Design-based Research on Promoting Relevance Perceptions in Socioscientific Teaching and Learning – Sustainable Oil Palm Cultivation in Science Teacher and Forestry Education

by Finn Kristen Matthiesen
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2024-10-29
Date of issue:2025-10-02
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Susanne Bögeholz
Referee:Prof. Dr. Susanne Bögeholz
Referee:Prof. Dr. Pascal Klein
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-11531

 

 

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Abstract

English

Recent interdisciplinary scientific research has suggested evidence-based management strategies for more sustainable oil palm cultivation, such as reducing agrochemicals and establishing agroforestry systems. For this knowledge to become useful, it is crucial that current scientific research topics, methods, and findings are made accessible to stakeholders and society. University students, such as science teacher students and forestry students, can act as change agents and multiply this scientific knowledge across different target groups. However, preparing change agents requires more than just promoting knowledge, it demands a holistic approach and evidence-based educational strategies to motivate students to take on this role. This dissertation investigates how scientific research on sustainable oil palm cultivation can be integrated into higher education curricula, focusing on understanding and promoting relevance perceptions – as motivation construct – among Indonesian students at four universities. Using a design-based research approach, it explores two areas: Research Area 1 examines how educational units on recent scientific research can be designed to ensure high instructional quality and promote students’ cognitive and motivational outcomes. Research Area 2 investigates students’ relevance perceptions and whether the educational units, along with an embedded control group intervention featuring reflection tasks, can enhance students’ perceived relevance of learning about oil palm cultivation over time. Findings from Research Area 1 show that systematic and iterative design within a socioscientific issue teaching and learning (SSI-TL) framework can create educational units that effectively promote cognitive and motivational outcomes. Research Area 2 reveals that SSI-TL had a greater impact on students’ perceived relevance than the control group intervention, which showed no effect over time. Research Area 2 also shows that social, spatial, and contextual dimensions, along with the locality of the SSI, influenced students’ relevance perceptions, with nonlocal students perceiving higher relevance compared to local students. The dissertation suggests that integrating scientific research into higher education can effectively promote scientific literacy and prepare students to become motivated change agents for sustainable development. It also demonstrates that design-based research can be an efficient approach to further developing teaching and learning frameworks, providing valuable insights for researchers, educators, and curriculum developers. This work extends relevance research in science education by providing evidence of the effects of social, spatial, and contextual dimensions on students’ perceived relevance regarding oil palm cultivation. It sets the stage for future empirical relevance research in science education and emphasizes the importance of relevance- and locality-sensitive education in motivating students to engage with complex sustainability issues.
Keywords: relevance; utility value; socioscientific issue; design-based research; higher education; teacher education; sustainable development; land use; oil palm
 
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