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Abstract

Science literacy is a fundamental competence that should be fostered from early childhood through meaningful and contextual learning experiences. However, science instruction in many early childhood education settings remains teacher-centered and provides limited opportunities for children to explore scientific concepts using concrete learning media. This study aimed to develop and evaluate Project-Based Learning (PjBL) instructional materials integrated with realia media to improve science literacy among children aged 5–6 years at TK Al Khidmah, Tegal City. A Research and Development (R&D) approach using the ADDIE model was employed, including the stages of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The study involved 20 children, two classroom teachers, and two expert validators. Data were collected through observations, interviews, questionnaires, documentation, and science literacy assessments, and analyzed using descriptive statistics, N-Gain, and paired-sample t-tests. The results showed that the instructional materials achieved high validity and practicality and were associated with significant improvements in children's science literacy, particularly in observing, questioning, classifying, drawing conclusions, and communicating scientific findings. Although the participants did not include children formally identified with special educational needs, the instructional materials incorporated flexible project activities, collaborative learning, and teacher scaffolding to accommodate diverse learning characteristics. These findings suggest that the developed instructional materials provide a feasible and promising approach for supporting contextual, inquiry-based, and more inclusive science learning in early childhood education.

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