This finding is significant because energy literacy is not only about understanding electricity, fuel, or renewable energy sources. It also includes students’ attitudes toward energy use and their daily behaviors, such as saving electricity, choosing energy-efficient practices, and understanding how energy-related decisions affect the environment.
According to the researchers, the success of energy education depends on how well students understand energy concepts, value energy conservation, and apply this knowledge in real life. However, many previous studies in Indonesia focused only on describing students’ energy literacy levels without ensuring that the assessment tools were accurate and trustworthy.
For this reason, the study focused on testing the quality of an energy literacy instrument designed for Grade VIII junior secondary school students. The instrument was developed to measure three major dimensions: cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitudes), and behavioral (actions).
A total of 134 Grade VIII students from four junior secondary schools participated in the research: SMPN 1 Pakem, SMPN 3 Makassar, SMPN 1 Gempol, and MTs Sunan Kalijaga. All students had previously received science lessons related to energy concepts.
The assessment instrument consisted of 59 items, including:
- 30 multiple-choice questions for the cognitive domain
- 17 Likert-scale statements for the affective domain
- 12 Likert-scale statements for the behavioral domain
The researchers used the Classical Test Theory (CTT) approach with Iteman version 4.3 software to analyze item difficulty, discrimination power, item-total correlation, and internal consistency reliability through Cronbach’s Alpha and KR-20 coefficients.
The results showed that most cognitive questions were in the moderate difficulty category, meaning they were suitable for junior high school students’ ability levels. Thirteen items were classified as moderate, six as easy, and only a few were too difficult or too easy.
In terms of discrimination power, 25 out of 30 questions, or around 83 percent, were able to effectively distinguish between students with high and low levels of energy literacy. Only five items showed poor discrimination and were removed from the final instrument.
The affective and behavioral domains also showed strong quality. Most items had acceptable correlations with the total score, meaning the statements consistently measured students’ attitudes and behaviors related to energy use.
One of the strongest findings was the overall reliability score of the instrument. The total reliability coefficient reached 0.855, which falls into the very high category. The affective domain reached 0.857, while the cognitive and behavioral domains scored 0.637 and 0.695, both categorized as high reliability.
According to Yulianti Yusal and the research team, these results confirm that the refined instrument is highly suitable for measuring junior secondary school students’ energy literacy in a comprehensive way.
This instrument is considered valuable not only for teachers in evaluating science learning but also for researchers and education policymakers. With a valid assessment tool, schools can better understand how well students comprehend energy issues and how to build energy-saving habits from an early age.
This is also highly relevant to Indonesia’s efforts to promote sustainable education and environmental awareness. When students develop strong energy literacy, they are better prepared to face global challenges such as energy crises, climate change, and the transition toward clean energy systems.
The researchers also emphasized that the instrument can still be improved through broader implementation. Testing with larger student populations and more diverse school contexts is recommended to strengthen its generalizability and support wider national application.
In addition, more advanced psychometric approaches such as factor analysis and Item Response Theory (IRT) are recommended for future studies to further examine the instrument’s internal structure.
Author Profile
Musawwir Usman, M.Pd. is an academic and researcher at Universitas Negeri Makassar whose work focuses on science education, energy literacy, and sustainable education.
Yulianti Yusal, M.Pd. is the corresponding author from Universitas Negeri Makassar with expertise in educational instrument development, learning evaluation, and science education.
Zulqifli Alqadri, M.Pd. is also a researcher from Universitas Negeri Makassar who actively works in educational measurement and science literacy development.
Research Source
Usman, M., Yusal, Y., & Alqadri, Z. (2026). Empirical Analysis of the Validity and Reliability of an Energy Literacy Instrument for Indonesian Junior Secondary School Students. International Journal of Advance Social Sciences and Education (IJASSE), Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 101–114.
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