Analyze the Crisis of Students' Character Values and Innovative School Strategies in Overcoming the Challenge

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the urgency of the need to implement character education,which is related to the deterioration of the character of the younger generation, including students. Thequalitative descriptive method is used for this research. Based on the results of observations conducted inDecember 2023 with 26 teachers who teach in various high schools in the Bandung area, Indonesia, the datashowed that 84% of teachers have unpleasant experiences dealing with students' lack of character values. Suchas individualism, low sense of social care, lack of environmental care, and low honesty, to severe cases such asbullying, getting pregnant outside of marriage, joining motorcycle gangs, consuming drugs, smoking, anddrinking alcohol. As many as 88.4% of teachers agree that the factors causing character changes in adolescents,including students, are currently heading in a negative direction, namely addiction to the use of gadgets andsocial media. Therefore, schools continuously strive for innovative programs that can build and strengthencharacter values in students. The innovative strategies include 73.1% implementing an integrated learningsystem of character values, and the rest of the teachers mentioned that the school seeks a special charactersubject program and a teacher training program in integrating character values into academic content. Thisstrategy will continue to grow as the level of teacher creativity in processing character value-based learningdevelops, so a wise and uninterrupted successor to the nation will be realized with technological advances.