Development and mixed-methods evaluation of an instructional manual for sustainable physics learning in higher education

This study presents the mixed-methods evaluation of the Emerging Junctures, Outstanding Physics Investigatory Projects Festival (EJOY PIPsFe) instructional manual, a structured teaching guide designed to enhance sustainable physics learning in higher education through investigatory projects and culminating project festival. The manual integrates best practices in science education, project-based and experiential learning, and festival-based pedagogy, providing step-by-step guidelines, scaffolding strategies, assessment tools, and feedback mechanisms to support teacher implementation. A developmental-evaluative approach informed the manual’s creation and validation, followed by a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design to determine its effectiveness. Quantitative data were collected from 135 university students enrolled in Fluid Mechanics and Astronomy courses. Pretest–posttest comparisons revealed significant gains in conceptual understanding, with second-year students improving by 28 points and third-year students by 15 points ( p < 0.05). Attitude surveys indicated substantial positive shifts in students’ epistemological beliefs, engagement, effort beliefs, and views of learning authority. Qualitative insights from post-implementation interviews highlighted increased motivation, deeper conceptual connections, and active engagement supported by the manual’s structured inquiry process and festival format. In totality, the EJOY PIPsFe instructional manual effectively fosters cognitive and affective learning, promotes meaningful and joyful learning experiences, and provides teachers with clear guidance for implementing investigatory project-based physics instruction. The study concludes that the manual is a sustainable and replicable model for strengthening scientific literacy, critical thinking, and long-term engagement in physics learning across diverse educational contexts.