The Pain of Disconnection: A Vignette of Indonesian Religiosity-Based Education Toward Character Strengths

Abstract

The duality of education aiming at knowledge and character is not anew in socialization (Shoshani, 2018) and manifests fundamental initiative to prepare students for increasingly complex challenges in Industrial Revolution 4.0. In the character-end of the continuum, Indonesian primary schools have integrated religiosity-based activities in curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular areas, which is presumably apt to cope with the continuity and discontinuity of character development (Rutter, 1984). Regardless of robust roles of schools and teachers in character development (Arthur and See, 2011), the implementation of religiosity-based education has yet to be clear, thus calling for extensive investigation as to its current praxis as well as the rate of success. This study delved into the formulation and implementation of religiosity-based education in Indonesian primary schools through survey. The subjects were primary school teachers from numerous regions in Indonesia, involving teachers of different education backgrounds and teaching experiences. The data were put under descriptive analysis to portray how religiosity-based education is implemented across schools. The study has revealed that Indonesian schools have attempted to infuse religious character strengths through numerous measures. However, these are only evident at macro level, yet remains of peripheral emphasis within micro level, manifesting the pain of disconnection.