Students’ Engagement in Education as Sustainability: Implementing an Ethical Dilemma-STEAM Teaching Model in Chemistry Learning

Abstract

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.