Student Perceptions of Character Education in Indonesian Language and Literature Learning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59175/pijed.v4i2.813Keywords:
Character Education, Dialogic Pedagogy, Local Texts, Reflective Literacy, Student PerceptionAbstract
Character education has become a global priority in national curricula, commonly integrated through core subjects such as language and literature. In the Indonesian context, Indonesian Language and Literature (BSI) learning plays a strategic role in nurturing moral, social, and cultural competencies among students. This study aims to explore senior high school students’ perceptions of character education as experienced in BSI classrooms. Employing a descriptive qualitative design supported by quantitative data, the research was conducted at a public senior high school in Baubau City, involving 33 students and 2 BSI teachers selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations, and analyzed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. The findings show that 78.8% of students perceive character values as clearly visible in learning activities, 69.7% regard the lessons as relevant to their everyday experiences, and 63.6% report fair and consistent teaching practices. Activities considered most effective for value internalization include structured literary discussions (81.8%), reflective writing (72.7%), and politeness language analysis (66.7%). This study addresses a critical gap by positioning students as central informants to reveal how they perceive, experience, and interpret character education within language and literature learning. The practical implications underscore the importance of implementing dialogic inquiry and culturally responsive teaching, particularly through the use of local literary texts that reflect students’ sociocultural realities. The study contributes to the development of a perception-based framework for character education implementation in language learning contexts, thereby strengthening culturally grounded pedagogical practices in Indonesia.
References
Abidin, Y., Mulyati, T., Yuniarti, Y., & Nurhuda, T. (2023). The Effects of Integrating Folklore and Mixed Reality toward Student’s Cultural Literacy. International Journal of Society, Culture and Language, 11(1), 307–319. https://doi.org/10.22034/ijscl.2023.1995761.2963
Adams, B., Stevens, E. Y., Dussling, T., & Li, S. C. (2023). Emotions, positive comparisons, and unexamined assumptions in novice U.S. teachers’ perspectives on English learners. Journal of World Languages, 9(3), 482–504. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2023-0061
Anthony, J. L., Chen, Y.-J. I., Williams, J. M., Cen, W., & Erazo, N. A. (2021). U.S. Children’s Understanding of the English Alphabet: Its Acquisition, Conceptualization, and Measurement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(6), 1073–1087. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000534
Anyiwo, N., Richards-Schuster, K., & Jerald, M. C. (2021). Using critical media literacy and youth-led research to promote the sociopolitical development of Black youth: Strategies from “Our Voices.” Applied Developmental Science, 25(3), 201–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2021.1906246
Aridasarie, Z., & Rohmah, Z. (2024). Enhancing multimodal literacy: puppetry for English-speaking skills development. Cogent Education, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2370754
Atmazaki, A., Ramadhan, S., & Indriyani, V. (2023). Genre-Based Learning Model With Literacy Activities and Character Strengthening: Effectiveness in Language Learning. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 14(5), 1384–1394. https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1405.27
Aulia, M., & Fanny Anshory, T. (2025). Character Education: A Hybrid Systematic Literature Review And Bibliometric Analysis. https://doi.org/10.70148/rise.v2i6.5
Castro, A. J., & Williamson, J. (2024). “There’s something wrong in society”: Teaching for racial civic literacy using young adult fiction. Theory and Research in Social Education, 52(1), 66–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.2023.2218825
Castro, E., & Shelton-Strong, S. J. (2024). Exploring emotions inlanguage learning: Learners’ self-awareness, personal growth, and transformation on a CLIL course. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241267366
Chan, S. W. Y., Cheung, W. M., & Marton, F. (2023). The early language gap between first- and second-language learners: acquisition of Chinese characters among preschoolers. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1142128
Cheek, L. R., Carter, V., Daugherty, M. K., & Goering, C. Z. (2024). Connecting Compassion: Empathy’s Role in STEM and Literacy Integration. Reading Teacher, 78(3), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2359
Chohan, S. S., Lindsay, B. L., Gibson, A. M., & Szeto, A. C. H. (2024). Throwing the (Diagnostic) Book at Public Stigma: An Experimen Examination of the Unintended Effect of Symptom Education o Various Mental Illnesses. Stigma and Health, 10(2), 238–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/sah0000602
Corsini, L., & Giannelli, G. C. (2021). Economics education and financial literacy acquisition: Evidence from a field experiment. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2021.100556
Japar, M., Hermanto, n., Muyaroah, S., Susila, H. R., & Alfani, H. (2023). Digital Literacy-Based Multicultural Education through Civic Education in Indonesian Junior High Schools. Journal of Social Studies Education Research, 14(4), 328–349.
Mahfud, Moh., & Sofiatus Zahriyah. (2025). Internalizing Islamic Values in Students: The Role of Character Education in Building Morals and Ethics. MA’ALIM: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 6(1), 93–105. https://doi.org/10.21154/maalim.v6i1.10150
Marttinen, R., Rodrigues, A., Nuñez-Enriquez, O., & Fredrick, R. (2024). Student choice and barriers to physical activity in Latino boys in the REACH after-school program. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2024.2367492
Milošević, B., & Lukić, S. (2020). The Serbian orthodox church and Serbian education in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last century of ottoman rule. Istrazivanja Journal of Historical Researches, 31, 131–149. https://doi.org/10.19090/i.2020.31.131-149
Novianti, N. (2022). Indonesian Folk Narratives: On the Interstices of National Identity, National Values, and Character Education. Journal of Ethnology and Folkloristics, 16(1), 99–116. https://doi.org/10.2478/jef-2022-0006
Ordoñez, D., Siqués, C., & Esteban-Guitart, M. (2021). ‘The best way to learn language is by not doing language’. Incorporating funds of identity for learning Spanish in a Shared Education Unit. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24(9), 1259–1270. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1551324
Pantiwati, Y., Kusniarti, T., Permana, F. H., Nurrohman, E., & Sari, T. N. I. (2023). The Effects of The Blended Project-Based Literacy that Integrates School Literacy Movement Strengthening Character Education Learning Model on Metacognitive Skills, Critical Thinking, and Opinion Expression. European Journal of Educational Research, 12(1), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.12.1.145
Pires Pereira, R. S., & Campos, Â. (2023). Constructing the pedagogy of multiliteracies. The role of focalisation in the development of critical analysis of multimodal narratives. Language and Education, 37(1), 105–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2021.1973490
Puspitasari, N. A., Damaianti, V. S., Syihabuddin, S., & Sumiyadi, S. (2023). The Role of Narrative Ability on Emergent Literacy Skills and Early Word Reading of Early Childhood Students. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 22(8), 253–271. https://doi.org/10.26803/IJLTER.22.8.14
Rahadiani, P., Kekalih, A., Soemantri, D., & Krisnamurti, D. G. B. (2024). Exploring HTML5 Package Interactive Content in Supporting Learning Through Self-Paced Massive Open Online Courses on Healthy Aging: Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Medical Education, 10. https://doi.org/10.2196/45468
Rahmawati, L. E., Niasih, A., Kusmanto, H., & Prayitno, H. J. (2020). Environmental awareness content for character education in grade 10 in Indonesian language student textbooks. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 4, 161–174.
Rifai, I., Parlindungan, F., & Nuthihar, R. (2022). Talk in Dramatic Interactions: An Examination of Three Discourse- Based Studies in Literacy Classes. Language, Discourse and Society, 10(2), 89–104.
Rosidah, C. T., Putrayasa, I. B., Wesnawa, I. G. A., & Candiasa, I. M. (2022). Thematic comic to cultivate eco-literacy for young learners. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 43(3), 735–740. https://doi.org/10.34044/j.kjss.2022.43.3.27
Rusman, H. R. (2023). Implications of the Humanization Pillar of Prophetic Education in Character Education. Jurnal Ilmiah Edukatif, 8(2), 188–202. https://doi.org/10.37567/jie.v8i2.1853
Saltan, N., Olkhovyі, O., Fishchuk, I., Saltan, O., Semenova, Y., & Orlenko, O. (2025). Priority modern scientific trends and approaches in physical education research: bibliometric analysis of scientometric databases. Slobozhanskyi Herald of Science and Sport, 29(1), 14–27. https://doi.org/10.15391/snsv.2025-1.02
Sanjayanti, N. P. A. H., Suastra, I. W., Suma, K., & Adnyana, P. B. (2022). Effectiveness of Science Learning Model Containing Balinese Local Wisdom in Improving Character and Science Literacy of Junior High School Students. In International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies (Vol. 5, Issue 4, pp. 332–342). Innovative Research Publishing. https://doi.org/10.53894/ijirss.v5i4.750
Saux, G., Vibert, N., Dampuré, J., Burin, D. I., Britt, M. A., & Rouet, J.-F. (2021). From simple agents to information sources: Readers’ differential processing of story characters as a function of story consistency. Acta Psychologica, 212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103191
Suparno, S., Suwatno, u., Saptono, A., Wibowo, A., & Narmaditya, B. S. (2020). Factors influencing students’ intention to establish a digital business (Start-up). International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 12(8), 73–91.
Tartaglia, J., Giglia, R., & Darby, J. (2022). Developing culturally appropriate food literacy resources for Aboriginal children with Foodbank WA’s Superhero Foods. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 33(S1), 150–162. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.584
Trisiana, A., & Utami, R. D. H. (2022). “Smart Mobile Civic” based on the Project Citizen Model as an Effort to Optimize Citizenship Learning in the Independent Campus Era. Journal of Internet Services and Information Security, 12(4), 74–83. https://doi.org/10.58346/jisis.2022.i4.005
Tseng, C.-C., Hu, J.-F., Chang, L.-Y., & Chen, H.-C. (2023). Learning to read Chinese: the roles of phonological awareness, paired–associate learning, and phonetic radical awareness. Reading and Writing, 36(7), 1769–1795. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-022-10352-9
Vorontsova, Y., Gil Martínez, M. A., Arakelyan, A., & Yeremyan, A. (2021). Pedagogical challenges of transhumanism: Possible threats in the context of digitalization. Wisdom, 17(1), 162–168. https://doi.org/10.24234/wisdom.v17i1.453
Wong, Y. K., Lau, K. L., & Lee, I. (2024). Young Chinese Language Learners’ L2 Motivational Self System and Learning Achievement in Chinese Literacy Acquisition. Journal of Language, Identity and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2024.2379400
Yamaguchi, D., Hiratani, M., Matsuura, N., Fujisawa, T. X., Takiguchi, S., Fujioka, T., Kono, T., Ishizaka, I., & Tomoda, A. (2022). The influence of intelligence and cognitive abilities on the reading ability of Japanese students with developmental disorders. Brain and Development, 44(6), 361–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.braindev.2022.02.006
Yulu, J., & Masran, M. N. B. (2023). The Effect of Multimedia Technology on Deep Learning of Chinese Characters Among Primary School Students. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 23(15), 111–120. https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetp.v23i15.6411
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Maryam Nurlaila, Munirah Munirah, Andi Sukri Syamsuri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
