Project-Based Learning Is Associated with Consistent Gains in Workplace Tools and Equipment Competence among Automotive Vocational Students: A Pre-Post Study

Abstract

Project-Based Learning (PjBL) is widely used in vocational education to connect disciplinary knowledge with meaningful tasks, yet learning outcomes are often reported only as class averages. This study examined the magnitude, consistency, and distribution of change in workplace tools and equipment competence among 31 Grade X automotive vocational students following a project-based learning sequence. Paired pre-test and post-test scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics, individual gain analysis, the Shapiro-Wilk test, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test as the primary inferential procedure, a paired-samples t test as sensitivity analysis, standardized effect indices, and correlations. Mean scores increased from 48.39 (SD = 9.43) to 72.77 (SD = 10.19), yielding a mean gain of 24.39 points (95% CI 23.36-25.41). All 31 students improved, with individual gains ranging from 20 to 28 points. The Wilcoxon test confirmed a marked pre-post shift (W+ = 496, p < .001), and the paired t test produced the same conclusion, t(30) = 48.48, p < .001. Baseline score was not associated with gain magnitude (r = .135, p = .467). The findings indicate a large and unusually consistent increase in test-based competence, although the one-group design does not establish causality or superiority over alternative instruction.