<![CDATA[Scientific literacy is a central goal of contemporary science education, enabling students to understand scientific concepts, interpret evidence, and apply scientific reasoning to real-world problems. However, many middle school students continue to demonstrate limited scientific literacy due to decontextualized instructional practices. This study investigates the effectiveness of contextual science learning based on coastal environmental issues in enhancing middle school student’s scientific literacy. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest control group design was employed involving 120 eighth-grade students from two public middle schools in a coastal region of northern Java, Indonesia. The experimental group received contextualized science instruction integrating authentic coastal phenomena, while the control group received conventional instruction. Scientific literacy was measured using an instrument aligned with the PISA framework. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, normalized gain scores, paired-sample t-tests, and ANCOVA. The results indicate that students in the experimental group achieved significantly higher scientific literacy gains than those in the control group (p < 0.01). These findings suggest that contextualizing science instruction through local coastal environmental issues is an effective strategy for fostering scientific literacy and environmental awareness among middle school students.]]>
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