Peter Taylor

Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate Indonesian students’ engagement in STEAM Project-Based Learning (PjBL), integrated with design thinking, to enhance their environmental literacy.

Methods. A survey was conducted with a sample of 156 eleventh-grade students from five classrooms in three secondary schools in Jakarta, Indonesia. The study used The Environmental Literacy Scale (ELS) to measure cognitive, affective, and behavioural elements of environmental literacy, and an interview was conducted to evaluate students’ views. A paired t-test and thematic analysis were used to analyse the data.

Results. The study revealed that students exhibited moderate cognitive, affective, and behavioural elements of environmental literacy. Contextual learning through STEAM PjBL-design thinking effectively enhanced students’ knowledge and behaviour and their positive attitude toward environmental issues. Female students were found to generally outperform male students in cognitive and affective elements, while both genders demonstrated similar environmental behaviour.

Conclusion. In conclusion, integrating STEAM-PjBL with design thinking can positively impact students’ environmental literacy and their engagement in chemistry. The findings suggest practical implications for enhancing interdisciplinary learning in chemistry education to promote environmental sustainability.

This paper reports an innovative approach in secondary schools in Jakarta that employed ethical dilemma story pedagogy (EDSP) in an integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) project designed to engage chemistry students in ethical values learning. The study investigated how students explored their own values by attempting to resolve ethical dilemmas about environmental problems in an Indonesia context. Ethical dilemmas comprised everyday socio-scientific issues related to chemistry concepts in the high school curriculum, including pros and cons of using artificial fertilizers and disposal of used cooking oil. This qualitative research was conducted in the chemistry classes of two high school teachers. The research employed multiple data collection methods of semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, and classroom observations. The results illustrate students’ successful engagement in chemistry learning, critical thinking skills, chemical literacy, ethical values, awareness of environmental problems, and envisioning of education for sustainability. The results also illustrate (i) students’ enhanced awareness of their values and their agency in practicing environmental sustainability and (ii) teachers’ realization that they can empower students in education for sustainability through ethical dilemma story pedagogy. The study is significant in revealing that education can play an important role in empowering the young generation in education for sustainability through an ethical values approach to their learning. The paper also addresses challenges faced by the researchers in designing chemistry-based ethical dilemma stories, integrating them into a STEAM project, empowering students, and managing time resources.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), culture provides the transformative dimension for ensuring the development process of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As one of the key drivers in the implementation of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, culture ensures a people-centered and context-relevant approach that cuts across a range of policy areas and, thus, in the context of quality education promotes the development of human resources for cultural and environmental sustainability. It is in this context that we report on a study aimed at developing students' cultural identity and supporting the younger generation in preserving their cultural heritage, whilst learning chemistry concepts at the same time. The culturally responsive transformative teaching (CRTT) model served as a theoretical framework for the research to engage students in culture-based, high school chemistry learning by utilizing specially designed ethnochemistry texts that highlighted the relationship between cultural values and chemistry concepts. Case studies were conducted within the interpretive research paradigm and involved 149 students from four high schools in four Indonesian provinces, namely Banten, west Java, Bangka Belitung, and south Sumatra. In particular, we were interested in understanding how well students engage in this innovative transformative learning model, designed to educate them about cultural sustainability. We generated data by means of students' reflective journals, semi-structured interviews with students, and classroom observations. In general, the results from the research strongly suggest that students involved in cultural identity reflection, engaged in cultural-based chemistry learning, explored cultural heritage through a chemistry lens, applied social etiquette and ethics, and developed cultural heritage preservation awareness. These are important aspects of cultural sustainability. The results imply that culturally responsive chemistry education has great potential for educating students and empowering them as conservationists of Indonesian culture. Further research on empowering students on cultural sustainability with other ethnochemistry topics within Indonesian cultural contexts is needed to further investigate the CRTT model's broader efficacy.

This paper reports the results of a study on the implementation of the Ethical Dilemma STEAM Teaching Model in secondary schools in Jakarta, Indonesia. This interdisciplinary curriculum approach employed ‘ethical dilemma story pedagogy’ in a STEAM education project designed to engage students in values-based chemistry learning. Drawing on the arts, specially written ethical dilemma stories posing real-world environmental problems engaged students in exploring their value systems. Students reflected on the pros and cons of ethical dilemmas related to the everyday use of artificial fertilizers, disposal of used cooking oil and detergent waste, and environmental pollution caused by plastic waste. The purpose of the study was to investigate the potential of the Ethical Dilemma STEAM Teaching Model to empower Indonesian secondary school students with both chemistry knowledge and transdisciplinary capabilities for resolving environmental problems. The researchers conducted an interpretive case study of four high-school chemistry classes to understand students’ learning experiences and outcomes. Data were obtained from students’ reflective journals, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. The results demonstrate that students engaged in deep chemistry learning while simultaneously developing critical reflective social thinking, collaborative decision-making skills, and increased awareness of the need to protect the environment in order to support sustainable development. The study revealed that chemistry education can play a strategic role through ethical values learning in empowering students to become agents of change for environmental sustainability. Further research is warranted into the efficacy of the Ethical Dilemma STEAM Teaching Model for empowering students in sustainability education across a broad range of science-related topics and sociocultural contexts.

The paper clarified the developing lesson plan of fertilizer dilemma story for integrated knowledge practicing through lesson study. Through the PD program using lesson study, the theoretical framework of dilemma story was adopted to reference of the developing lesson plan. Methodology regarded paradigm. Participants included primary school teachers as team teachers, supervisors, expertise university lecturer, and school director. The primary school teachers as team teachers include a science teacher, a mathematics teacher, a technology teacher, and an art teacher in Nongsonghong district, Khon Kaen, Thailand. The developing lesson plan of fertilizer dilemma story for integrated knowledge practicing through lesson study will be interpreted through document analysis and participant observation. The innovation lesson plan of fertilizer dilemma story for integrated knowledge practicing could be summarized through the outcomes of lesson study design – plan, see, and reflect. The results provided the overview of the lesson plan of fertilizer dilemma story for integrated knowledge practicing that could be viewed through the structuring questions for ethical dilemma fertilizer story and example of dilemma story chemical fertilizer. This study may have implications for development program for integrate the curriculum in Thailand.

Civic education is a moral development imperative of the Indonesian national curriculum and the United Nation’s policy on education for sustainable development. It was within this context that we investigated the impact of ethical dilemma story pedagogy (EDSP) on student learning in a constructivist Indonesian STEM learning environment. EDSP uses specially-designed stories to engage students in ethical decision-making for resolving sustainable development dilemmas occurring in their daily lives. The research was conducted in six Indonesian middle schools with 462 students of chemistry, and it was designed to lead to understanding of how well students engaged in a constructivist values learning environment aimed at developing chemistry knowledge/skills and ethical values for living sustainably in the 21st century. Data were collected using the Constructivist Values Learning Environment Survey (CVLES), classroom observations, student interviews and students’ reflective journals. Generally, students had positive perceptions of their constructivist values learning environment, engaged deeply in chemistry learning, reflected critically on their values and the social use of chemistry, and practised mutually-respectful communication and collaborative decision-making as strategies for solving sustainability dilemmas. We conclude that ethical dilemma story pedagogy can play an important role in integrating STEM education and civic education.

Drawing on an autoethnographic inquiry we present a first-person, narrative account of a mathematics teacher’s experience of developing an ethically responsible teaching practice. Reflective commentary on narrative vignettes illustrates the teacher’s inquiry in the role of researcher as transformative learner. Inspired by transformative learning theory, he engaged in critical self-reflection on his moments of teaching, which prompted him to switch from the teacher’s point of view and pay heed to his student’s meaning perspective. This transformation of perspective enabled him to avoid conflict by negotiating a deal with the young resistant learner – ‘a rebel kid’ – to generate mutual respect, focus on values, and successfully adjust to the student’s learning trajectory. The result of this inquiry suggests that endeavouring to teach from students’ points of view is important not only for engaging meaningfully in an educative relationship but also for enhancing the sense of ethical responsibility of both teachers and students.

“The fish becomes aware of the water in which it swims” is a metaphor that represents Yuli’s revelatory journey about the hidden power of culture in her personal identity and professional teaching practice. While engaging in a critical auto/ethnographic inquiry into her lived experience as a science teacher in Indonesian and Australian schools, she came to understand the powerful role of culture in shaping her teaching identity. Yuli realised that she is a product of cultural hybridity resulting from interactions of very different cultures—Javanese, Bimanese, Indonesian and Australian. Traditionally, Javanese and Indonesian cultures do not permit direct criticism of others. This influenced strongly the way she had learned to interact with students and caused her to be very sensitive to others. During this inquiry she learned the value of engaging students in open discourse and overt caring, and came to realise that teachers bringing their own cultures to the classroom can be both a source of power and a problem. In this journey, Yuli came to understand the hegemonic power of culture in her teaching identity, and envisioned how to empower herself as a good teacher educator of pre-service science teachers.

Why should we consider integrating the Arts with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics? Is this just another curriculum fad? In this paper I argue that STEAM (STEM + Arts) Education is an important response to the pressing need to prepare young people with higher-order abilities to deal positively and productively with 21st Century global crises that are impacting the economy, the natural environment and our diverse cultural heritage.

The Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005 confronted Australia and its neighbours directly for the first time with the dangers of violent extremism. Since then, the Bali Peace Park Association (BPPA), consisting of former victims, their families and other interested parties, has been lobbying for the creation of the “Bali Peace Park” to be built on one of the bombing sites. Peace parks have been conceived as community-driven projects against violent extremism, and the planned Bali Peace Park embodies this principle. In 2012, the BPPA initiated “Beyond Bali”, an ambitious and highly relevant curriculum development project, and secured funding from the Australian Attorney General’s Department. Drawing on the expertise of a counter-terrorism expert, two university education experts and the first-hand experiences of victims and their families, the Beyond Bali curriculum package was created. Beyond Bali covers a range of topics and activities, including social science studies and ethical dilemma learning, is suitable for Years 8 and 9 students studying the Australian Curriculum, and is available for free from the BPPA: http://www.balipeacepark.com.au/beyond-bali-education-package.html. In this paper we position Beyond Bali as a transformative education resource within the fields of peace and global education and argue that it embodies UNESCO’s “learning to be” principle.