Needs Analysis of an Eco-Contextual Test Instrument Based on Socioscientific Issues to Measure Students^ Sustainability Literacy in Fluids
Naila Nabiha Zulfa, Elvin Yusliana Ekawati, and Yulianto Agung Rezeki*

Master^s Program of Physics Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Sebelas Maret, Jalan Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Indonesia

Abstract

Sustainability literacy is an essential 21st-century skill for addressing global environmental challenges. However, a gap remains between students^ conceptual understanding of physics and their ability to analyse environmental issues in real-world contexts, partly because of math-oriented test instruments that do not effectively measure contextual understanding of environmental issues. This study aims to analyse the need for an eco-contextual test instrument based on socioscientific issues (SSI) to measure students^ sustainability literacy in fluids at the upper secondary school level. Data were collected through questionnaires administered to 100 students and interviews with four teachers from four senior high schools across four districts in Central Java. Questionnaire data were analysed quantitatively, while interview data were analysed qualitatively. The results show that 77.5% of students recognised the connection between physics and the environment- however, 74.8% of test instruments remain math-oriented. Environmental contexts are limited to topics such as energy and pollution, with a dominance of math-oriented questions, and are not specifically integrated into fluid topics. Consequently, only 45.9% of students feel that current test instruments support their ability to analyse environmental issues. These findings indicate a gap between sustainability literacy needs and the limitations of contextual test instruments. In addition, 82.9% of students expressed interest in developing eco-contextual test instruments. Teachers report that contextual test instruments are still limited, despite the strong potential of fluid topics for environmental integration. The dominance of math-oriented assessments hinders optimal measurement of sustainability literacy, highlighting the urgent need for SSI-based eco-contextual test instruments.

Keywords: Sustainability Literacy- Socioscientific Issues (SSI)- Eco-Contextual Instrument Test- Fluids- Physics.

Topic: Physics Education