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The purpose of this paper is to report an attempt to quantitatively evaluate pedagogies designed to help learners clarify their personal values systems in a sustainability context.

A pre-test/post-test survey was used to assess shifts in values orientations among 113 undergraduates from the same discipline, following the completion of intensive values-based sustainability training workshops.

The results indicate that small but statistically significant shifts in participant perceptions of their personal values orientations occurred, particularly in relation to values correlating with sustainability.

The survey data were collated in six separate groups, potentially introducing unforeseen variables. As value types, rather than individual values, were used as the basis of the survey, there could be variations in participant perception and understanding of the value-type labels.

No control group was possible because the training intervention was a compulsory aspect of the participants’ degree programme, and the surveys were administered by the participants’ tutor, which could lead to “teacher” bias.

This research evaluates pedagogies aiming to allow individuals to clarify their values and better understand the motivational role these have in influencing “sustainable” behaviour. The research can inform the design and execution of “holistic” educational and training programmes seeking to help individuals understand their personal role in creating a more sustainable future.

The originality of this research lies in the quantitative analysis of values-specific education for sustainable development pedagogies. Findings point to the need for further research to assess the application of the pedagogies across different disciplines.

This paper aims to analyse an initiative to provide learners on “career‐based” programmes with opportunities to reflect upon their values within the context of sustainability.

An international literature review relating values and behaviour to the sustainability agenda led to the development of “sustainability training” workshop activities for construction students at the University of Plymouth. The activities, drawing on good practice from a range of education for sustainability initiatives and the behavioral discipline Neuro Linguistic Programming, enable participants to elicit and reflect upon their core values and to relate these to key sustainability issues. Following multiple pilots the workshops were offered as voluntary field trials to students, their effectiveness being measured through structured feedback.

The feedback returns demonstrate the popularity of the enquiry‐based learning techniques utilized and the effectiveness of the individual activities in achieving their aims. Constructive criticism centred on the need to simplify some of the activity instructions.

This research shows that open‐ended enquiry‐based learning techniques are useful for promoting sustainability values within educational programmes. As the activities described here are not discipline‐specific, they have potential to be adapted for similar disciplines at other institutions and for use with other career‐based disciplines.

Much is written about the need to embed sustainability values in the curriculum. This paper describes a method of fulfilling this need and may be of significant value to those attempting to embed sustainability within educational programmes.