The low level of entrepreneurial interest among vocational high school students has become a significant issue, as it contributes to the high unemployment rate among vocational school graduates. Meanwhile, entrepreneurship education in schools is still predominantly delivered through lecture-based methods that provide limited opportunities for active student engagement. This study aimed to examine the effect of the Project-Based Learning (PjBL) model on the entrepreneurial interest of eleventh-grade students at Muhammadiyah 2 Vocational High School Pekanbaru. The study employed a quantitative approach using a quasi-experimental method with a Nonequivalent Control Group Design. The participants consisted of 25 students in the experimental group and 23 students in the control group, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a validated and reliable Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using normality and homogeneity tests, an independent samples t-test, N-Gain analysis, and the coefficient of determination. The findings revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups, with a significance value of 0.000 (p < 0.05) and a t-value of 5.568. The experimental group achieved a higher mean entrepreneurial interest score (79.52) than the control group (68.65). Furthermore, the experimental group obtained an N-Gain score of 40.53% (moderate category), which was substantially higher than that of the control group (1.47%, low category). The coefficient of determination indicated that the PjBL model contributed 65.9% to students' entrepreneurial interest. These findings suggest that the Project-Based Learning model has a positive and significant effect on students' entrepreneurial interest and is therefore recommended as an effective instructional strategy for fostering entrepreneurial interest among vocational high school students.
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