INTEGRATING LOCAL COFFEE POTENTIAL INTO SOCIAL STUDIES USING COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ CREATIVITY

Abstract

This study explores the integration of local coffee potential into Social Studies learning through a Community-Based Learning (CBL) approach to enhance students’ creativity in junior high schools located in coffee-producing areas of Jember Regency, Indonesia. Employing a qualitative phenomenological design, the study was conducted in eight public junior high schools across five coffee-producing subdistricts Sumberbaru, Tanggul, Bangsalsari, Silo, and Ledokombo. Data were collected through classroom and field observations, indepth interviews with students, Social Studies teachers, and community stakeholders (coffee farmers, coffee communities, creative economy actors), as well as documentation analysis of learning activities and student projects. The findings indicate that integrating local coffee potential into the Grade 8 Social Studies topic of natural resource conservation created meaningful and contextually grounded learning experiences. Students’ creativity emerged as a multidimensional learning outcome encompassing imagination as a cognitive dimension, collaboration as a skill-based dimension, and persistence as affective dispositions. Community engagement enabled students to connect textbook concepts with real-world environmental, social, and economic contexts, fostering deeper understanding and sustained learning engagement. This study contributes to Social Studies education by demonstrating that community-based, locally grounded instruction can enhance creativity while maintaining alignment with the formal curriculum, offering practical insights for contextualized learning in rural and agrarian settings.