Abstract

While the loss of biodiversity is accelerating due to habitat degradation, climate change and unsustainable use of resources, higher education institutions (HEI) have been slower to incorporate biodiversity content in subjects other than those focused on the environment and biology. This study involved the incorporation of a structured education module on biodiversity conservation in the general undergraduate curriculum and its impact on students' ecological knowledge, conservation attitudes, environmental awareness, and intention to sustain their behaviour. A quasi-experimental single-group pre-test/post-test design was used with a total of 240 undergraduate students who were sampled from a variety of academic disciplines throughout a single academic semester. The intervention was classroom-based, involved the use of digital learning resources, an audit of biodiversity on the campus and community-based field experience, and was based on the conceptual framework for curriculum integration. Data were gathered using validated Likert scale questionnaires before and after the intervention, and the data were analyzed using paired sample comparisons. The results show statistically significant improvements in all dimensions measured, most notably in ecological knowledge (44.1% increase) and environmental awareness (40.3% increase), and an overall composite score increase of 38.4%. The results indicate that, in the case of university students who are not biodiversity specialists, the deliberate design and experience of biodiversity education can have a measurable impact on both cognition and orientation. It is concluded that integrating the ecological dimension into the curriculum at the institutional level is more feasible for developing ecological literacy and sustainable practices in higher education, as opposed to incorporating it as an optional subject. Curriculum implications and future research are explored.