While student engagement is widely known as a multidimensional approach involving behavioral, emotional, and cognitive aspects, little is known about its manifestation in aviation sustainability education. Behavioural engagement involves sustained effort in learning activities; emotional engagement encompasses a positive attitude towards learning; and cognitive engagement entails planning, self-regulation, and the mental effort required to comprehend concepts. The focus of this study was on emotional and behavioral engagement, as these aspects are crucial for educational outcomes, including academic achievement, emotional health, and future accomplishments.

This study aims to explore how first-year student engagement manifests and how students perceive engagement in the "Sustainability in Aviation" course at an aviation academy.

The research questions are as follows:
1) How do behavioral and emotional engagement manifest among first-year students of the aviation academy in the „Sustainability in Aviation“ course?
2) How do first-year students of the aviation academy perceive their own behavioral and emotional engagement in the „Sustainability in Aviation“ course?

Method:
This study was conducted using an action research approach. Participants included 31 first-year students, comprising 15 from air traffic services, 6 from air traffic control, and 10 from pilot training programs. Data were collected through classroom observations and reflective feedback during seminars, followed by a semi-structured focus group interview conducted at the end of the course. A study was conducted between February and May 2025. The data were analyzed using qualitative abductive content analysis. Abductive content analysis enables a constant dialogue between collected data and existing theories.

Preliminary results:
Results showed that behavioral engagement was evident through students’ consistent attendance, attentive listening, appreciation for engaging and intellectually stimulating methods, and valuing guest speakers. However, behavioral disengagement arose due to overly long presentations, familiar topics, an overemphasis on group work at the expense of individual tasks, and tendencies to multitask during seminars. Emotional engagement was driven by students’ interest in the topics, their emotional states entering seminars, and teaching methods fostering deep or creative learning, whereas emotional disengagement stemmed from disinterest, negative moods, or peers’ emotions hindering involvement.
These findings could contribute to developing more effective teaching approaches in sustainability education within aviation and to increasing student engagement in technical fields.

Keywords: Behavioral engagement, emotional engagement, sustainability education, aviation education.