From Passive Bystander to Active Defender: Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning In Transforming Students' Prosocial Behavior In Civic Education
Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of Project-Based Learning (PjBL) in promoting the transformation of students' prosocial behavior from passive bystander to active defender in a Civic Education context. The study was motivated by the dominance of passive bystander behavior in Class IX J of SMP Negeri 5 Cilacap, Indonesia, characterized by zero defender action (0%) in pre-intervention observations. A Classroom Action Research (CAR) design following Kemmis and McTaggart (2014) was applied across two cycles with 32 students as subjects. Data were collected via observation rubrics measuring five indicators, field notes, interviews, and cognitive tests, analyzed through descriptive statistics and triangulation. Results demonstrated significant improvements in mean prosocial behavior from 77% (Cycle I) to 89.74% (Cycle II), with aspect-specific gains: cooperation +24.62%, initiative and leadership +16.63%, empathy +9.44%, responsibility +9.44%, and defender action +3.69%. Mean cognitive learning scores increased from 76.25 to 88.75. Analysis through Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory and Salmivalli's Participant Role Approach revealed that individual accountability and role simulation simultaneously activated self-efficacy development, moral disengagement reduction, and observational learning. From a Civic Education perspective, this transformation empirically realizes the concept of justice-oriented citizenship as theorized by Westheimer and Kahne (2004) and the civic dispositions framework of Branson (1998). A critical validity discussion explicitly addressed five internal validity threats and four causality arguments, positioning this study as a methodologically transparent contribution to prosocial behavior intervention research.
References
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman.
Bandura, A. (2002). Selective moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Moral Education, 31(2), 101–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305724022014322
Bahrudin, A., Muchtar, A., Romli SA, R. S., Hidayatullah, H., & Afryansyah, A. (2024). Evolution of tafsir approaches in Islamic studies. Studi Multidisipliner: Jurnal Kajian Keislaman, 11(2), 481–496. https://doi.org/10.24952/multidisipliner.v11i2.13676
Blaisdell, M., Haslip, M. J., Meehan, S., & Harrington, N. (2024). Teaching for sustainability and altruism through project-based learning: A framework and case study. Journal of Moral Education, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2024.2416680
Branson, M. S. (1998). The role of civic education. Center for Civic Education.
Campbell, M., Hand, K., Shaw, T., Runions, K., Burns, S., Lester, L., & Cross, D. (2023). Adolescent proactive bystanding versus passive bystanding responses to school bullying: The role of peer and moral predictors. International Journal of Bullying Prevention, 5(4), 296–305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-020-00075-2
Carlo, G., & Randall, B. A. (2002). The development of a measure of prosocial behaviors for late adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31(1), 31–44. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014033032440
Gini, G., Albiero, P., Benelli, B., & Altoè, G. (2008). Determinants of adolescents’ active defending and passive bystanding behavior in bullying. Journal of Adolescence, 31(1), 93–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2007.05.002
Hoffman, M. L. (2000). Empathy and moral development: Implications for caring and justice. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511805851
Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2005). Participatory action research: Communicative action and the public sphere. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 559–603). SAGE Publications.
Kemmis, S., McTaggart, R., & Nixon, R. (2014). The action research planner: Doing critical participatory action research. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-67-2
Kokotsaki, D., Menzies, V., & Wiggins, A. (2016). Project-based learning: A review of the literature. Improving Schools, 19(3), 267–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480216659733
Komisi Perlindungan Anak Indonesia. (2023). Annual report KPAI 2022: Data on violence and bullying in educational settings. KPAI.
Krajcik, J. S., & Shin, N. (2014). Project-based learning. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (2nd ed., pp. 275–297). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139519526.018
Latané, B., & Darley, J. M. (1970). The unresponsive bystander: Why doesn’t he help? Appleton-Century-Crofts.
Lickona, T. (1991). Educating for character: How our schools can teach respect and responsibility. Bantam Books.
Mansoor, M., Jam, F. A., & Khan, T. I. (2025). Fostering eco-friendly behaviors in hospitality: Engaging customers through green practices, social influence, and personal dynamics. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 37(5), 1804–1826. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-07-2024-1023
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Ng, D. T. K., Wu, W., Leung, J. K. L., Chiu, T. K. F., & Chu, S. K. W. (2024). Design and validation of the AI literacy questionnaire: The affective, behavioural, cognitive and ethical approach. British Journal of Educational Technology, 55(3), 1082–1104. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13411
Polanin, J. R., Espelage, D. L., & Pigott, T. D. (2012). A meta-analysis of school-based bullying prevention programs’ effects on bystander intervention behavior. School Psychology Review, 41(1), 47–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2012.12087375
Pozzoli, T., & Gini, G. (2010). Active defending and passive bystanding behavior in bullying: The role of personal characteristics and perceived peer pressure. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38(6), 815–827. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9399-9
Prastyo, D., Soetjipto, B. E., Hadi, S., & Sapto, A. S. (2024). The effects of problem-based, project-based, and multicultural learning on prosocial behavior in elementary school students. Jurnal Obsesi: Jurnal Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 8(5), 1312–1319. https://doi.org/10.31004/obsesi.v8i5.6204
Rahmania, T. (2024). Exploring school environmental psychology in children and adolescents: The influence of environmental and psychosocial factors on sustainable behavior in Indonesia. Heliyon, 10(18), Article e37881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37881
Ramadhan, R. N., & Agustiar. (2026). Madrasah Berbagi Program as project-based learning for empathy and social responsibility. Ta’dib: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 30(2), 326–343. https://doi.org/10.19109/td.v30i2.34112
Salmivalli, C. (2010). Bullying and the peer group: A review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15(2), 112–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2009.08.007
Salmivalli, C., Björkqvist, K., Lagerspetz, K. M. J., Österman, K., & Kaukiainen, A. (1996). Bullying as a group process: Participant roles and their relations to social status within the group. Aggressive Behavior, 22(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/%28SICI%291098-2337%281996%2922%3A1%3C1%3A%3AAID-AB1%3E3.0.CO%3B2-T
Salmivalli, C., Voeten, M., & Poskiparta, E. (2011). Bystanders matter: Associations between reinforcing, defending, and the frequency of bullying behavior in classrooms. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 40(5), 668–676. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2011.597090
Schunk, D. H., & DiBenedetto, M. K. (2020). Motivation and social cognitive theory. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 60, Article 101832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2019.101832
Shvets, T., Shestakova, S., Kryvoshlykov, S., Lohvynenko, V., & Butrynovska, U. (2024). Enhancing students’ social abilities via cooperative learning and project-based teaching methods: Pedagogical approaches and beneficial outcomes. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 7(Special Issue), Article e2024spe022. https://doi.org/10.31893/multirev.2024spe022
Thomas, J. W. (2000). A review of research on project-based learning. Autodesk Foundation.
UNESCO. (2019). Behind the numbers: Ending school violence and bullying. UNESCO Publishing.
Umar, Jayanti, M. I., Kadir, A., Firdaus, A. Y., Retnoningsih, & Rafiuddin. (2025). Mapping trends in research on the enhancement of students’ social skills and prosocial behavior: A systematic literature review. Educational Process: International Journal, 14(1), Article e2025070. https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2025.14.70
Wardani, A. K. (2023). Pengaruh pendekatan pembelajaran berbasis proyek terhadap karakter gotong royong dan tanggung jawab sosial peserta didik SMP. Jurnal Cakrawala Pendidikan, 42(1), 112–125.
Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American Educational Research Journal, 41(2), 237–269. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312041002237
Wu, Y., Zhou, Y., & Shi, L. (2023). Defender self-efficacy and moral disengagement on social support and bystander behaviors among primary school students: A multilevel moderated mediation model. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 36, Article 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41155-023-00253-3
Yang, W., Li, H., & Lee, J. C.-K. (2025). Tailoring AI agents for early learning: The Creative Project Approach. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 9, Article 100473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2025.100473
Yayasan Semai Jiwa Amini. (2022). National survey on bullying prevalence in Indonesian primary and secondary education. Yayasan Semai Jiwa Amini.
Ye, J., Yu, Y., Zhang, M., & Long, S. (2025). Synergizing AI and collaborative learning: A new approach to Chinese character acquisition in lower elementary education. Interactive Learning Environments, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2025.2528096
Copyright (c) 2026 Dhimas Wahyu Pradana, Isnarmi Moeis
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with JPI: Jurnal Pustaka Indonesia journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the JPI: Jurnal Pustaka Indonesia journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or edit it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
1.png)
_(3).png){kind=small}
