Evaluating what matters: a multi-faceted perspective on sustainability learning

Abstract Environmental education is increasingly recognized as essential for fostering sustainability. However, evaluating the impact of context-based activities on students’ environmental awareness and problem-solving capabilities remains challenging. Traditional assessment methods often fail to capture the complex interactions between student characteristics, task difficulty, and evaluator perspectives. This study utilized the Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (MFRM) model to address these complexities by providing a sophisticated, multi-dimensional analysis of context-based sustainable environmental activities. The research investigated how factors such as the quality of context-based activities, the characteristics of the evaluation criteria, and the varying severity or leniency of juries shape the observed learning outcomes. By applying the MFRM framework, this study presented a refined evaluation model that offers a more accurate representation of the effectiveness of these educational activities. The results provided actionable insights for improving both the design of environmental education programs and the assessment techniques used to gauge their success. The findings hold significant potential for educators and policymakers striving to integrate sustainability into education through more effective and different evaluation strategies.