Problem-Based Learning for Civic Knowledge and Critical Thinking among Preservice Elementary Teachers

Problem-based learning (PBL) connects civic concepts with authentic social issues, collaborative inquiry, and reasoned decision-making. This article presents an illustrative quasi-experimental analysis of PBL in relation to civic knowledge and critical thinking, using the Primary School Teacher Education (PGSD) program at Campus V UNM Parepare for April–May 2026 as the specified context. The constructed dataset comprised 33 records from semesters 4 and 6 within a semester 1–6 eligibility scope, with 18 records representing PBL and 15 representing conventional instruction. Civic knowledge was represented by a 20-item multiple-choice test, while critical thinking encompassed five rubric dimensions: interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, and explanation. Pretest and posttest scores were analyzed using descriptive statistics, reliability estimates, baseline comparisons, Welch tests of gain scores, and analysis of covariance with HC3 robust standard errors. In the constructed dataset, civic knowledge gains were 20.28 points under PBL and −3.67 points under conventional instruction, while critical-thinking gains were 23.06 and 14.67 points, respectively. Adjusted group differences favored PBL by 25.61 points for civic knowledge (p < .001) and 9.59 points for critical thinking (p = .026). These values are illustrative and do not constitute verified field findings. The article provides a transparent framework for evaluating instructional differences in civic knowledge and critical thinking in elementary teacher education.