Teachers’ Challenges in Implementing Project-Based Learning in Teaching Science in Inclusive Schools at Tomohon City North Sulawesi
DOI:
10.29303/jppipa.v11i8.12377Published:
2025-08-31Downloads
Abstract
This study aims to identify challenges and teachers' readiness in implementing the Project-Based Learning model in Inclusive Schools. The research method used is descriptive qualitative research using open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires. Learning models that can be implemented in inclusive schools are varies since it needs to be adapted to the needs of students with special needs. One of example of learning model is the Project-Based Learning model. This model will improve students' abilities and skills in addressing real-world problems. The role of teachers in implementing the PjBL model is as a learning facilitator and monitors students' learning process. The results indicate that 70% of teachers still experience difficulties in planning, and 60% of teachers experience difficulties in implementing PjBL. However, 95% of teachers stated that the PjBL model can support the learning of students with special needs. The various challenges faced by teachers in implementing the PjBL model can be addressed through teachers training.
Keywords:
Inclusive schools Learning model Project based learning Teacher Teaching scienceReferences
Ackah-Jnr, F. R., & Danso, J. B. (2019). Examining the physical environment of Ghanaian inclusive schools: how accessible, suitable and appropriate is such environment for inclusive education? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(2), 188–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1427808
Adewumi, T. M., Mosito, C., & Agosto, V. (2019). Experiences of teachers in implementing inclusion of learners with special education needs in selected Fort Beaufort District primary schools, South Africa. Cogent Education, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2019.1703446
Allam, F. C., & M. Martin, M. (2021). Issues and challenges in special education: A qualitative analysis from teacher’s perspective. Southeast Asia Early Childhood Journal, 10(1), 37–49. https://doi.org/10.37134/saecj.vol10.1.4.2021
Atandima, Y. D., Nuhamara, Y. T. I., & Randjawali, E. (2024). Pengaruh model pembelajaran problem based learning terhadap hasil belajar matematika siswa pada materi lingkaran. Nautical : Jurnal Ilmiah Multidisiplin Indonesia, 3(3), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.55904/nautical.v3i3.1229
Cologon, K. (2022). Is inclusive education really for everyone? Family stories of children and young people labelled with ‘severe and multiple’ or ‘profound’ ‘disabilities.’ Research Papers in Education, 37(3), 395–417. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2020.1849372
Conway, R. (2008). Excerpt from chapter 4 Adapting curriculum, teaching and learning strategies’. In P. Foreman (Ed.), Inclusion in action (2nd ed., pp. 95–163). Thomson.
Crispel, O., & Kasperski, R. (2021). The impact of teacher training in special education on the implementation of inclusion in mainstream classrooms. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 25(9), 1079–1090. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1600590
Daniel, F. (2017). Kemampuan Berpikir Kritis Siswa Pada Implementasi Project Based Learning (PJBL) Berpendekatan Saintifik. JPMI (Jurnal Pendidikan Matematika Indonesia), 1(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.26737/jpmi.v1i1.76
Eldiva, F. T., & Azizah, N. (2019). Project Based Learning in Improving Critical Thinking Skill of Children with Special Needs. Proceedings of the International Conference on Special and Inclusive Education (ICSIE 2018), 296, 348–355. https://doi.org/10.2991/icsie-18.2019.64
Florian, L. (2019). On the necessary co-existence of special and inclusive education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(7–8), 691–704. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1622801
Fowler, S. A., Coleman, M. R. B., & Bogdan, W. K. (2019). The State of the Special Education Profession Survey Report. Teaching Exceptional Children, 52(1), 8–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059919875703
Friani, I. F., Sulaiman, & Mislinawati. (2017). Kendala Guru dalam Menerapkan Model Pembelajaran pada Pembelajaran Tematik berdasarkan Kurikulum 2013 di SD Negeri 2 Kota Banda Aceh. Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Guru Sekolah Dasar FKIP Unsyiah, 2(1), 88–97. Retrieved from https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/188143-ID-kendala-guru-dalammenerapkan-model-pembe.pdf
Hero, L.-M., & Lindfors, E. (2019). Students’ learning experience in a multidisciplinary innovation project. Education + Training, 61(4), 500–522. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-06-2018-0138
Hmelo-Silver, C. E., & Barrows, H. S. (2006). Goals and Strategies of a Problem-based Learning Facilitator. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1004
Kauffman, J. M., & Hornby, G. (2020). Inclusive Vision Versus Special Education Reality. Education Sciences, 10(9), 258. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10090258
Leijen, Ä., Arcidiacono, F., & Baucal, A. (2021). The Dilemma of Inclusive Education: Inclusion for Some or Inclusion for All. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.633066
Lekholetova, M., Liakh, T., & Zaveryko, N. (2020). Problems of parents caring for children with disabilities. Society. Integration. Education. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, 4, 268. https://doi.org/10.17770/sie2020vol4.4945
Maciver, D., Rutherford, M., Arakelyan, S., Kramer, J. M., Richmond, J., Todorova, L., Romero-Ayuso, D., Nakamura-Thomas, H., ten Velden, M., Finlayson, I., O’Hare, A., & Forsyth, K. (2019). Participation of children with disabilities in school: A realist systematic review of psychosocial and environmental factors. PLOS ONE, 14(1), e0210511. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210511
Miller, E. C., & Krajcik, J. S. (2019). Promoting deep learning through project-based learning: a design problem. Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Science Education Research, 1(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43031-019-0009-6
Monteiro, E., Kuok, A. C. H., Correia, A. M., Forlin, C., & Teixeira, V. (2019). Perceived efficacy of teachers in Macao and their alacrity to engage with inclusive education. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 23(1), 93–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1514762
Murray, J. (2019). Hearing young children’s voices. International Journal of Early Years Education, 27(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2018.1563352
Nisa, H. C., & Hartono, W. (2016). Model Pembelajaran Berbasis Proyek (Project Based Learning) terhadap Kemampuan Membuat Susu Kedelai Anak Tunanetra. Jurnal Pendidikan Khusus, 8(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.55606/religion.v1i5.455
Nurfitriyanti, M. (2016). Model Pembelajaran Project Based Learning Terhadap Kemampuan Pemecahan Masalah Matematika. Formatif: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan MIPA, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.30998/formatif.v6i2.950
Quennerstedt, A. (2022). Children’s and young people’s human rights education in school: Cardinal complications and a middle ground. Journal of Human Rights, 21(4), 383–398. https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2021.2014795
Roberts, J., & Webster, A. (2022). Including students with autism in schools: a whole school approach to improve outcomes for students with autism. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 26(7), 701–718. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2020.1712622
Roldán, S. M., Marauri, J., Aubert, A., & Flecha, R. (2021). How Inclusive Interactive Learning Environments Benefit Students Without Special Needs. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661427
Saloviita, T. (2020). Attitudes of Teachers Towards Inclusive Education in Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 64(2), 270–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2018.1541819
Shaeffer, S. (2019). Inclusive education: a prerequisite for equity and social justice. Asia Pacific Education Review, 20(2), 181–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-019-09598-w
Suharti. (2016). Strategi Belajar Mengajar. Universitas PGRI Adibuana.
Sunhaji, S. (1970). Konsep Manajemen Kelas Dan Implikasinya Dalam Pembelajaran. Jurnal Kependidikan, 2(2), 30–46. https://doi.org/10.24090/jk.v2i2.551
Titu, M. A. (2015). Penerapan Model Pembelajaran Project Based Learning (PjBL) Untuk Meningkatkan Kreativitas Siswa Pada Materi Konsep Masalah Ekonomi. Prosiding Seminar Nasional, 176–186. Retrieved from https://eprints.uny.ac.id/21708/1/18
Tofte, M. A., & Andzik, N. R. (2023). Productivity in Projects: Adjusting Project-Based Learning for Students With Autism. Inclusive Practices, 2(2–3), 63–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/27324745231190857
Tsybulsky, D., & Muchnik-Rozanov, Y. (2019). The development of student-teachers’ professional identity while team-teaching science classes using a project-based learning approach: A multi-level analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 79, 48–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.12.006
Van Mieghem, A., Verschueren, K., Petry, K., & Struyf, E. (2020). An analysis of research on inclusive education: a systematic search and meta review. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 24(6), 675–689. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1482012
Wilson, C., Marks Woolfson, L., & Durkin, K. (2020). School environment and mastery experience as predictors of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs towards inclusive teaching. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 24(2), 218–234. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2018.1455901
Woodcock, S., Sharma, U., Subban, P., & Hitches, E. (2022). Teacher self-efficacy and inclusive education practices: Rethinking teachers’ engagement with inclusive practices. Teaching and Teacher Education, 117, 103802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103802
Zakiah, W. G. (2018). Impact Of Project Based Learning Learning Model On The Ability Of Deaf Children To Build The Structure Of Sentence. IJDS: Indonesian Journal of Disability Studies, 5(1), 59–64. https://doi.org/10.21776/ub.IJDS.2018.005.01.7
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Lay Kekek Marthina Marentek

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA, agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY License). This license allows authors to use all articles, data sets, graphics, and appendices in data mining applications, search engines, web sites, blogs, and other platforms by providing an appropriate reference. The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions and will retain publishing rights without restrictions.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in Jurnal Penelitian Pendidikan IPA.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).






