Character Education and Civic Values Formation: A Normative Study of Educational Policy Documents
Keywords:
Character Education, Civic Values, Educational Policy, Normative Analysis, Governance Rationality.Abstract
This study examines the normative foundations of character education and civic values formation as articulated in selected educational policy documents through a non-empirical design grounded in systematic document analysis. By combining qualitative content analysis with normative-philosophical interpretation, the research interrogates value hierarchies, justificatory logics, and governance rationalities embedded in regulatory texts that guide curriculum and instructional practice. The findings indicate that policy discourse constructs a hierarchical architecture in which national loyalty and religious morality function as substantive anchors, while democratic participation and global civic competence are framed instrumentally. Local wisdom and theological narratives are integrated through selective codification, producing a calibrated pluralism that affirms cultural identity yet limits deliberative plurality. Furthermore, character education is institutionalized as a governance regime that distributes moral authority across ministries, schools, teachers, and communities, supported by sustainability and monitoring mechanisms. The study contributes theoretically by clarifying the conceptual tensions within hybrid civic frameworks and methodologically by demonstrating how normative document analysis can illuminate the ethical infrastructures shaping contemporary educational policy.
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