Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies

Objectives: to investigate the influence of student worksheets that integrate ethno-chemistry and green chemistry on high school students' learning motivation. The lack of relevant and contextual chemistry learning materials often leads to low student motivation. To address this issue, student worksheets were developed by utilizing local wisdom from Kalimantan, specifically using Bajakah Wood as a case study.

Methods: this research used a quantitative method with a quasi-experimental design. The research subjects were divided into two groups: an experimental class that used student worksheet ethno-chemistry-based and a control class that was taught using conventional methods. Learning motivation data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test to compare the two groups. The results showed a statistically significant difference in learning motivation between the experimental and control groups, with a p-value of 0.01 (p<0.05).

Result: The experimental group demonstrated a higher increase in motivation, as shown by a mean score of 77.27 and consistency in the results. This increase can be explained by constructivist theory and self-determination theory (SDT). The student worksheets successfully bridged abstract chemical concepts with students' cultural realities, thus fulfilling their psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Impact: These findings provide strong empirical evidence supporting the integration of ethnochemistry and green chemistry principles into the high school chemistry curriculum as a culturally relevant pedagogical strategy. The study recommends that curriculum developers and policymakers incorporate local wisdom.