Analyze the Crisis of Students' Character Values and Innovative School Strategies in Overcoming the Challenge

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the urgency of the need to implement character education,
which is related to the deterioration of the character of the younger generation, including students. The
qualitative descriptive method is used for this research. Based on the results of observations conducted in
December 2023 with 26 teachers who teach in various high schools in the Bandung area, Indonesia, the data
showed that 84% of teachers have unpleasant experiences dealing with students' lack of character values. Such
as individualism, low sense of social care, lack of environmental care, and low honesty, to severe cases such as
bullying, getting pregnant outside of marriage, joining motorcycle gangs, consuming drugs, smoking, and
drinking alcohol. As many as 88.4% of teachers agree that the factors causing character changes in adolescents,
including students, are currently heading in a negative direction, namely addiction to the use of gadgets and
social media. Therefore, schools continuously strive for innovative programs that can build and strengthen
character values in students. The innovative strategies include 73.1% implementing an integrated learning
system of character values, and the rest of the teachers mentioned that the school seeks a special character
subject program and a teacher training program in integrating character values into academic content. This
strategy will continue to grow as the level of teacher creativity in processing character value-based learning
develops, so a wise and uninterrupted successor to the nation will be realized with technological advances.