Online Learning and Distortion of Character Education in the Covid-19 Pandemic Era

Abstract

This study aims to describe the distortion of the implementation of student character education in online learning in the Covid-19 Pandemic era. The research was conducted in Majene Regency, West Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. Methodologically, this study is based on a mixed-methods approach, where data was collected through 4,380 respondents. Respondents were selected to represent Elementary Schools, Junior High Schools, Senior High Schools, and Vocational High Schools in Majene Regency. Apart from respondents, data was also collected through the interview process and documentation study. The results showed that as many as 292 schools spread across 8 districts with a total of 44,949 students actively implementing online learning. Applications that are commonly used during online learning are WhatsApp, Ruang Guru, Zoom Meeting, and Google Classroom. The implementation of online distance education has distorted character education in students, including distortions in religious, nationalist, independence, mutual-cooperation, and distortions in integrity characters. Therefore, to reduce the distortion of character education through online learning, blended learning should be carried out, namely combining online and offline learning processes while still paying attention to health protocols.