PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Biodiversity literacy (BL), which includes biodiversity knowledge (BK) and biodiversity awareness (BA), is essential to address the problem of biodiversity loss. There has been no precedent for teaching biodiversity topics by combining Western science with indigenous knowledge through a contextual Indigenous Knowledge-oriented Instructional Module (IKIM). This study highlights the significant role of the IKIM module in improving biodiversity literacy, demonstrating its effectiveness in integrating Western science and indigenous knowledge. A quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent group design was employed, comprising a pre-test and a post-test. The IKIM is based on contextual theory and constructivism, which includes a series of instructional steps, such as stimulation, discussion of Western science, exploration of indigenous knowledge, and reflection. The findings indicated that the experimental group exhibited a more pronounced enhancement in biodiversity literacy scores than the control group. The experimental group showed a 6.72-point increase in biodiversity knowledge (BK) and a 10.92-point increase in biodiversity awareness (BA), while the control group showed a 1.40-point BK increase and a -0.12-point BA decrease. Hypothesis testing confirmed a significant difference in gain scores for both biodiversity knowledge and awareness between groups. The significance value is as follows: The p-values for the two tests were 0.000 and 0.001, respectively, with a significance level of α ≤ 0.05. The findings indicate that IKIM, based on contextual theory, was an effective intervention for enhancing BL. The results suggest that IKIM enhances biodiversity literacy and aids contextual efforts to mitigate its loss.