Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Guru Sekolah Dasar,

Oktober 2024, 1(2), 28-34

P-ISSN: 2085 – 4048
[Link]

Comparative Analysis of Character Education in Elementary Schools

Between Indonesia and Japan

Sondang Bella Rina Manalu

Elementary School Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, State University of Jakarta

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the comparative application of character education between Indonesia
and Japan, and also to meet the final semester exam of logic and scientific reasoning courses. The research
method used is to use a qualitative research method using a literature approach or better known as library
research. The source of data for this research comes from research, literature, or government policies on
character education in Indonesia and Japan. The results of this study explain that the foundation of character
education in Indonesia is State Ideology, Customs and culture, religious values, government rules and policies.
Likewise in Japan, the foundation of character education is in the form of cultural values, state ideology, and
government policy rules. Approaches to character education in Indonesia, including the approach of instilling
values, the approach of clarifying values, the approach of learning to do, example, and habituation, are usually
taught in schools. While in Japan, among others, the approach is more likely to be habituated, for Japanese
society, character education in children is not taught but habituated. Character problems in Indonesia and
Japan are not too different, which is only about juvenile delinquency, free sex, bullying, and seniority. This
writing is presented using the literature review method.

Keyword: Character Education, Culture, Religion, Elementary School

(*) Corresponding Author: sondangbellarina5@[Link]

Received : Xx
Revised : Xx
Accepted : Xx

INTRODUCTION

Education is not only limited to teaching to increase children's intelligence, but is also
related to increasing character formation in children. Character education is very important to
be taught to children from an early age. Character education is very important to be instilled
in children from an early age so that it can be a strong foundation to face technological
developments and the development of the times. (Ariandy, 2019). Along with the
development of technology, the world has become narrow and there are a lot of various kinds
of information and shows that are very easy to access for children, especially children in
elementary schools who have begun to be given gadgets by their parents. Various kinds of
violence, crime, and even videos or content that are inappropriate for children to watch are
easily accessed through gadgets. (Salsabila et al., 2020). Of course, this has a very negative
impact on the lives of the next generation of the Indonesian nation. One of the tangible
evidences is the rampant crimes committed by children, such as theft, sexual violence, brawls,
and so on. Sadly, such news is presented almost every day in the print and electronic media
that we have. (Unayah, 2015). Thus, the inculcation of moral values by parents and teachers is
a "mandatory" thing to do so that the next generation of the nation maintains their morals and
morals. As stated in the Regulation of the Minister of Education (Permendikbud) Number 58
of 2009, there are 5 aspects that must be developed in children, namely, religious and moral
values, language, cognitive, physical-motor and social-emotional.
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The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) said that from 2011 to the end
of 2018, there were 11,116 children entangled in criminal cases. These crimes include
motorcycle gangs, theft, street crimes, and murder. KPAI Commissioner Putu Elvina stated
that in 2011 there were 695 criminal acts involving children, while in 2018 it increased to
1,434. It was also explained that there were children who entered the Special Children's
Correctional Institution (LKPA) as many as 23.9 percent for theft cases, 17.8 percent for drug
cases, 13.2 percent for immoral cases and so on. KPAI also explained that there were 1,885
cases that had been handled during the first semester of 2018 which were dominated by cases
in the form of drugs, theft, and immorality. (Hidayat, 2019). In the Law of the Republic of
Indonesia Number 20 of 2003, it is explained that national education functions to develop and
shape the character of a dignified national civilization in order to realize the nation's ideals,
namely educating the nation's life and participating in national development. Thus, it is hoped
that the potential and abilities of students can make children as human beings who have faith,
noble character, noble ethics, creativity, knowledge, independence, and become democratic
and responsible citizens. All educational unit institutions in Indonesia have an important role
in realizing the national education function. All levels of education, including elementary
schools, have a very important role in realizing the national education goals. Education not
only aims to improve children's cognitive intelligence, but also to increase children's
emotional intelligence so that children have noble and moral character. This is in line with
what Martin Luther King expressed, which is "it is important to remember, that intelligence
alone is not enough. Intelligence and character are the true goals of education. (Suryana,
2019). Parents and schools play a very important role in the process of teaching character
values to children.

This is confirmed by Thomas Lickona's statement which states that there are several
reasons why schools must be committed to teaching character values to children, namely: 1)
The younger generation is more often / easily destructive to themselves and others, and it is
very difficult to be invited to contribute to the welfare of fellow humans. 2) A country or
society needs value education to survive and develop, it must begin by teaching character
values to children from an early age. 3) The role of schools as educators of children's
character is becoming increasingly important, because there are millions of children out there
who lack character education from their parents and also education of religious values that
should be fostered through worship, are not present in the lives of these children.4) A
democratic country, where this country pays great attention to the moral education of its
citizens because democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people,
if a society in a country lacks moral values and character education, then the country will
undoubtedly be destroyed.5) The absence of value-free education, 6) Moral questions are big
questions that must be faced by humans, both individuals and citizens. (Lickona, 2014).

In this paper, the author intends to describe a comparative analysis of character

education in two different countries, namely Indonesia and Japan. Japan is known as a
country that has excellent moral, ethical and character values, Japan has the enforcement of
moral values to understand each other, as well as Indonesia which is known to have a
character of cultural values that are rich in hospitality. Research on this matter has been
carried out by other researchers, but it clearly has differences with this research, among the
relevant studies include a Comparison of Core Ethical Values in Indonesia and Japan based
on State Philosophy and Historical Perspective (Omay, Aan, et al, 2021), a comparison of the
Indonesian and Japanese education systems (Montanesa, Firman, 2021), a comparison of
character education in three countries, namely Indonesia, Singapore and Japan (Syamsurrijal,
2018), Comparison of Core Ehical Values of Indonesia and Japan Based on State Philosophy
(Komarudin, et al, 2021), Comparison of Education Systems in Indonesia and Japan (Sari,
Septi, 2017), Learning Basic Education with Japan (Irawati, Maulidiyah, 2022), Comparison
of Character Education for Elementary Schools between Indonesia and Japan (Alfarisy,

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2021), Model of Character Education in Japanese Society(Budi, 2014), Cross-Country

Character Education (Afandi, 2016), Comparation Study Character Building in Primary
School Indonesia and Japan (Hinta et al., 2020), from all the studies mentioned above, it
seems that the focus lies in the discussion of the approaches and problems experienced by the
State related to the implementation of character education. So far, research tends to discuss
the advantages of the implementation of character education in the two countries, but it is
very rare to mention what are the problems or weaknesses of the implementation of character
education. The purpose of this research is to analyze three things, specifically aiming at three
things, namely to analyze the comparison of character education between Indonesia and Japan
from three things, namely the foundation, approach and problems experienced. Of course, this
research will contribute to education managers, teachers or parents in providing character
education to students or their children, especially those related to character.

METHODS

This study uses a qualitative research method based on library research, the data
source in this study comes from literature in the form of Indonesian government policies
related to character education such as Presidential Decree No. 87 of 2017 concerning the
strengthening of character education, Permendikbud No. 20 of 2018 concerning the
Regulation of the Minister of Education and Culture concerning the Strengthening of
Character Education in Formal Education Units. In addition to government policies, other
sources of literature such as books, research results, and also journal articles. Data analysis
uses descriptive methods, namely research that seeks to describe and interpret what exists,
growing opinions, ongoing processes, consequences or effects that occur or trends that
develop. Data interpretation is indeed a strength in library research, the interpretation is
obtained from comparisons with the libraries obtained.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

Result

As explained in the introduction, there are three objectives of this research, namely the
foundation of character education, the approach to character education, and the problems of
character education in Indonesia and Japan. The foundation of character education in
Indonesia and Japan, the foundation referred to in this discussion is the basis for the formation
of character education in the two countries. This foundation is also the foundation for the
development of character education in the country. Indonesia and Japan are countries that
have so many differences, including the foundation of character education. There are several
things that are the foundation of character education in Indonesia, namely culture, national
ideology, and religion. Culture is indeed the main foundation of character education in
Indonesia, the value of cultural heritage that has been passed down from generation to
generation is the foundation for thinking, acting, and making decisions. It is undeniable that
there are many character values that originate from the culture that is rooted in Indonesia. The
culture of mutual cooperation, for example, which then became the spirit of the progress of
the nation and state, and culture became one of the main values of character education called
for by the Ministry of Education and Culture. In the section "considering‟ Presidential
Regulation No. 87 of 2017, it is stated that Indonesia as a cultured nation is a country that
upholds noble morals, noble values, wisdom, and ethics.

Then it was also mentioned that strengthening character education is carried out
through strengthening religious values, honesty, tolerance, discipline, hard work, creativity,
independence, democracy, curiosity, national spirit, love of the homeland, respect for
achievements, communicative, love of peace, love of reading, care for the environment, social
care, and responsibility. Culture is also the foundation for the formation of the nation's

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ideology, and the nation's ideology is also the foundation for the formation of character
education in Indonesia. Character education is inseparable from the ideology of the
Indonesian nation, namely Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. Even the five precepts
contained in Pancasila are the noble basis for the formation of the nation's personality. The
five precepts are not just ideologies that become sacred sentences without taking the form of
actions but sentences that each item reflects the personality of the nation. Therefore, every
citizen must understand what is contained in it and then implement it in daily life. (Juliani &
Bastian, 2021). In addition to ideology, another foundation is religious values. As is known,
Indonesia is known as a divine country, so the values of religious teachings that are embraced
are also the basis for character formation. It is undeniable that the character values that exist
in the national education system are widely adopted from religious teachings. In fact, it is
inevitable that it does not contradict the character values carried by the Ministry of Education
and Culture with the values of religious teachings. Not so different from the foundation of
character education in Japan, the foundation of character education in Japan also begins with
the existing culture. Even until now, Japan is known as a country that is still strong in
maintaining its cultural traditions in the midst of this modern era. The culture is not only
attached to traditional activities, but in daily life Japanese people still maintain their customs,
such as wearing traditional clothes in daily life, namely Kimono and Makan using chopsticks.
From the many traditions that explain that Japan makes culture the basis for thinking, acting,
and making decisions, so it is not surprising that the application of character education in
Japan is also based on existing cultural values. The Japanese adhere to the philosophy that
human beings can change their circumstances and nature through the efforts of others or their
own efforts.

They do not believe that man has been predestined in certain circumstances that
cannot be changed or changed. With this philosophy, the Japanese people prioritize education,
including character education. Character education in Japan is known as doutoku-kyouiku.
Doutoku-kyoiku is derived from the word (doutoku) which means moral, and the word
(kyouiku) which means education. Doutokukyouiku is a moral learning provided through
schools, starting from elementary to high school levels. Through this doutoku-kyoku, the
character of the Japanese nation was created which we know as a distinctive nation with the
character of discipline, tenacity, honesty, hard work, high tolerance, and so on. The second
cornerstone of character education in Japan is the nation's ideology. As is known, Japan
adheres to the constitutional monarci system of government or the imperial constitution.
Therefore, this ideology is also a characteristic of the life of Japanese people who highly
value their superiors or leaders. The emperor's decision is considered to be the highest
decision that is the basis for all actions, which of course is also the basis for a person to take
action. Various Approaches to Indonesian and Japanese Character Education (Zeim El
Mubarok) explained that there are several approaches to character education that are
commonly used in Indonesia, namely:

1. Value Cultivation Approach. The cultivation approach is an approach that emphasizes

the inculcation of social values in students. The purpose of the value instillation approach
is to instill certain desired values. According to this approach, values are seen as
standards or rules of behavior that come from society and culture. Assessing is
considered an identification and socialization process in which a person, sometimes
unconsciously, takes standards or norms from other people, groups, or societies and
incorporates them into their own value system. In this view, the task of value education is
to instill values so that people must position themselves efficiently according to the roles
determined by society. Furthermore, this value instillation approach is often considered a
negative approach. However, this approach is often used by many circles, including
religious people. As an example of this approach, Superka suggests that a teacher, for

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example, might react very deeply and violently to a student who has just uttered racial
slurs to another student in the class.
2. Value analysis approach. The value analysis approach emphasizes the development of
students' ability to think logically, by analyzing problems related to social values. When
compared to the cognitive development approach, one difference between the two is that
the value analysis approach emphasizes more on discussing problems that contain social
values. The cognitive development approach emphasizes on the moral dilemma of the
individual. In contrast to the moral development approach, value analysis concentrates
primarily on issues of social value rather than personal moral dilemmas. Therefore, the
analytical approach provides an understanding of the aspects of moral values that can be
applied in social life. There are two main goals of moral education according to this
approach. First, it helps students to use logical thinking skills and scientific findings in
analyzing social problems, which are related to certain moral values. Second, it helps
students to use rational and analytical thinking processes in formulating the concept of
relationships about their values. logical rules and procedures.
3. Value Clarification Approach .
The value clarification approach emphasizes efforts to assist students in assessing their
own feelings and actions, as well as increasing their awareness of their own values by
thinking rationally and also using emotional awareness together. There are three
objectives of value education according to this approach, namely: First, helping students
to realize and identify their own values and people's values. Other. Second, helping
students to be able to communicate openly and honestly with others, related to values that
can be actualized in their own lives. Third, to help students, to be able to jointly use
rational thinking skills and emotional awareness, to understand their own feelings,
values, and behavior patterns. The clarification approach is a more complex approach
compared to other value education approaches that sometimes use a variety of methods.
These methods include small group discussions and large group discussions, individual
and group work, listening to songs and artwork, games and simulations, as well as
personal journals and interviews. It is designed to stimulate students to reflect on their
thoughts, feelings, actions, and values. However, as an approach in the educational
process, the value clarification approach has advantages and disadvantages.
4. Learning Approach. The learning approach is action that emphasizes giving opportunities
for students to perform good moral actions individually or collectively in a group. There
are two main objectives of moral education based on this approach. First, it provides
opportunities for students to take moral action, both individually and collectively, based
on their own values. Second, it encourages students to see themselves as individual
beings and social beings in association with others, who do not have complete freedom,
but as citizens of society, who take part in the democratic process. The teaching methods
used in the value analysis and value clarification approaches are also used in this
approach. However, as an approach in the educational process, the to-do learning
approach has advantages and disadvantages. (Al-Mubarok, 2017).

Unlike in Japan, according to Mulyadi, character education tends to use Doutoku-

kyouiku, which is moral learning provided through schools, starting from elementary to high
school levels. Doutoku-kyoiku is integrated into the curriculum so that it is not integrated into
every subject. The difference is that in Indonesia, moral education is taught not only in theory,
but also implemented in daily life. In addition, the content of moral education or doutoku-
kyoiku is divided into four aspects in detail (Mulyadi, 2014), as follows:

1. Regarding self, which means self-respect, includes: moderation (self-work), diligence

(working hard independently), courage (spelling something correctly with courage),
sincerity (working with sincerity), freedom and order (the value of freedom and
discipline), love for truth (loving and seeking the truth).

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2. Relation to others, which means relationships with others include: courtesy

(understanding of manners), consideration and kindness (paying attention to the interests
of others, kindness, and empathy), friendship (understanding, and helping others), thank
and tespect (appreciating and respecting people who have contributed to us), modesty
(respecting others who have different ideas and status).
3. Relation to the nature and the sublime, which means relationship with nature includes:
respect for nature (knowing and loving nature), respect for life (respecting life and living
things), sesthetic sensitivity (having aesthetic sensitivity and feelings), nobility (believing
in power and finding happiness as a human being).
4. Relation to group and society, which means relationship to group and society includes:
public duty (keeping promises and carrying out obligations in society), justice (honest
and impartial without discrimination, prejudice and justice), group participation and
responsibility (desire to participate as a group, realizing its role by working together),

Regarding the practice, there are some things that may seem very trivial to do, but they
are one way to instill character education in Japan, including:

1. Attach the sentence Gratitude or what in Japanese is called Arigatou Posuto Itto. This
kind of patch is usually used with the intention of thanking a friend who has lent a pen or
has shared what they have. Although it seems trivial, this little thing teaches children or
society not to forget to thank the people who have helped us.
2. 2) The Environmental Safety Map in Japanese terms is called Chiiki Anzen Mappu. This
concept teaches starting from elementary school to educate students to care about the
surrounding environment. The map is the work of students who aim to remind the public
who see it, for example, a safety map, pasted on a road with many bends, so that
everyone who passes through the road can be careful.
3. 3) Gotong Royong Education, this type of education is similar to that in Indonesia, where
it is usually in the form of a picket schedule to clean the classroom, where this schedule
is pasted on the classroom wall.
4. 4) Educating to Always Have a Goal, where this is taught by making the target student
written under the student's photo. These targets are in the form of simple targets, for
example, the target of waking up early, not being late for school, eating before leaving
and others. The target can also be in the form of a monthly target or an annual target.
5. 5) Handwritten Newspaper or known as Tegaki Shinbun, where this newspaper is made
by students with an attractive design.
6. 6) Sharpening Empathy, where one form is not to give long and boring speeches to
students. By habituating or teaching the above, children are taught to have a high work
ethic, obey rules, discipline, and have high creativity. (Mulyadi, 2014).

DISCUSSION

Basically, the educational pattern in schools in Japan is similar to that in Indonesia

which has a 6-3-3-4 pattern, where the education system in this country has been regulated in
Kyoiku Kibonbo or the Basic Law of Education. Elementary school in Japan is the same as in
Indonesia, which takes 6 years, not only elementary school education, but also junior and
senior high school education is also the same for three years each. For the tertiary
(undergraduate) level, it takes four years, except for the faculty of medicine which takes six
years. However, it seems that even the problem of character education actually occurred at
that time, elementary and secondary school students often experienced character problems,
such as juvenile delinquency, involvement with vandalism and thuggery, involvement in drug
use and free sex. (Hidayah et al., 2018).

Another problem is related to the strees rate which is common in Japan. Japanese
society is known to have high demands on life, so the level of stress is increasing. These
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psychological disorders then have an impact on the development of a person's personality, of

course the appearance of the character in daily life will also lead to a bad one. In addition,
parental concern is indeed the main factor in the success of character education, but the
problem is that Japan is known as a country with a high level of mobility so that parents are
more busy outside the home or in offices, so that children's character education is very rarely
controlled. Similar to Indonesia, urban areas do show the same problems as in Japan, urban
society in Japan does have the same busyness as in Japan, so many parents completely leave
their children's education to school. Of course, this condition affects the child's character
education. (Junaedi & Gratitude, 2017

CONCLUSION

Based on the results of the literature review, it can be concluded that the foundation of
character education in Indonesia is not much different from that in Japan, which is based on
culture, state ideology, it's just that in Indonesia the foundation of character education which
is also strong is the foundation of religion. Approaches to character education in Indonesia
include the approach of instilling values, the approach of value analysis, the approach of
clarifying values, and the approach of learning to do, in addition to that there is also an
exemplary approach. The approach to character education in Japan tends to use Doutoku-
kyouiku, which is moral learning provided through schools, starting from elementary to high
school levels. These doutoku-kyoiku are integrated into the curriculum so that they are not
integrated in every subject. (Nishino, 2017). The problem of character education in Indonesia
and Japan is also not so different, the problem lies in the level of parental concern, a bad
environment, and it's just that the difference in Japan is that the level of stress as a result of
high life demands also affends

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

If applicable, authors may include an unnumbered Acknowledgements section

immediately following the last numbered section of the manuscript if they wish to
acknowledge assistance or encouragement from their colleagues, special work by technical
staff, or financial support from organizations/institutions.

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