Alfyananda Kurnia Putraa, Nabila Fidini Anindya Mutia Rifli, Sumarmi, Listyo Yudha Irawan, Diky Al Khalidy
The conservation of Indonesia’s endemic fauna, particularly the Javan Hawk-Eagle, a critically endangered and nationally significant species, presents a crucial yet underdeveloped theme within geography education. Despite its curricular inclusion, conservation topics are often delivered through predominantly theoretical and text-heavy methods, limiting student engagement and comprehension. This study addresses these pedagogical challenges by developing and evaluating an innovative educational comic designed for high school students, integrating Geo-Science frameworks with conservation content. The comic medium was selected for its capacity to simplify complex ecological and geographical concepts, rendering them accessible and engaging for learners. The integration of multidisciplinary Geo-Science perspectives within the comic facilitates a holistic understanding of conservation issues. Employing the UEQ to assess student responses, findings indicate predominantly positive perceptions of the comic as a learning tool. Notably, in a post-intervention open-ended survey, 53% of students (20 of 34) reported high motivation and explicitly committed to environmental protection. These results underscore the potential of comics as an effective pedagogical instrument to enhance both cognitive engagement and environmental stewardship in geography education. This study contributes to the advancement of innovative, interactive methodologies aimed at enriching conservation education and fostering spatial and ecological literacy among secondary education learners. © 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Department of Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia
