Pengaruh Pemahaman Teori Perkembangan Peserta Didik Terhadap Kemampuan Perancangan Pembelajaran Mahasiswa PGSD

Abstract

Pedagogical competence is a fundamental requirement for prospective elementary school teachers, particularly in designing instruction aligned with students’ developmental characteristics. This study aimed to examine the effect of preservice teachers’ understanding of child development theories on their instructional planning ability. The research employed a quantitative approach with an ex post facto correlational design. The sample consisted of 72 sixth-semester PGSD students selected using total sampling. Data were collected through a Likert-scale questionnaire measuring understanding of cognitive, socio-cultural, psychosocial, and moral development theories, as well as a rubric-based assessment of instructional planning skills. The data were analyzed using simple regression analysis after fulfilling normality and linearity assumptions. The results indicated a significant positive effect of understanding developmental theories on instructional planning ability (Sig. < 0.05). The coefficient of determination (R² = 0.291) showed that 29.1% of the variance in instructional planning ability was explained by developmental theory understanding. These findings highlight the practical importance of integrating developmental theory into teacher education programs to strengthen preservice teachers’ pedagogical competence.