Integration of Sustainable Environmental Education through a Digital Waste Incentive System: A Study of Its Impact on Students' Ecological Literacy

Alwi Ahmad Sulthon; Maila Shofa Maghfiroh; Faizul Muna

doi:10.61132/yudistira.v4i4.3069

Authors

Alwi Ahmad Sulthon MTs Madrasatul Qur’an Salafiyah
Maila Shofa Maghfiroh MTs Madrasatul Qur’an Salafiyah
Faizul Muna MTs Madrasatul Qur’an Salafiyah

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61132/yudistira.v4i4.3069

Keywords:

Digital Incentive, Ecological Literacy, Plastic Waste, Pro-Environmental Behavior, Sustainable Environmental Education

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the impact of integrating sustainable environmental education through a digital waste incentive system on students ecological literacy, covering cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions. The study was designed as a quasi-experiment using a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design with a delayed posttest. The participants were 72 eighth-grade students divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received science/Pancasila student profile project-based environmental learning integrated with the Plastic-to-Grocery system, a digital platform that records students plastic waste deposits through QR/student identification numbers, converts deposits into points, and provides feedback through a dashboard. The control group received conventional environmental learning through lectures, posters, discussions, and reflective assignments. The instruments included a cognitive test, ecological attitude scale, observation sheet, and digital log of waste-deposit behavior. The sample analysis shows that the experimental group achieved N-gain scores of 0.45 for cognitive, 0.33 for affective, and 0.47 for behavioral aspects, higher than the control group with 0.22, 0.17, and 0.12, respectively. Statistical tests indicated significant differences across all three dimensions. These findings suggest that a digital waste incentive system has the potential to bridge the gap between environmental knowledge and ecological action by providing real-world experience, instant feedback, social reinforcement, and objective behavioral records.

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