Chapter 3. Character Education
7. Character Education for the Mental Revolution
Learning from Indonesia’s pilot program on character education, from the efforts of other countries and from research about what programs work best and how, there is a rich body of evidence to guide how the education system in Indonesia can support the Mental Revolution.
The key principles developed in this paper for consideration by government are:
1) Non-cognitive skills are highly important for the future well-being, academic success and career achievements of individuals and for national productivity and identity and should be valued in the curriculum.
2) In the Indonesian context, character education in schools should be regarded as a broad term which includes the non-cognitive skills together with special curriculum for values education, religious education, civics and citizenship as well as activities for personal, social, emotional and physical development.
3) Research findings can guide implementation of effective character education. For example –
o character education skills can be taught using various approaches but some approaches appear to have a stronger and more lasting impact than others e.g. approaches which develop intrinsic motivation (ie behaviour driven by internalised values rather than tangible rewards), meta- cognition (where students learn to critique their own thinking) and developing social skills;
o character skills are best taught together, in a holistic way, using multiple approaches. Social and global issues can be mainstreamed in existing curriculum, school organisation and management.
4) Good pedagogy is the key to improving both academic learning and character. Good pedagogy requires selection of the best candidates for teaching, providing practice-based teacher preparation programs, providing contextualised and continuous professional development and effective in-school supervision and support. In order for religious education to be more effective, the pedagogical skills of religious education teachers must be greatly improved.
5) A positive school climate is associated with better education outcomes, both cognitive and non- cognitive.Principals and other school leaders have a key role in establishing a positive school climate.
Teachers set the climate in their classrooms by what they expect, what they do and how they model positive interactions.
6) The education system, schools and individual teachers must also pay attention to 21st Century skills and keep pace with technology and social media in order to stay relevant to the needs and learning styles of young people. Teachers must be able to assist students to manage the many challenges of the technological revolution that surrounds them and prepare them for the 21st century working environment.
7) Parents must be partners in the development of character and schools must find ways to reach out and establish effective partnerships with parents, families and community for character development.
8) Teachers, principals and education officials must first transform themselves in order to establish the organisational culture and school climate which is consistent with the objectives of the Mental Revolution.
9) School effectiveness research provides a sound blueprint for establishing a learning environment and culture to support the optimal development of students in both the cognitive and non-cognitive domains.
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