Instilling Character Education Values through the Traditional Game of Selodor for Fourth-Grade Students at MI Al-Ijtihad Jontak

Abstract

Traditional games remain underutilized in educational settings despite their potential to foster character development through experiential learning and social interaction. This study examines the implementation of the traditional selodor game in character education, identifies the character values manifested during play, explores the obstacles encountered by teachers, and analyzes the strategies used to address these challenges. A qualitative descriptive design was employed, with data collected through observations, interviews, and documentation involving the principal, teachers, and fourth-grade students as data sources. The findings reveal that the implementation of selodor comprises five stages: planning, preparation, execution, guidance, and evaluation. The game facilitates the expression and reinforcement of cooperation, discipline, honesty, sportsmanship, responsibility, communication, self-confidence, and self-control. Its implementation is constrained by limited instructional time, variations in student characteristics, insufficient character habituation within the family environment, teachers’ need for greater competence, and the absence of formal curricular integration. Teachers respond to these challenges through professional training, instructional modules, extracurricular activities, parental education, and institutional support. The study demonstrates that traditional games can serve as contextually relevant media for character education when supported by teacher competence, parental involvement, and systematic school integration. These findings contribute an implementation-oriented perspective on incorporating local cultural practices into sustainable character education in primary schools.