Teacher leadership in developing religious character in Muhammadiyah elementary school

EDUSOSHUM Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities Vol. 4, No. 2, August 2024, pp. 112-123 ISSN 2776-5229 1 112 Teacher Leadership in developing religious character in Muhammadiyah elementary school Arum Titi Nurani1, Suyatno Suyatno2*, Lilis Patimah3 1 Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2 Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 3 Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Surakarta, Indonesia * ARTICLE INFO Article history Received August 5, 2024 Revisied August 17, 2024 Accepted August 18, 2024 Keywords: Religious character, Teacher leadership, Organizational leadership, Personal leadership, Team leadership Muhammadiyah elementary school ABSTRACT The religious character dimension plays an important role in developing the character of elementary school age children as a whole. Teacher leadership is one variable that can be used to develop the religious character of elementary school age children. This research aims to explore teacher leadership in Muhammadiyah elementary schools in developing students' religious character. Researchers use qualitative research with a case study approach with observation, interviews and documentation as data collection techniques. The research subjects consisted of school principals, teachers and students at SD Muhammadiyah Macanan Sleman. The collected data was analyzed using the Miles & Huberman model of interactive inductive data analysis techniques which includes data collection, data reduction, data presentation and conclusions. To ensure the validity of the data, researchers used triangulation of sources and techniques. The research results show that teacher leadership in developing religious character at SD Muhammadiyah Macanan consists of three aspects, namely personal, team and organizational aspects. The personal aspect of teacher leadership is demonstrated by the ability to guide, mobilize, influence and communicate. The team aspect of teacher leadership is carried out by discussing and providing feedback, improving the quality of learning, training religious character, mentoring activities, and observing students' religious character. The organizational aspect of teacher leadership consists of the role of teachers in supporting school policies and programs, supporting the administrative leadership of the school principal, and efforts to maintain school sustainability. The findings of this research highlight the importance of the role of teacher leadership in developing students' religious character in Muhammadiyah elementary schools. 1. INTRODUCTION Religious character is an important dimension in shaping the character of a child at elementary school age. The strong religious dimension has the potential to have a positive impact on other character dimensions (Fauzieyah & Suyatno, 2024). Religious character is defined as life values that represent the development of spiritual experience through habituation. Schools need to familiarize students with worship, morals and faith (Victorynie et al., 2020). Worship habits can be done by performing the five daily prayers, commemorating islamic holidays, tadarus, and other religious activities. Habituation in morals can be done by helping others, respecting elders, behaving well and so on. Meanwhile, habituation to faith can take the form of building a sense of faith in everyday life. The reality shows that many events that occur are not in accordance with the expectations of education and the surrounding community. Facts show that an elementary school student was a Arum Titi Nurani et.al (Teacher Leadership in developing religious character) EDUSOSHUM Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities Vol. 4, No. 2, August 2024, pp. 112-123 ISSN 2776-5229 2 113 victim of bullying by five of his classmates (Fauzy, 2023). Grade 3 elementary school students also became victims of bullying, causing broken bones and intimidation from school (Syahrin, 2023). Brawls between students were also carried out by two elementary school groups (Yulianto, 2023). There was even a teacher at one of the elementary schools who was the perpetrator of molesting his students until the children were in middle school (Praditia, 2023). These facts show that character cultivation at all levels and levels of education has not shown optimal results. Failure to develop students' religious character can have major consequences (Suyatno et al., 2023). This failure was due to a lack of understanding of essential religious values such as empathy, discipline and tolerance in everyday life (Hakim, 2022). This can lead to behavior that deviates from moral and ethical standards, both at school and in wider society. In addition, the absence of instilling religious values can reduce students' appreciation of diverse religious and cultural perspectives. Based on this, teachers need to have special strategies in developing students' religious character. Teachers have a strategic role in developing students' religious character through personality, pedagogical, professional, social and leadership competencies as stated in Article 16 paragraph 1 (Peraturan Menteri Agama Republik Indonesia, 2010). One of the five competencies is leadership competency, which can play a role in helping develop students' religious character. Teacher leadership actively contributes to providing support, development, knowledge and skills to colleagues (Nguyen et al., 2019). This contribution provides real understanding in developing students' religious character. So there are several important elements to achieve leadership. The elements in leadership include the existence of goals that need to be fought for, the activities to be achieved, the person who leads, and the people who are influenced. Developing a teacher leadership spirit can be improved through dedication and commitment so that it has a positive influence (Suyatno et al., 2022). With commitment and involvement in religious activities at school, teachers can have a positive influence on students. Muhammadiyah Macanan Elementary School is one of the elementary schools that helps develop religious character through teacher leadership. This condition can be seen through the religious character of students who are quite good at carrying out religious teachings. Therefore, teacher leadership in developing religious character at SD Muhammadiyah Macanan is interesting to research. The expected result of this research is to provide valuable references and insightful input for readers and educators. 2. METHODS The method used is qualitative research with a case study approach. Qualitative research is research that explores and understands natural events with a focus on events that occur in the field (Cresswell, 2013). Meanwhile, the case study approach is a process that dismantles a case to provide Arum Titi Nurani et.al (Teacher Leadership in developing religious character) EDUSOSHUM Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities Vol. 4, No. 2, August 2024, p (...truncated)