Culturally Embedded Character Education: Teacher Identity and Institutional Transformation in Eastern Indonesia
Keywords:
character education; culture; Indigenous values; pedagogy; teacher identityAbstract
Character education was pivotal for fostering students’ moral integrity and intellectual maturity. However, existing frameworks were often generic, lacking cultural depth and contextual relevance. In Indonesia, particularly in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), limited empirical studies had examined how teachers’ moral character, rooted in Indigenous values, enhanced school quality. This study explored how educators in NTT internalized and enacted culturally based character education and how these practices shaped teaching, collegial relationships and institutional culture. A phenomenological multi-case design was applied, involving 18 teachers purposively selected from six schools that had actively implemented character education grounded in local values. The schools were chosen to represent diverse geographical and cultural contexts across NTT, while participants were selected based on their teaching experience, engagement in moral education initiatives, and reputation as character role models within their communities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, participant observations and document analysis. Colaizzi’s seven-step method guided the thematic analysis, complemented by cross-case comparison and member checking. Findings revealed three key themes: (1) character models co-constructed from local spiritual and communal norms; (2) the embodiment of character as a foundation for trust, student discipline, and teacher collaboration; and (3) context-sensitive strategies for enhancing school performance. Unlike Western models emphasizing individual virtue and moral reasoning, NTT teachers emphasized kasih (love), mutual care and exemplary conduct as collective moral forces grounded in communal spirituality and social harmony. Culturally embedded character education strengthened moral formation and institutional quality, advancing discourse on culturally responsive pedagogy.
https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.24.11.33
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