Science competency profile of secondary school students in the context of ESD on the environmental pollution theme
Nindy Lestarie, Anna Permanasari, and Ida Hamidah

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to describe the science competency profile of secondary school students in the context of Education for Sustainability Development (ESD) using quantitative descriptive methods. The research sample consisted of 113 7th and 8th grade students in the second semester of the 2020/2021 school year, from 3 state secondary schools and 1 private secondary school in West Java, Indonesia. Data were collected using a science competency test instrument in the form of 15 essay questions adapted from PISA questions that have been validated by the validator. The results show less than half of secondary school students had scientific competence (39%). For each aspect, more than half of students were able to achieve the aspect of evaluating and designing scientific investigations (53.43%), and nearly half who achieved the aspect of explaining scientific phenomena (42.06%). Meanwhile, less than half of students were able to achieve the aspect of interpreting data and proving scientifically (18.28%). The results of this study indicate the need of improvement from all parties in science education. The interview with students revealed that one of the obstacles was the lack of learning resources that were able to accommodate ESD based literacy achievement. Meanwhile, the interview with teachers indicate generally teachers are very weak in considering the level of students^ prior knowledge and only focusing on the characteristics of the science material to be taught when designing the lesson.

Keywords: Science competencies, ESD, Environmnment pollution

Topic: ESD in Science Education