Integrating Sustainable Development Goals into educational information systems: toward a theoretical model for sustainable school management

Abstract

This research addresses the critical challenge of implementing Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, "Quality education," in Indonesian secondary schools. While national policies exist, schools lack a systematic digital tool to plan, monitor, and evaluate sustainability-based activities against concrete SDG indicators. To bridge this gap, this study employs a six-cycle design science research (DSR) methodology to develop a theoretical model for a sustainable education information system. The model is designed to integrate SDG principles into school management, enabling systematic data handling, adaptive curriculum functions, and real-time monitoring. A web-based prototype was developed using a React.js frontend and Node.js backend and evaluated through a mixed-methods approach. Data from interviews with 15 administrators and surveys of 97 teachers (yielding a usability satisfaction score of 4.34/5) validated the model’s effectiveness in making educational administration more efficient, transparent, and quality-oriented. The resulting artifact serves as a foundational technical and managerial reference for schools, education offices, and policymakers to leverage information technology in fostering a sustainable, participatory learning culture aligned with the SDGs.