Strengthening Pos PAUD Educators' Capacity through Participatory Training in Meaningful Play-Based Learning
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Abstract
Community-based early childhood education posts (Pos PAUD) rely on volunteer educators who must translate developmental principles into feasible daily practices. This community engagement program examined score changes following participatory training in meaningful play-based learning for 60 educators from 30 Pos PAUD centres in West Semarang, Indonesia. Four facilitators delivered five sessions totalling 360 minutes on 17 April 2026. The training combined concept explanation, case discussion, simulation, guided activity design, observation practice, and reflection. A one-group pretest-post-test evaluation assessed five competency domains on a 0–25 scale. Domain means increased from 16.93–17.10 at pretest to 24.22–24.23 at post-test. Mean gains ranged from 7.12 to 7.28 points, normalized gains ranged from .901 to .905, and paired-samples tests were significant for every domain, t (59) = 36.55–42.45, p < .001, with Cohen's dz = 4.72–5.48. Difference scores departed from normality; however, Wilcoxon signed-rank sensitivity analyses produced the same conclusion (all p < .001). Approximately 31.7%–33.3% of participants reached the maximum post-test score, indicating a ceiling effect. The findings provide preliminary evidence that the training was followed by substantial improvements in assessed knowledge and planning capacity. Nevertheless, causal attribution is limited by the absence of a comparison group, unavailable item-level psychometric evidence, possible testing effects, and the lack of follow-up observations of classroom practice or child outcomes.
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