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Peer-reviewedCC BYJournal of Environmental and Science Education

STEM-ESD Project on Plastic Waste to Improve Students’ Integrative Knowledge and Sustainability Action

  • Layla Oktavia Widodo1
  • Ari Widodo1
  • Eliyawati1
  • Ikmanda Nugraha1
  • Putra Habib Dhitareka1
  1. 1Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
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Abstract

Plastic waste is a difficult environmental problem to address, and school cafeterias, which often use single-use plastics, contribute to this problem. However, many schools have not yet implemented sustainable practices, and students are often limited to theoretical learning that rarely links scientific concepts to real-world environmental issues. Therefore, this study aims to examine the improvement in junior high school students’ integrative knowledge and sustainability actions through a STEM-ESD project on plastic waste. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used, involving 62 seventh-grade students from a junior high school in Cikarang, Indonesia. Data resulted that the experimental class achieved a moderate increase in integrative knowledge (N-Gain = 0.32), while the control class showed low improvement (N-Gain = 0.20). However, both groups showed a small increase in sustainability action (N-Gain = 0.00), with no significant difference between them. These findings suggest that while STEM-ESD projects effectively develop students’ ability to integrate scientific concepts with environmental issues, they are insufficient for driving significant behavioral change within a short timeframe. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on STEM-ESD implementation in Indonesian schools and highlights the need for sustained, long-term interventions to achieve meaningful sustainability outcomes.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{widodo2026stemesd,
  title = {{STEM-ESD Project on Plastic Waste to Improve Students’ Integrative Knowledge and Sustainability Action}},
  author = {Layla Oktavia Widodo and Ari Widodo and Eliyawati and Ikmanda Nugraha and Putra Habib Dhitareka},
  journal = {Journal of Environmental and Science Education},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.15294/jese.v6i2.62345},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.15294/jese.v6i2.62345},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - STEM-ESD Project on Plastic Waste to Improve Students’ Integrative Knowledge and Sustainability Action
AU  - Layla Oktavia Widodo
AU  - Ari Widodo
AU  - Eliyawati
AU  - Ikmanda Nugraha
AU  - Putra Habib Dhitareka
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/26
JO  - Journal of Environmental and Science Education
DO  - 10.15294/jese.v6i2.62345
UR  - https://doi.org/10.15294/jese.v6i2.62345
AB  - Plastic waste is a difficult environmental problem to address, and school cafeterias, which often use single-use plastics, contribute to this problem. However, many schools have not yet implemented sustainable practices, and students are often limited to theoretical learning that rarely links scientific concepts to real-world environmental issues. Therefore, this study aims to examine the improvement in junior high school students’ integrative knowledge and sustainability actions through a STEM-ESD project on plastic waste. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used, involving 62 seventh-grade students from a junior high school in Cikarang, Indonesia. Data resulted that the experimental class achieved a moderate increase in integrative knowledge (N-Gain = 0.32), while the control class showed low improvement (N-Gain = 0.20). However, both groups showed a small increase in sustainability action (N-Gain = 0.00), with no significant difference between them. These findings suggest that while STEM-ESD projects effectively develop students’ ability to integrate scientific concepts with environmental issues, they are insufficient for driving significant behavioral change within a short timeframe. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on STEM-ESD implementation in Indonesian schools and highlights the need for sustained, long-term interventions to achieve meaningful sustainability outcomes.
SN  - 2797-0175
SN  - 2775-2518
ER  -