Children’s Enjoyment and Recognition of Character Strengths in Bawang Merah Bawang Putih: Implications for Character Education
Keywords:
Keywords: Narrative; Education; Enjoyment; Character; Children;
Abstract
Children's character education is often taught through monotonous methods. Narrative is believed to be an effective method for persuading children through folktales. Folklore is a narrative that has been verbally transmitted through the generations. This method was used to teach children about moral concepts in an interesting way, such as the story of Bawang Merah Bawang Putih. However, there is limited evidence that Bawang Merah Bawang Putih can instill character in children. Thus, this study aims to investigate the enjoyment and character traits emphasized in Bawang Merah Bawang Putih. Using a one-group post-test design, involved children aged 10 to 12 from schools in Indonesia. After watching a theatrical performance of Bawang Merah Bawang Putih, the children completed questionnaires measuring enjoyment using scales from Oliver and Bartsch and the Values in Action – Youth from Park and Peterson to assess character strengths. Data were analyzed using a one-sample t-test and a within-subjects ANOVA. The results show that 38 students experienced enjoyment and identified positive character strengths from the story, namely perseverance, forgiveness, zest, bravery, humility, honesty, and prudence. These findings suggest that Bawang Merah Bawang Putih can support character education by increasing children's enjoyment and recognition of positive character strengths.
References
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Niemiec, R. M. 2018. Character Strengths Interventions: A Field Guide for Practitioners. Hogrefe Publishing.
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Nurrohman, U. A., D. Rafiyana, and M. Sufanti. 2022. “Shifting Character and Moral Message of Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih Stories in the Digital Age.” Indonesian Language Education and Literature 7 (2): 414. https://doi.org/10.24235/ileal.v7i2.10059.
Pala, A. 2011. “The Need for Character Education.” International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies 3 (2): 23–32. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijsshs/issue/26222/276136.
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Rahmadewi, A., and S. Supriyadi. 2022. “Character Value in the Story of Bawang Merah Bawang Putih and Their Relevance for Strengthening Character of Elementary School Students.” Academia Open 6: 10–21070.
Roopa, S., B. Geetha M., A. Rani, and T. Chacko. 2013. “What Type of Lectures Students Want? A Reaction Evaluation of Dental Students.” Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research: JCDR 7 (10): 2244–46. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2013/5985.3482.
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Sudaryanti, S. 2012. “Pentingnya Pendidikan Karakter bagi Anak Usia Dini.” Jurnal Pendidikan Anak 1 (1). https://doi.org/10.21831/jpa.v1i1.2902.
Thompson, M. 2011. “Developing Moral Values in Children: Observations from a Preschool.” IFE PsychologIA: An International Journal 19 (2): 394–411.
Vázquez-Marín, P., J. Fernández-Río, and J. A. Cecchini. 2024. “Strengths and Artistic Engagement: Insights from Positive Psychology.” International Journal of Education & the Arts 25 (23): 1–27.
Vygotsky, L. S. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
Wagner, L., F. Gander, R. T. Proyer, and W. Ruch. 2020. “Character Strengths and School Achievement: A Longitudinal Study.” Journal of Positive Psychology 15 (4): 495–507. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1639798.
Waters, L., and D. Loton. 2019. “SEARCH: A Meta-Framework and Review of the Field of Positive Education.” International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology 4 (1–2): 1–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-019-00017-4.
Zimmerman, B. J. 2008. “Investigating Self-Regulation and Motivation: Historical Background, Methodological Developments, and Future Prospects.” American Educational Research Journal 45 (1): 166–83. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831207312909.
Avraamidou, L., and J. Osborne. 2009. “The Role of Narrative in Communicating Science.” International Journal of Science Education 31 (12): 1683–1707.
Bandura, A. 1986. Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Prentice-Hall.
Berkowitz, M. W., and M. C. Bier. 2004. “Based Character Education.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 591 (1): 72–85. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716203260082.
Berkowitz, M. W., and M. A. Hoppe. 2009. “Character Education and Gifted Children.” *High Ability Studies* 20 (2): 131–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598130903358493.
Birhan, W., G. Shiferaw, A. Amsalu, M. Tamiru, and H. Tiruye. 2021. “Exploring the Context of Teaching Character Education to Children in Preprimary and Primary Schools.” Social Sciences & Humanities Open 4 (1): 100171.
Dahlstrom, M. F. 2014. “Using Narratives and Storytelling to Communicate Science with Nonexpert Audiences.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111 (suppl. 4): 13614–20. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1320645111.
Dewi, N. L. K. P., and I. G. A. M. Agung. 2023. “An Analysis of Main Character in the Book Bawang Merah and Bawang Putihâ.” Humanitatis: Journal of Language and Literature 9 (2): 285–94.
Diamond, A. 2013. “Executive Functions.” Annual Review of Psychology 64 (1): 135–68. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750.
Ellis, G., and J. Brewster. 2014. Tell It Again! The New Storytelling Handbook for Primary Teachers. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/D467_Storytelling_handbook_FINAL_web.pdf.
Esteban, M. T., and A. V. Gómez. 2019. “Storytelling as a Didactic Proposal to Approach Culture Topics in a Fifht Graders Classroom.” Cuadernos de Lingüística Hispánica, no. 33: 169–90.
Fredrickson, B. L. 2001. “The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions.” American Psychologist 56 (3): 218–26. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218.
Gander, F., et al. 2022. “What Are Character Strengths Good For? A Daily Diary Study on Character Strengths, Well-Being, and Positive Experiences.” Journal of Positive Psychology 17 (6): 768–81.
Gander, F., R. T. Proyer, W. Ruch, and T. Wyss. 2022. “Strength-Based Positive Interventions: Further Evidence for Their Potential in Enhancing Well-Being and Alleviating Depression.” Journal of Positive Psychology 17 (6): 768–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2021.1926532.
Gasser, L., Y. Dammert, and P. K. Murphy. 2022. “How Do Children Socially Learn from Narrative Fiction: Getting the Lesson, Simulating Social Worlds, or Dialogic Inquiry?” Educational Psychology Review 34 (3): 1445–75.
Gay, G. 2018. Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. 3rd ed. Teachers College Press.
Green, M. C., and T. C. Brock. 2000. “The Role of Transportation in the Persuasiveness of Public Narratives.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79 (5): 701.
Hakim, A. 2016. “The Implementation of Character Education Program in Kindergarten.” In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Early Childhood Education (ICECE 2016), 91–96. Atlantis Press.
Ihsan, Z., and A. Furnham. 2018. “The Measurement of Character Strengths and Virtues.” In Character Strength Development, edited by A. P. T. George and S. N. T., 92–112. SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9789353287641.n5.
Immordino-Yang, M. H., and A. Damasio. 2007. “We Feel, Therefore We Learn: The Relevance of Affective and Social Neuroscience to Education.” Mind, Brain, and Education 1 (1): 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-228X.2007.00004.x.
Joosten, A., M. van Dijke, A. Van Hiel, and D. De Cremer. 2015. “Out of Control!? How Loss of Self-Control Influences Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Power and Moral Values.” PLoS ONE 10 (5): e0126377. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0126377.
Kothgassner, O. D., A. Felnhofer, M. Schmidt, and A. K. Heinzle. 2022. “Narrative Transportation: A Systematic Review and Methodological Recommendations.” Media Psychology 25 (5): 713–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2021.1963048.
Lavy, S. 2020. “A Review of Character Strengths Interventions in Twenty-First-Century Schools: Their Importance and How They Can Be Fostered.” Applied Research in Quality of Life 15 (2): 573–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-018-9700-6.
Littman-Ovadia, H., R. M. Niemiec, and P. Freidlin. 2021. “Positive Psychology and the VIA Classification of Character Strengths.” Frontiers in Psychology 12: 653941. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.653941.
Lo, J. H.-Y., G. Fu, K. Lee, and C. A. Cameron. 2020. “Development of Moral Reasoning in Situational and Cultural Contexts.” Journal of Moral Education 49 (2): 177–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2018.1563881.
Michalopoulos, S., and M. M. Xue. 2021. “Folklore.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 136 (4): 1993–2046.
Nanda, D. D., B. Simbolon, F. A. Damanik, and Y. B. Sembiring. 2021. “Moral Value and Character-Building Education in Folklore from Central Java ‘Timun Mas.” Journal of Languages and Language Teaching 9 (1): 85–91.
Niemiec, R. M. 2018. Character Strengths Interventions: A Field Guide for Practitioners. Hogrefe Publishing.
Norris, S. P., S. M. Guilbert, M. L. Smith, S. Hakimelahi, and L. M. Phillips. 2005. “A Theoretical Framework for Narrative Explanation in Science.” Science Education 89 (4): 535–63.
Nurrohman, U. A., D. Rafiyana, and M. Sufanti. 2022. “Shifting Character and Moral Message of Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih Stories in the Digital Age.” Indonesian Language Education and Literature 7 (2): 414. https://doi.org/10.24235/ileal.v7i2.10059.
Pala, A. 2011. “The Need for Character Education.” International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies 3 (2): 23–32. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ijsshs/issue/26222/276136.
Park, N. & Peterson, C. (2006). Moral competence and character strengths among adolescents: The development and validation of the value in action inventory of strengths for youth. Journal of Adolescence. 29. 891-905.
Peterson, C., and M. E. P. Seligman. 2004. Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. Washington, DC: APA Press and Oxford University Press.
Petty, R. E., and P. Briñol. 2015. “Emotion and Persuasion: Cognitive and Meta-Cognitive Processes Impact Attitudes.” Cognition and Emotion 29 (1): 1–26.
Quinlan, D. M., D. A. Vella-Brodrick, A. Gray, and N. Swain. 2021. “Educators’ Experiences of a Whole-School Approach to Positive Education.” Journal of Positive Psychology 16 (5): 610–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2020.1744878.
Rahmadewi, A., and S. Supriyadi. 2022. “Character Value in the Story of Bawang Merah Bawang Putih and Their Relevance for Strengthening Character of Elementary School Students.” Academia Open 6: 10–21070.
Roopa, S., B. Geetha M., A. Rani, and T. Chacko. 2013. “What Type of Lectures Students Want? A Reaction Evaluation of Dental Students.” Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research: JCDR 7 (10): 2244–46. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2013/5985.3482.
Santosa, I., L. Lutfi, K. Kheryadi, Y. Dinihari, W. Handayani, and S. Alawiyah. 2022. “Character Education Value from Ten Folktales in Indonesia as Cyber Literature.” Kawalu: Journal of Local Culture 9 (1): 1–18.
Seligman, M. E. P., R. M. Ernst, J. Gillham, K. Reivich, and M. Linkins. 2009. “Positive Education: Positive Psychology and Classroom Interventions.” Oxford Review of Education 35 (3): 293–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980902934563.
Shaffer, V. A., E. S. Focella, A. Hathaway, L. D. Scherer, and B. J. Zikmund-Fisher. 2018. “On the Usefulness of Narratives: An Interdisciplinary Review and Theoretical Model.” Annals of Behavioral Medicine 52 (5): 429–42. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kax008.
Sudaryanti, S. 2012. “Pentingnya Pendidikan Karakter bagi Anak Usia Dini.” Jurnal Pendidikan Anak 1 (1). https://doi.org/10.21831/jpa.v1i1.2902.
Thompson, M. 2011. “Developing Moral Values in Children: Observations from a Preschool.” IFE PsychologIA: An International Journal 19 (2): 394–411.
Vázquez-Marín, P., J. Fernández-Río, and J. A. Cecchini. 2024. “Strengths and Artistic Engagement: Insights from Positive Psychology.” International Journal of Education & the Arts 25 (23): 1–27.
Vygotsky, L. S. 1978. Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
Wagner, L., F. Gander, R. T. Proyer, and W. Ruch. 2020. “Character Strengths and School Achievement: A Longitudinal Study.” Journal of Positive Psychology 15 (4): 495–507. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1639798.
Waters, L., and D. Loton. 2019. “SEARCH: A Meta-Framework and Review of the Field of Positive Education.” International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology 4 (1–2): 1–46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-019-00017-4.
Zimmerman, B. J. 2008. “Investigating Self-Regulation and Motivation: Historical Background, Methodological Developments, and Future Prospects.” American Educational Research Journal 45 (1): 166–83. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831207312909.
Published
2026-09-02
How to Cite
Valdez, M. A., Yulianita, N., Yuniati, Y., Rinawati, R., & Roswiyani, R. (2026). Children’s Enjoyment and Recognition of Character Strengths in Bawang Merah Bawang Putih: Implications for Character Education. DAWUH : Islamic Communication Journal, 7(3), 12-28. https://doi.org/10.62159/dawuh.v7i3.2815
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Articles
Copyright (c) 2026 Mohamad Alppy Valdez, Neni Yulianita, Yenni Yuniati, Rini Rinawati, Roswiyani Roswiyani
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