<![CDATA[Elementary teacher education in Indonesia, particularly in regions of high cultural diversity such as Bima and Dompu, confronts a dual gap that remains unresolved: the absence of a learning model that systematically integrates metacognitive reflection on local knowledge systems with the abstraction of formal scientific concepts, and the non-utilization of 3D technology as cognitive scaffolding within teacher education programs. This study aimed to: (1) map the profiles of science literacy, analytical ability, learning experience, and science learning difficulties among PGSD students; (2) analyse the structural relationships among these variables; (3) identify pedagogical gaps through the perspectives of lecturers and programme coordinators; and (4) construct an empirical and conceptual justification for the development of an AR-assisted meta-ethnoscience model. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed, involving 170 PGSD students from four institutions in Bima and Dompu, eight lecturers, and four programme coordinators. Descriptive analysis revealed that 64.7% of students exhibited science literacy and analytical ability at low to very low levels, with mean scores of 3.25 and 3.21, respectively, on a 1–5 scale. Pearson correlation analysis across institutions confirmed a very strong relationship between science literacy and analytical ability (r = 0.772–0.899; mean r = 0.816), while learning experience functioned as a critical structural mediator (mean r = 0.787 with learning difficulties). Qualitative findings identified three systemic gaps: the dominance of conventional discussion-based pedagogy that does not systematically facilitate higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), the descriptive rather than conceptual nature of ethnoscience integration, and the complete absence of AR throughout the learning process. This study provides a robust empirical and conceptual justification for the development of an interactive 3D AR-assisted meta-ethnoscience learning model that dialectically connects the Dana Mbojo local knowledge system with abstract scientific concepts, thereby offering a new pedagogical framework for culturally responsive science teacher education in Indonesia.]]>
