7	12.3
	华中 Central China	3	5.3
	华南 South China	6	10.5
	西南 Southwest China	16	28.1
	西北 Northwest China	17	29.8
职业 Occupation	高校社团负责人 College club leaders	41	71.9
职业 Occupation	NGO负责人及老师 NGO leaders and professors	16	28.1
学历 Education	在读本科 Undergraduate student	41	71.9
学历 Education	本科及以上 Bachelor’s degree and above	16	28.1
访谈形式 Format of interviews	实地访谈 Face-to-face	21	36.8
	电话访谈 Telephone	33	57.9
	邮件访谈 E-mail	3	5.3
访谈时长 Duration of interviews	20-40 min	10	18.5
	40-60 min	20	37.0
	60-80 min	13	24.1
	> 80 min	11	20.4

变量 Variable	项目 Item	频次 Frequency	百分比 Percentage
性别 Gender	男 Male	29	50.9
性别 Gender	女 Female	28	49.1
地区 Region	东北 Northeast China	3	5.3
	华北 North China	5	8.8
	华东 East China	7	12.3
	华中 Central China	3	5.3
	华南 South China	6	10.5
	西南 Southwest China	16	28.1
	西北 Northwest China	17	29.8
职业 Occupation	高校社团负责人 College club leaders	41	71.9
职业 Occupation	NGO负责人及老师 NGO leaders and professors	16	28.1
学历 Education	在读本科 Undergraduate student	41	71.9
学历 Education	本科及以上 Bachelor’s degree and above	16	28.1
访谈形式 Format of interviews	实地访谈 Face-to-face	21	36.8
	电话访谈 Telephone	33	57.9
	邮件访谈 E-mail	3	5.3
访谈时长 Duration of interviews	20-40 min	10	18.5
	40-60 min	20	37.0
	60-80 min	13	24.1
	> 80 min	11	20.4

变量 Variable	类别 Item	频次 Frequency	百分比 Percentage
性别 Gender	男 Male	765	41.1
性别 Gender	女 Female	1,096	58.9
年级 Grade	大一 Freshman	1,554	83.5
	大二 Sophomore	224	12
	大三 Junior	56	3
	大四 Senior	18	1
	其他 Others	9	0.5
家庭所在地 Homeplace	农村 Village	900	48.4
	小城镇 Townlet	551	29.6
	中等城市 Medium city	280	15
	大城市 Big city	130	7
社团成员 Club member	是 Yes	960	51.6
社团成员 Club member	否 No	901	48.4
活动参加频率Frequency of participation	有时 Sometimes	162	8.7
	经常 Frequently	387	20.8
	非常频繁 Very frequent	350	18.8
	未参加社团活动 No activities	61	3.3
环保经历 Environmental experience	是 Yes	961	51.6
环保经历 Environmental experience	否 No	900	48.4

变量 Variable	类别 Item	频次 Frequency	百分比 Percentage
性别 Gender	男 Male	765	41.1
性别 Gender	女 Female	1,096	58.9
年级 Grade	大一 Freshman	1,554	83.5
	大二 Sophomore	224	12
	大三 Junior	56	3
	大四 Senior	18	1
	其他 Others	9	0.5
家庭所在地 Homeplace	农村 Village	900	48.4
	小城镇 Townlet	551	29.6
	中等城市 Medium city	280	15
	大城市 Big city	130	7
社团成员 Club member	是 Yes	960	51.6
社团成员 Club member	否 No	901	48.4
活动参加频率Frequency of participation	有时 Sometimes	162	8.7
	经常 Frequently	387	20.8
	非常频繁 Very frequent	350	18.8
	未参加社团活动 No activities	61	3.3
环保经历 Environmental experience	是 Yes	961	51.6
环保经历 Environmental experience	否 No	900	48.4

核心范畴及其内涵 Core categories and their implications	核心素养 Core competence	频次百分比 Frequency (%)
A. 保护愿景: 是个人通过呼吁使他人加入到其所畅想的关于未来环境与生物多样性保护的具体目标和愿望(Black et al, 2011; Black & Copsey, 2014) Conservation vision: An individual’s call for others to join him or her in the specific goals and aspirations he or she envisions for the future of the environment and biodiversity conservation (Black et al, 2011; Black & Copsey, 2014)	A1. 环境热情 Environmental passion	56 (98.2)
	A2. 传递保护愿景 Communicating the conservation vision	51 (89.5)
	A3. 环境保护价值观 Environmental value	43 (75.4)
B. 人际关系能力: 主要指与他人互动的能力, 其关键要素包括社会意识(如: 同理心等)和社会技能(如: 合作与信任等) (Day, 2000) Interpersonal skills: Refer primarily to the ability to interact with others, with key elements including social awareness (e.g., empathy, etc.) and social skills (e.g., collaboration and trust, etc.) (Day, 2000)	B1. 同理心 Empathy	39 (68.4)
	B2. 沟通交流 Interpersonal communication	54 (94.7)
C. 赋权领导能力: 指个人亲身参与实践工作并善于通过赋权这一行为过程以激发他人的创造力和活力的能力(Konczak et al, 2000; Zhang & Bartol, 2010) Empowering Leadership: The ability of an individual to be personally involved in practical work and to be adept at the behavioral process of empowerment in order to stimulate the creativity and vitality of others (Konczak et al, 2000; Zhang & Bartol, 2010)	C1. 赋权 Empowerment	55 (96.5)
	C2. 以身作则参与环保实践 Leading by example in environmental practices	50 (87.7)
	C3. 任务处理能力 Mission processing capability	46 (80.7)
	C4. 对环境变化的适应 Adaptation to environmental change	55 (96.5)
	C5. 敢于挑战困难 Dare to challenge difficulties	56 (98.2)
D. 生物多样性知识: 与生物多样性及其保护相关的知识内容 Biodiversity knowledge: Knowledge content related to biodiversity and its conservation	D1. 知识 Knowledge	46 (80.7)