Exploring COVID-19 Literacy Level among Biology Teacher Candidates

The specific researches focused on biology teacher candidates in nowadays outbreak/pandemic (COVID-19) condition are very scarce. This study aimed to describe the profile of COVID-19 literacy level possessed by biology teacher candidate students in Indonesia. The data in this survey research was collected between January and March, 2020. The selected location was Malang, one of education city and was announced as the red zone for COVID-19 spread. The total sample were 290 students. The data collection employed the questionnaire, contained of three parts i.e. information of respondent’s identity, profile of information resource, attaining time profile of COVID-19 related information, and COVID-19 literacy level. The students’ literacy scores were analyzed using ANOVA to analyze the presence of student’s years’ effect on COVID-19 literacy of biology teacher candidate students. As a result, students’ years do not have a significant effect on their COVID-19 literacy. Most students had heard of COVID-19 before the disease was reported to enter Indonesia, but only few students were categorized in high level. The campus should respond immediately to these results, considering that students act as agents of information for those around them.