Perceived Need for Green Open Space Mediates Biological Literacy and Critical-Thinking’s Influence on Pro-Environmental Youth Activism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59944/postaxial.v4i3.1846Keywords:
biological literacy, critical thinking disposition, pro-environmental youth activism, perceived green open spaceAbstract
Environmental degradation in Indonesia has intensified calls for youth-led environmental activism, yet the mechanisms translating students' scientific knowledge and thinking dispositions into civic action remain underexamined. This study proposes a mediation model in which biological literacy and critical thinking disposition predict environmental youth activism through perceived need for green open space. Using data (N = 230) of Muslim university students aged 17-23, domiciled in Malang, East Java, but originating from diverse Indonesian regions, the data satisfied assumptions of normality, non-multicollinearity, and homoscedasticity. Bootstrapped mediation analyses (5,000 resamples) showed that biological literacy and critical thinking disposition both significantly predicted perceived need for green open space, which significantly predicted activism; indirect effects were significant for both predictors, with near-full mediation for biological literacy and partial mediation for critical thinking disposition. Findings offer a theory-grounded, testable framework linking cognitive-epistemic resources, green-space appraisal, and civic environmentalism among Indonesian Muslim youth.
References
Alisat, S., & Riemer, M. (2015). The environmental action scale: Development and psychometric evaluation. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 43, 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.05.006
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
Begum, A., Jingwei, L., Haider, M., Ajmal, M. M., Khan, S., & Han, H. (2021). Impact of environmental moral education on pro-environmental behaviour: Do psychological empowerment and Islamic religiosity matter? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1604. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041604
Facione, P. A. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction (The Delphi Report). California Academic Press.
Facione, N. C., & Facione, P. A. (1994). Critical thinking disposition as a measure of competent clinical judgment: The development of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. Journal of Nursing Education, 33(8), 345-350. https://doi.org/10.3928/0148-4834-19941001-05
Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), 169-182. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-4944(95)90001-2
Rachmadian, R., Sumarmi, S., Masruroh, H., Utaya, S., & Suharto, Y. (2024). Persepsi mahasiswa terhadap program Green Campus dalam mewujudkan perguruan tinggi yang berkelanjutan (studi kasus: Universitas Negeri Malang). Jurnal Pengelolaan Lingkungan Berkelanjutan (Journal of Environmental Sustainability Management), 8(3), 255-275. https://doi.org/10.36813/jplb.8.3.255-275
Sa'id, M., Wahyu, A. M., Muarifah, R., Qoyyimah, N. R. H., & Noorrizki, R. D. (2024). Religion and environment: The role of religiosity on pro-environmental behavior among university students in Indonesia. KnE Social Sciences, 9(30), 110-121. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v9i30.17510
Suwono, H., Pratiwi, H. E., Susanto, H., & Susilo, H. (2017). Enhancement of students' biological literacy and critical thinking of biology through socio-biological case-based learning. Jurnal Pendidikan IPA Indonesia, 6(2), 213-222. https://doi.org/10.15294/jpii.v6i2.9622
Szczytko, R., Stevenson, K., Peterson, M. N., Nietfeld, J., & Strnad, R. L. (2019). Development and validation of the environmental literacy instrument for adolescents. Environmental Education Research, 25(2), 193-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2018.1487035
Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224(4647), 420-421. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6143402
van Zomeren, M., Postmes, T., & Spears, R. (2008). Toward an integrative social identity model of collective action: A quantitative research synthesis of three socio-psychological perspectives. Psychological Bulletin, 134(4), 504-535. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.134.4.504
Wallis, H., & Loy, L. S. (2021). What drives pro-environmental activism of young people? A survey study on the Fridays For Future movement. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 74, 101581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101581
Zhai, J., & Zhang, H. (2023). Critical thinking disposition of medical students in Anhui Province, China: A cross-sectional investigation. BMC Medical Education, 23, 651. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04646-x
