The Sustainability of Pre-Service Teachers’ Consumer Behaviour for the December Holidays - Article - Research Study on Sustainable Consumption

Oct 15, 2026

Study examines Slovenian pre-service teachers’ consumer behaviour during December holidays and their personal views on sustainable consumption. A sample of 130 University of Ljubljana Faculty of Education students was surveyed in January 2020, including 11 male and 116 female students (3 did not report gender). Results detail gift-receiving and gift-giving patterns for Saint Nicholas Day, Christmas, and New Year, plus common gift types and the share of monthly income allocated. Sustainability perspectives are grouped into need-based gifts, recyclable materials, nonmaterial gifts, fewer gifts, charity giving, and no gifts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Sustainable consumption context and definitions

Consumer behaviour as a research focus

Study aims and paper structure

doi: 10.26529/cepsj.1110 The Sustainability of Pre-Service Teachers’ Consumer Behaviour for the December Holidays Gregor Torkar1 • The consumer behaviour of Slovenian pre-service teachers for the December holidays and their personal views about sustainable consumption were studied. A total of 130 students of the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Education took part in the study. The sample consisted of 11 male and 116 female students, while 3 students did not report their gender. The survey was conducted in January 2020. The results show that 95.4% of the respondents received gifts during their childhood on Saint Nicholas Day, 60.0% at Christmas and 23.1% when celebrating the New Year. Almost 13% of the respondents received gifts three times in December during their childhood. In December 2019, 54.6% of them gave gifts for Saint Nicholas Day, 65.2% at Christmas and 10.8% for the New Year. Christmas has therefore become the most common gift-giving time in December. Students most often give their loved ones sweets, clothes and shoes, and cosmetics. The majority of the respondents spend less than 50% of their monthly income on gifts for the December holidays. In terms of sustainability, the respondents described their consumer behaviour as follows: (1) giving or receiving things they really need,(2) giving or receiving gifts and wrappings made of recyclable material,(3) giving or receiving nonmaterial gifts,(4) reducing the number of gifts,(5) giving for charity, or (6) not giving gifts at all. Keywords: consumer behaviour, university students, gifts, education, sustainability 1 Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; [gregor.torkar@pef.uni-lj.si](gregor.torkar@pef.uni-lj.si). Potrošniška vedenja bodočih učiteljev v obdobjudecembrskih praznikov z vidikov trajnosti Gregor Torkar • Preučevali smo potrošniško vedenje bodočih slovenskih učiteljev vobdobju decembrskih praznikov in njihove poglede na trajnostno potrošnjo. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 130 študentov Pedagoške fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani. Vzorec je sestavljalo 11 študentov in 116 študentk, trije študentje pa niso navedli spola. Anketa je bila izvedena januarja 2020. Izsledki raziskave kažejo, da je kar 95,4 % anketirancev prejelo darila v otroštvu na dan svetega Miklavža, 60,0 % ob božiču in 23,1 % ob praznovanju novega leta. Skoraj 13 % vprašanih je decembra v otroštvuprejelo darila trikrat. V decembru 2019 jih je 54,6 % obdarilo za svetega Miklavža, 65,2 % za božič in 10,8 % za novo leto. Božič je torej postal najpogostejši čas obdarovanja v decembru. Študentje najpogosteje podarijo svojim najdražjim sladkarije, oblačila in obutev ter kozmetiko. Večina vprašanih za darila za decembrske praznike nameni manj kot 50 % svojih mesečnih prihodkov. Z vidikov trajnosti so anketiranci svoja obdarovanja ocenili kot: 1) dajanje stvari, ki jih resnično potrebujejo; 2) dajanje daril in darilnih ovojev iz recikliranega materiala; 3) dajanje nematerialnih daril; 4) zmanjšanje števila daril; 5) dajanje v dobrodelne namene; 6) brez obdarovanja. Ključne besede: vedenje potrošnikov, študentje, darila, vzgoja inizobraževanje, trajnost Introduction There is growing recognition of the importance of consumption within debates on sustainable development. Concern about the consumption andoverconsumption of natural resources (natural capital) is one of the most important global challenges and is also defined in Sustainable Development Goal 12, which envisages the achievement of sustainable consumption and production patterns (United Nations, 2015). Promoting education for sustainable consumption is part of education for sustainable development (ESD), which is tobe integrated into education programmes is a pertinent strategy (Erjavšek et al., 2021; Thoresen, 2010) . The terminology of sustainable consumption can be traced back to Chapter 4 of Agenda 21, which is the main policy document of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development h

FAQs

How many participants were included in the survey, and when was it conducted?

The study surveyed 130 University of Ljubljana Faculty of Education students. The survey was conducted in January 2020.

What do the results show about gift-giving time in December?

Christmas is identified as the most common gift-giving time, with higher rates for Christmas than for Saint Nicholas Day and New Year.

How did respondents describe sustainable gift-related behaviour?

Respondents described sustainability through need-based gifts, gifts and wrappings made of recyclable materials, nonmaterial gifts, reducing the number of gifts, giving for charity, or not giving gifts at all.

Oct 15, 2026

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