The IMUNOPOLI Board Game: Effects on Students’ Self-Efficacy and Emotional Intelligence in Learning the Immune System

This study aimed to examine the effect of the IMUNOPOLI board game on students' self-efficacy and emotional intelligence in immune system learning, with concept mastery included as a supporting variable to contextualize learning outcomes. A quasi-experimental method with a Non-equivalent Control Group Design was used, involving 60 students, at a state senior high school in Bandung City, divided into an experimental and a control group (each with 30 students). Data were collected using a self-efficacy questionnaire (15 items), an emotional intelligence questionnaire (33 items), and a concept mastery multiple-choice test (25 items). Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test, score categorization, effect size via rank biserial correlation, and Spearman correlation to explore the relationships among the variables. Descriptively, the experimental group showed a greater shift toward high self-efficacy than the control group, though this difference did not reach statistical significance. Emotional intelligence in the experimental group remained stable due to a baseline ceiling effect, whereas the control group showed a more noticeable increase, resulting in no statistically significant post-test differences between groups. Furthermore, no statistically significant correlations were found among self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, and concept mastery. These findings indicate that while IMUNOPOLI descriptively supported self-efficacy and maintained high emotional intelligence levels, it did not demonstrate statistically significant superiority over conventional instruction, highlighting the importance of initial student conditions in game-based learning interventions.