THE STRENGTHENING OF CHARACTER EDUCATION AT THE LEVEL OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Abstract

The Presidential Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 87 of 2017 concerning strengthening character education is a policy that must be implemented at all levels of education as part of the National Mental Revolution Action. This qualitative research is aimed to review the implementation of strengthening character education at the level of early childhood education in Banda Aceh. The research was conducted in five early childhood education institutions in Banda Aceh City. Principals and teachers of those institutions have been selected as the main respondents in this research. Observation, interview, and document analysis were techniques used in data collection. The data collected in this study were analyzed using the descriptive qualitative model of Miles and Huberman. The results of the study indicate that strengthening character education in early childhood education institutions is carried out by means of habituation, repetition, teachers’ role model, structured and integrated programs. The results of data analysis also found that strengthening character education programs in early childhood education institutions was designed routinely in the form of daily, weekly, monthly and annual activities. The involvement of parents in administering education is also an important aspect of the success of character education in early childhood education units.

Keywords: Strengthening, Character Education, Early Childhood Education