<![CDATA[This study aims to design and implement a culture-based curriculum as a strategy to enhance students’ character at SDN Prigen II, Prigen District, Pasuruan Regency. Using a descriptive qualitative approach with data collection techniques of participant observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation, the results show that the integration of local religious cultural values (habituation of reciting the Qur’an and Asmaul Husna, rotating Dhuha prayer, collective prayer, greeting etiquette, and mutual cooperation) into the Merdeka Curriculum has successfully shaped students’ religious character, discipline, responsibility, social care, and cooperation. The proposed culture-based curriculum design consists of three main pillars: (1) integration of cultural values in intracrurricular learning, (2) daily habituation through school culture, and (3) reinforcement through extracurricular activities and parental involvement. The implementation over one semester revealed a significant decrease in bullying cases from 12 (previous semester) to 3 cases, an increase in attendance and uniform discipline to 98%, and an average increase of 28% in religious and social attitude scores based on teacher journals and observation rubrics. This study concludes that a culture-based curriculum rooted in local religious values is proven effective as a contextual approach to character education in elementary schools.]]>
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