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Abstract
This conceptual study addresses the pressing character education crisis in Indonesia, characterised by increasing violence, bullying, and antisocial behaviour in schools and rapid technological advancements that have reduced children's physical activity and social interactions, contributing to deteriorating character traits. This research identifies a gap in effectively integrating moral education with modern technology in early childhood education (PAUD). To bridge this gap, the study advocates integrating Islamic values and local wisdom into the PAUD curriculum to create a digital Islamic character education based on local wisdom. Drawing on the theories of Kohlberg's stages of moral development, Gilligan's ethics of care, and Lickona's educating for character, the researchers conceptualised the model with the values that PAUD's character education programmes aim to nurture as the foundation. In connecting each value to align with the Islamic characteristics and local wisdom expressions, the researchers used Vygotsky's zone of proximal development theory and principles of play-based learning to design and recommend the digital content, activities and digital tools teachers can use to nurture these values. Early Islamic character formation is crucial in a Muslim-majority context, fostering virtues such as honesty, humility, respect, and love. Likewise, incorporating local wisdom into educational curricula helps instil pride in cultural heritage and promotes social values like solidarity and co-operation. The novelty of this study lies in its proposal of a digital learning model that integrates information and communication technology (ICT), Islamic values, and local wisdom. This comprehensive framework addresses the character education crisis by providing engaging, interactive, and culturally relevant education. Expected outcomes include improved character development, stronger cultural identity, and better overall learning outcomes for young children in Pekanbaru and beyond.
Keywords: Character crisis, character education, digital, Islamic character, local wisdom, ICT, values
1. Introduction
Modern civilisation requires its citizens to be educated to become "good" citizens, and educational institutions are one of the most important elements in building a society with noble morals. However, much like the seemingly age-old problem of "educational crisis", where schools almost always fall short of effectively producing a particular learning outcome, there is also a seemingly worsening problem of "character education crisis", where schools persist in failing at teaching a good number of students to behave. Violence, bullying and antisocial behaviour, while typical among humans, seem...