The Effectiveness of an Ethno-ESD-Based Science Textbook in Improving Environmental Literacy and Critical Thinking Skills of Junior High School Students on the Topic of Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change requires educational approaches that enhance students’ scientific understanding while developing sustainability competencies and higher-order thinking skills, yet integrating Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) with local wisdom into a single, contextualized resource for junior high school climate change education remains rarely examined. This study investigated the effectiveness of an Ethno-Education for Sustainable Development (Ethno-ESD)-based Science Textbook in improving junior high school students’ environmental literacy and critical thinking skills on the topic of climate change. A quantitative, quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Two intact junior high school classes participated: an experimental class taught using the Ethno-ESD-based Science Textbook and a control class taught using the conventional textbook. Data were collected through environmental literacy and critical thinking tests, analyzed using N-Gain analysis, the Independent Samples t-test, and Cohen’s d. The experimental class showed greater improvement in environmental literacy (N-Gain = 0.63) and critical thinking skills (N-Gain = 0.62) than the control class (N-Gain = 0.31 for both), with statistically significant differences (t = 5.873 and 6.142, p < 0.05) and large effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 0.88 and 0.92, respectively).  Integrating ESD principles, climate change education, and local wisdom created meaningful, contextual learning that strengthened students’ sustainability competencies and higher-order thinking. The Ethno-ESD-based Science Textbook is therefore an effective, innovative resource for promoting environmental literacy and critical thinking in junior high school science learning, offering a transferable model for other culturally diverse settings.