The Sustainable Curricular Experience and Ecological Vision on the Pro-Environmental Behavior of Chilean University Students

The objective of this study was to explain the effect of the sustainable curricular experience on the pro-environmental behavior of Chilean university students, mediated by the new ecological paradigm and moderated by political perception variables. The sample con-sisted of 750 participants. A modeling analysis was performed by structural equations, observing adequate fit indices (χ2 = 479.968 gl (146), p < .001, RMSEA = .055, CFI = .95, TLI = .94, SRMR = .057). Curricular emphasis had a significant effect on pro-environmental behavior (β = .15, p < .001), while instructional practice had no significant effect on it (β = .05, p > .05). The new ecological paradigm had a direct and indirect effect by partially me-diating between curricular emphasis and pro-environmental behavior, while the media-tion of the new ecological paradigm between instructional practice and pro-environmental behavior was not supported. The student's political ideology and the perceived political tendency of the government with a greater orientation to environmental protection moderated several routes in the structural model. It is suggested to strengthen university education by integrating the pillars of sustainable development in environ-mental, social and economic matters as a driving force towards pro-environmental be-havior of students.