The effect of a problem-based learning model on high school students' human values

Abstract

Different methods are needed in the field of vocational education to ensure that students associate the knowledge they have learned with real-life situations. Considering that problem-based learning (PBL) techniques also have important effects in the context of human values, this study aimed to investigate the effects of PBL models on high school students' human values. A mixed-method approach and expansive sequential pattern were used. Quantitative data were obtained through a quasi-experimental method that employed the Human Values Scale as a measurement tool, applied to 32 vocational and technical high school students in Turkey. In the qualitative dimension, focus group interviews were conducted with six student participants. Non-parametric statistical techniques and content analysis were performed, and results showed that there was a strong relationship between the PBL model and students’ human values; human values were positively affected and increased in all but one of the scale items. It was concluded that PBL can result in high-level learning outcomes and has a positive effect on learning and human values in general.