The Implementation of Project-Based Learning in Teaching Recount Writing: Students’ Perceptions and Writing Performance at a Rural State Junior High School in Banjarsari

Abstract

Writing instruction in rural English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms requires approaches that connect genre knowledge, authentic communication, and instructional support. This study examined the implementation of Project-Based Learning (PjBL) in teaching recount writing, students’ perceptions of the learning process, and changes in their writing performance. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design involved 32 Grade VIII students, one English teacher, and nine student interviewees representing high-, middle-, and low-achievement groups. Writing tests and a perception questionnaire provided quantitative evidence of changes in writing performance and students’ perceptions, while classroom observations, learning artifacts, and interviews documented the implementation process and explained the quantitative patterns. PjBL was implemented through project initiation and planning, idea development and initial drafting, revision and product completion, and presentation and reflection. Students reported very positive perceptions (M = 4.31), particularly in the cognitive and collaborative dimensions. Their mean writing score increased from 64.75 to 71.81; the difference was statistically significant, t(31) = −8.432, p < .001, with a large within-group effect (Cohen’s dz = 1.49). Qualitative evidence showed that students’ idea development and organization occurred within a structured instructional process involving explicit genre instruction, teacher scaffolding, peer collaboration, feedback, revision, and diorama-based visual support. In this context, PjBL was feasible and was associated with improved recount writing when implemented as a structured writing process rather than merely as product making.