Enhancing Pre-Service Science Teachers' Energy Literacy through SDG-Oriented Integrated STEM Learning: A Solar Energy Project
DOI:
10.29303/jossed.v7i2.16267Published:
2026-10-26Downloads
Abstract
Energy literacy is a crucial competency for pre-service science teachers, who are expected to integrate renewable energy issues into school science instruction in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy). This study examined changes in energy literacy among pre-service science teachers who took part in SDG-oriented integrated STEM learning built around a mini solar-panel (solar cell) project, and assessed the validity of the learning module and instruments and the practicality of the implementation. A pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design without a comparison group was used with 35 pre-service science teachers enrolled in the Matter and Energy course. Energy literacy was measured with an expert-validated instrument consisting of 20 knowledge items (cognitive dimension; true/false or multiple-choice), 9 attitude statements (affective dimension; 5-point Likert scale), and 7 self-reported energy behavior statements (behavioral dimension; 5-point Likert scale). The STEM-based Matter and Energy module and the energy literacy instrument were rated highly valid (84.2% and 90.2%), and the implementation across three consecutive meetings was in the practical category (77.6%, 77.6%, and 80.0%). The average energy literacy score increased from 62.97% (pretest) to 80.69% (posttest), with a normalized gain (N-gain) of 0.48 (medium category). The largest gain was in the cognitive dimension (N-gain 0.85; high), followed by the behavioral (0.50; medium) and affective (0.18; low) dimensions. Paired differences were statistically significant in all dimensions (p < 0.001), with large effect sizes. Participation in the learning was associated with an improvement in energy literacy, particularly in conceptual knowledge, whereas the smaller affective change suggests that attitudes may need longer and more sustained instruction. Because the design had no control group, the improvement cannot be attributed to the intervention alone, and the findings should be regarded as preliminary
Keywords:
Energy literacy Project-based learning Renewable energy SDGs STEMReferences
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