Climate change education in Indonesia has long been dominated by scientific approaches, often overlooking the social and cultural knowledge that communities have relied on for generations. Yet in many of the country’s most climate-vulnerable regions, local wisdom has become an essential survival strategy in responding to environmental change.
Addressing that gap, a doctoral dissertation at the Doctoral Program in Social Studies Education, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES), has introduced a learning model that integrates local wisdom, connectivism theory, and climate change education to strengthen students’ ecoliteracy.
The findings were presented by Endah Septiani during her doctoral dissertation defense held at the third-floor auditorium of FISIP UNNES in Sekaran, Gunungpati, Semarang, on July 9, 2026. Her dissertation, titled Development of a Connectivism-Based Ethnopedagogical Climate Change Model to Strengthen Students’ Ecoliteracy in Coastal Schools of Kendal, addresses a critical challenge: climate change education has yet to be systematically integrated into Indonesia’s school curriculum, while the rich ecological knowledge of coastal communities remains largely untapped as a learning resource.
The study’s contribution extends beyond proposing a new instructional model. It offers a conceptual synthesis that brings together ethnopedagogy, climate change education, ecoliteracy, ethnoscience, connectivism theory, and the Bicycle Model of Climate Change Education. The framework positions community-based social and cultural experiences as a gateway for students to understand climate change in a more meaningful and contextual way.
The model was developed through a Research and Development (R&D) approach using the Four-D framework, covering the stages of Define, Design, Develop, and Disseminate.
To develop the model, the research explored local ecological knowledge across three interconnected regions in Kendal Regency, Central Java. The study examined Bandengan as a coastal community, Kartikajaya with its mangrove ecosystem, and Purwogondo as an agricultural area in the upstream region.
Rather than treating the three locations as separate case studies, the research viewed them as parts of a single ecological learning system. Together, they illustrate how human activities, environmental changes, and the impacts of climate change are interconnected from upstream watersheds to coastal areas.
The implementation demonstrated that the learning model successfully strengthened three essential dimensions of climate education: ecological knowledge (head), environmental awareness and empathy (heart), and real environmental action (hands).
Students not only gained a better understanding of the relationship between global warming, sea-level rise, and extreme rainfall, but also demonstrated behavioral changes by participating in climate mitigation activities, tree-planting initiatives, and school-based environmental projects. Evaluation results also showed overwhelmingly positive responses from both teachers and students, indicating the model’s high feasibility for classroom implementation.
Beyond classroom innovation, the research offers broader implications for educational policy. It expands the theoretical foundation of contextual learning while providing a practical framework for integrating climate change education into school curricula, particularly in coastal regions that face increasing environmental risks.
Following the defense, examination committee chair Prof. Arif Purnomo announced that the dissertation had been unanimously accepted.”The examination committee has agreed to accept Endah’s dissertation, and she is officially awarded the Doctor of Social Studies Education degree,” he said while delivering the committee’s decision.
Endah became the eleventh graduate of the Doctoral Program in Social Studies Education at FISIP UNNES. She completed her doctoral study in just two years and ten months, earning a perfect 4.00 GPA, an A for her dissertation, and graduating with cum laude honors.
Her supervisor, Prof. Dewi Liesnoor Setyowati, praised Endah for completing her doctoral study on schedule despite balancing academic responsibilities with family life as the mother of two children.
She also emphasized that the learning model has strong potential for wider implementation because it is built upon locally rooted knowledge that can be adapted to the unique cultural characteristics of different regions across Indonesia.
“Although the research was conducted in Gringsing and the coastal areas of Kendal, the approach can be replicated throughout Indonesia by drawing upon each region’s own local wisdom. Earning this doctoral degree marks the beginning of Endah’s continued academic journey and future contributions to education,” she said.
For Endah, the dissertation represents more than an academic requirement. She hopes the research will encourage schools to integrate climate change education into everyday learning in a sustainable way.
“I hope this dissertation will ensure that strengthening ecoliteracy does not stop as an academic achievement. Instead, I want schools to continuously integrate climate change education into their learning process so it can contribute to improving the quality of education,” she said.
The research demonstrates that local wisdom can serve as a powerful foundation for building climate awareness from an early age. Its vision aligns closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
