Ecoliteracy assessment using Q-methodology: Indonesian high school students' views on disaster and ecology

Aldila Rahma
Universitas Gadjah Mada and Universitas Islam Nusantara, Indonesia
Djati Mardiatno and Dyah Rahmawati Hizbaron
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Various environmental crises and natural disasters encourage educational curricula in all countries to accommodate epistemic processes intended to improve students' competency in environmental literacy. Awareness, skills, knowledge, and attitudes towards the environment are part of ecoliteracy competencies measurable using tools. This study aimed to assess the environmental literacy of high school students by means of Q-methodology as a tool. The assessment did not evaluate scores but rather emphasised the subjectivity of participants to demonstrate students' diverse ecoliteracy perspectives in the context of environmental and disaster issues. This study combined qualitative and quantitative research methods. It selected 51 participants (26 natural science students and 25 social science students) from three senior high schools in D. I. Yogyakarta Province, Indonesia. The Q-sorting process and data analysis used the FlashQ (Flash-based application) and KADE Desktop, respectively. The results discovered five factors in each group, with a cumulative percentage of explained variance of 64% in natural science students and 55% in social science students. The following factors have the same label because of the similarity of participants' opinions described in their answers: recognising positive and negative consequences; reflecting; and identifying problems. Using Q-methodology as an assessment tool can demonstrate which issues are of primary concern to students.
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Authors: Aldila Rahma is a student who is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in the Environmental Science Program, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, and she is also a junior lecturer at the Early Childhood Education Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Islam Nusantara, Indonesia. Her research interest includes early childhood education, human ecology, environmental science, and disaster risk education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5979-2992 Email: aldila.rahma@mail.ugm.ac.id, aldila.rahma@uninus.ac.id Djati Mardiatno (corresponding author) is an associate professor at the Department of Environmental Geography, Faculty of Geography, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He is also a member of expert staff at the Research Centre for Disasters in his university. His research interests include environmental geomorphology, tsunami risk, and disaster risk reduction. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7401-1886 Email: djati.mardiatno@ugm.ac.id Dr Dyah Rahmawati Hizbaron M.T., M.Sc. (Emma) is a lecturer in the Faculty of Geography, and a Research Fellow at the Research Centre for Disaster Universitas Gadjah Mada. She completed her undergraduate program in the Faculty of Geography, Universitas Gadjah Mada, majoring in regional development. She finalised her Masters degree at Institut Technology Bandung and RijksUniversiteit of Groningen, The Netherlands, majoring in infrastructure and environmental planning. She gained her doctoral degree from the Universitas Gadjah Mada sandwich program with the Universiteit of Innsbruck, Austria, majoring in environmental science. Her main interest is disaster studies, especially vulnerability assessment, urban risk management, ecosystem based management, and the broadening of any relevant issues in the planning of coastal and watershed management. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7551-2068 Email: dyah.hizbaron@ugm.ac.id Please cite as: Rahma, A., Mardiatno, D. & Rahmawati Hizbaron, D. (2022). Ecoliteracy assessment using Q-methodology: Indonesian high school students' views on disaster and ecology. Issues in Educational Research, 32(2), 701-720. http://www.iier.org.au/iier32/rahma.pdf