Models and Mechanisms of Moral and Character Education in Elementary Schools: A Systematic Review and Ecological-Pedagogical Synthesis

Dina Mayadiana Suwarma (PGSD, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia)
Jenuri Jenuri (Ilmu Pendidikan Agama Islam, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia)
Achmad Faqihuddin (Ilmu Pendidikan Agama Islam, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia)
Nadri Taja (Pendidikan Agama Islam, Universitas Islam Bandung)
Fajar Romadhon (Pendidikan Agama Islam, STAI Sayid Sabiq Indramayu)
Abdillah Muflih (Sharia, Islamic University of Madinah)

Pendekar : Jurnal Pendidikan Berkarakter
Vol 9, No 3 (2026): September

Abstract: Moral and character education is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional process that extends beyond explicit value instruction to include reasoning, modelling, habituation, participation, and broader school–community environments. This systematic review synthesizes models of moral and character education in elementary schools and identifies their dominant pedagogical mechanisms. Following PRISMA 2020, 461 Scopus records were screened using predefined eligibility criteria, yielding 71 studies for synthesis. Descriptive quantitative analysis and qualitative thematic synthesis were conducted. Curriculum/Textbook-Integrated approaches were most prevalent (26.8%), followed by Narrative/Dialogic/Reflective models (22.5%); together they represented 49.3% of the corpus. Classroom-centred approaches accounted for 66.2%, while relational, school-cultural, and ecological models represented 23.9%. Only 32.4% of included studies had an explicitly evaluative orientation, indicating that the evidence base is stronger for describing models and mechanisms than for establishing comparative effectiveness.Abstrak Pendidikan moral dan karakter merupakan proses multidimensional yang tidak hanya berfokus pada pengajaran nilai, tetapi juga mencakup penalaran, keteladanan, pembiasaan, partisipasi, serta lingkungan sekolah dan komunitas. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mensintesis berbagai model pendidikan moral dan karakter di sekolah dasar serta mengidentifikasi mekanisme pedagogis yang mendasarinya. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode systematic review dengan pedoman PRISMA 2020. Data penelitian diperoleh dari 461 artikel terindeks Scopus berdasarkan kriteria kelayakan, dengan 71 studi terpilih sebagai sumber analisis. Instrumen penelitian berupa lembar ekstraksi data yang dianalisis menggunakan analisis kuantitatif deskriptif dan sintesis tematik kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa model dominan adalah Curriculum/Textbook-Integrated (26,8%) dan Narrative/Dialogic/Reflective (22,5%). Sebanyak 66,2% penelitian berfokus pada pendekatan berbasis kelas, sementara mekanisme utama meliputi pengajaran, dialog, refleksi, keteladanan, pengalaman, pembiasaan, dan interaksi sosial. Penelitian lanjutan perlu mengembangkan desain komparatif, longitudinal, dan berbasis mekanisme untuk menguji efektivitas model pendidikan karakter.