Designing Vocational Life Skills Integrated Project Based Learning for Paket C Equivalency Education

Abstract

Objective: This study developed and preliminarily evaluated a vocational-life-skills-integrated project-based learning model for Paket C equivalency education. Method: Using the Define, Design, Develop, and limited Disseminate stages of the 4-D framework, data were collected at two Indonesian community learning centers through observations, interviews, expert and tutor appraisals, learner questionnaires, and archived pretest-posttest summaries. Results: The six-phase model integrated academic learning, vocational practice, and employability skills across 17 meetings. Expert validation averaged 4.51 of 5; learner response and practicality scores were 83.2% and 81.9%. Archived aggregate scores at one center rose descriptively from 54.37 to 82.87, while teamwork was rated most strongly at the second center. Novelty: The model offers a stable project cycle with locally adaptable products for flexible nonformal education. Findings indicate initial validity, practicality, and contextual relevance, but causal effectiveness remains unestablished because participant-level scores, reliability data, a comparison group, and complete fidelity records were unavailable.