Developing University Students’ Scientific Literacy Through Ecology Tasks from International Assessments

Ishankulova Komila Kurbanovna

doi:10.58905/jse.v7i1.831

Authors

Ishankulova Komila Kurbanovna Gulistan State University, Gulistan City, Uzbekistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58905/jse.v7i1.831

Keywords:

Ecology Education, Environmental Literacy, International Assessment, Scientific Literacy, Pedagogical Experiment

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of ecology-related tasks aligned with international assessment frameworks for developing university students’ scientific literacy in the Fundamentals of Ecology course. A controlled pedagogical experiment was conducted in 2023-2026 at Chirchiq State Pedagogical University, Samarkand State Pedagogical Institute, and Gulistan State University with 526 students: 261 in experimental groups and 265 in control groups. Experimental groups worked with contextual ecological problems, graph/table interpretation, case studies, mini-projects, and evidence-based decision tasks; control groups followed conventional instruction. Scientific literacy was operationalised through cognitive, practical, motivational-value, and reflective-evaluative components and classified into excellent, good, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory levels. Baseline equivalence was supported by a four-level chi-square test (χ²=0.106, df=3, p=.991). At final assessment, the four-level distribution differed significantly between groups (χ²=28.424, df=3, p<.001, Cramér’s V=.232). High achievement reached 67.8% in experimental groups and 55.5% in control groups. The findings support the effectiveness of the integrated methodology, while component-specific effects require further study.

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