Sustaining Ethical School Culture: A Qualitative Inquiry into Character Formation Practices in Indonesian Primary Education

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how character formation practices can be sustained within the everyday culture of primary schools, with a particular focus on the ways routines, teacher modeling, and school-wide norms shape students’ ethical dispositions over time. Rather than treating character education as a series of isolated interventions, this study investigates how cultural elements of the school environment gradually cultivate students’ moral awareness, social responsibility, and behavioral consistency. This inquiry responds to the need for deeper understanding of character education as a continuous and context-dependent process within Indonesian basic education.

Method: A qualitative phenomenological method was employed to capture the lived experiences of teachers and students. Data were collected through prolonged observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation analysis, allowing the researcher to interpret meaning from naturally occurring practices without imposing predetermined assumptions. The analysis followed iterative coding and thematic interpretation to identify recurring patterns in how character values were conveyed, internalized, and reinforced.

Findings: The findings reveal that character formation becomes sustainable when ethical routines—such as daily greetings, communal clean-up activities, prayer habits, honesty practices, and respectful teacher–student interactions—are embedded into the school’s cultural fabric. Teacher behavior emerged as a decisive influence, particularly when consistency between verbal instruction and real conduct was evident. Challenges were found in the form of inconsistent parental reinforcement and external social environments that occasionally contradicted school-based values.

Significance: The significance of this study lies in demonstrating that character sustainability depends on the coherence between school culture, instructional practices, and broader social contexts. These insights contribute to global discussions on character and sustainability by emphasizing that moral development is not merely programmatic but culturally situated and continuously negotiated.