International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Article Impact of Environmental Moral Education on Pro-Environmental Behaviour: Do Psychological Empowerment and Islamic Religiosity Matter? Abida Begum 1, Liu Jingwei 1,*, Maqsood Haider 2, Muhammad Maroof Ajmal 3, Salim Khan 4 and Heesup Han 5 1 School of Marxism, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China; [email protected] 2 Department of Management Sciences, FATA University, FR Kohat 25000, Pakistan; [email protected] 3 University Institute of Management Sciences, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan; [email protected] 4 School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China; [email protected] 5 College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +86-451-82192162 Abstract: In light of increasing concerns about global environmental problems, environmental moral education is assumed to have a significant influence on the pro-environmental behaviour of students. Within the past decade, several higher education institutes have acknowledged the importance of integrating sustainability into the educational curriculum to have a focused and explicit impact on society. The current study investigated the relationship between environmental moral education and pro-environmental behaviour while drawing upon insights from the conservation of resource Citation: Begum, A.; Jingwei, L.; theory. The relationship among the aforementioned variables was studied for the mediating role of Haider, M.; Ajmal, M.M.; Khan, S.; psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of Islamic religiosity. Data were collected from Han, H. Impact of Environmental 429 university students with a cross-sectional approach. The data were analysed using “structural Moral Education on equation modelling” and “PROCESS” analytical techniques. The results of the study followed Pro-Environmental Behaviour: Do the predicted conceptual model, that is, environmental moral education was positively related Psychological Empowerment and to pro-environmental behaviour. Furthermore, psychological empowerment partially mediated Islamic Religiosity Matter? Int. J. the aforementioned relationship, while Islamic religiosity moderated the relationships between Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, environmental moral education and pro-environmental behaviour as well as between environmental 1604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ moral education and psychological empowerment. These findings reinforce the importance of ijerph18041604 environmental moral education and Islamic religiosity in understanding the Muslim student’s Academic Editor: Massimiliano ecological behaviours. Scopelliti Received: 24 December 2020 Keywords: environmental moral education; psychological empowerment; Islamic religiosity; pro- Accepted: 4 February 2021 environmental behaviour; Pakistani university students Published: 8 February 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in 1. Introduction published maps and institutional affil- Environmental education is an essential component of biodiversity preservation iations. interventions. Environmental education provides awareness and sensitivity about environ- mental problems, increases knowledge and helps in attaining positive attitudes toward environmental threats [1,2]. Education plays a vital role in explaining high-level environ- mental behaviours and concerns. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Highly educated (those perusing or who graduated from bachelor’s degree programs Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. are considered as educated persons, whereas those enrolled or graduated from master’s This article is an open access article or higher degree programs are considered as highly educated persons) persons are more distributed under the terms and motivated to bettering the environment, because education produces awareness about conditions of the Creative Commons the potential damage to the environment [3,4]. Mostly, education provides a high level of Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// knowledge and awareness about environmental problems and its solutions which results creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ in sustainable and pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) [5,6]. It is believed that, currently, 4.0/). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 1604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041604 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, x 2 of 19 knowledge and awareness about environmental problems and its solutions which results Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 1604 2 of 19 in sustainable and pro‐environmental behaviour (PEB) [5,6]. It is believed that, currently, human behaviour has detrimental impacts on the environment, and, especially, younger generations will be affected more owing to the current global environmental problems whichhuman will behaviour continue has to detrimentalbecome worse impacts in the on future the environment, if not well addressed and, especially, [6,7]. Therefore, younger itgenerations is the necessity will beof time affected to understand more owing and to improve the current the ecological global environmental behaviours of problems individ‐ whichuals. Higher will continue education to become is increasing worse the in the responsibility future if not of well individuals, addressed providing [6,7]. Therefore, the eco it‐ logicalis the necessity education, of time skills to and understand ethics required and improve for a sustainable the ecological and behaviours improved ofworld. individuals. There‐ fore,Higher universities education have is increasing a pivotal the role responsibility in obliging pro of individuals,‐environmental providing behaviour; the ecological they also playeducation, a vital skillsrole in and transforming ethics required societies for a toward sustainable environmental and improved sustainability world. Therefore, [8,9]. Re‐ cently,universities universities have a pivotalbegan promoting role in obliging pro‐environmental pro-environmental and behaviour;sustainable they development also play througha vital role education, in transforming research, societies incorporating toward sustainable environmental development sustainability into the [8, institutional9]. Recently, agendauniversities and beganencouraging promoting various pro-environmental programs on training, and sustainable awareness development and development through of staffeducation, for PEB. research, A comprehensive incorporating review sustainable of more development than a dozen intoresearch the institutional papers on the agenda effect ofand education encouraging on PEB various showed programs that education on training, may awareness make individuals and development aware of of their staff PEB for [10].PEB. The A comprehensive leaders of tomorrow review are of being more trained than a in dozen universities; research therefore, papers on it is the imperative effect of education on PEB showed that education may make individuals aware of their PEB [10]. to provide them with environmental education and ethics so they became psychologically The leaders of tomorrow are being trained in universities; therefore, it is imperative to empowered and their attitude changes toward pro‐environmental behaviours, which provide them with environmental education and ethics so they became psychologically could turn society toward environmental sustainability [4,11,12]. empowered and their attitude changes toward pro-environmental behaviours, which could The understanding of one’s predisposition to adopt PEB is a complex issue that is turn society toward environmental sustainability [4,11,12]. still not fully understood. In the past, various factors have been considered that affect PEB The understanding of one’s predisposition to adopt PEB is a complex issue that is still such as personal norms, attitudes, intentions, value orientations, environmental concerns, not fully understood. In the past, various factors have been considered that affect PEB self‐identity, etc. [11–17]. Psychological empowerment can also play an essential role in such as personal norms, attitudes, intentions, value orientations, environmental concerns, improving ecological behaviours, as it empowers an individual with the feeling of “the self-identity, etc. [11–17]. Psychological empowerment can also play an essential role in im- power to change things” and motivates consumers to preserve the environment [18]. proving ecological behaviours, as it empowers an individual with the feeling of “the power Hence, the current study proposes that environmental moral education is directly and to change things” and motivates consumers to preserve the environment [18]. Hence, the indirectlycurrent study (via proposes psychological that environmental empowerment) moral positively education related is directly to pro‐environmental and indirectly (via be‐ psychologicalhaviour. Besides, empowerment) given the role positively of Islamic related teachings to pro-environmental regarding environmental behaviour. protection, Besides, suchgiven as the balancing role of Islamic of the teachingsenvironment, regarding environmental environmental consciousness, protection, conservation such as balancing of re‐ sources,of the environment, such as water, environmental trees, etc. [19], consciousness, the current conservation study proposes of resources, Islamic religiosity such as water, as a boundarytrees,