A Critical Discourse Analysis of Character Education Values in School English Textbooks
Keywords:
character education values, textbooks, elementary school teachers, critical discourse analysis.Abstract
This study aims to investigate the character education values in English textbooks written by Muhammadiyah elementary school teachers. Martin and White’s (2005) language appraisal theory and Smetana’s (2006) social domain theory were employed to analyse the verbal representations of character education values in the Textbooks 1–6 series. The findings indicate that friendliness, leisure, respect for others, and taking care of others were frequently represented in the textbooks. These values were presented through dialogues, narratives, and descriptive passages that model positive behavior, express approval or appreciation, and encourage social and moral reasoning. For Grades 1–3, character education content is limited, suggesting the need for additional texts that explicitly demonstrate prosocial behaviors and moral actions suitable for early learners. For Grades 4–6, although a wider variety of character education values is present, some texts are long and linguistically complex, which may challenge students with limited vocabulary. It is recommended that these texts be accompanied by guided activities that help students interpret, reflect on, and apply the values in meaningful contexts. Such an approach facilitates not only the recognition of character values but also their practical application in students’ daily lives.
References
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Almerico, G. M. (2014). Building Character through Literacy with Children’s Literature. Research in Higher Education Journal, 26.
Baladi, N. (2007). Critical pedagogy in the ELT industry: Can a socially responsible curriculum find its place in a corporate culture?
Feng, W. D. (2019). Infusing moral education into English language teaching: an ontogenetic analysis of social values in EFL textbooks in Hong Kong. Discourse, 40(4), 458–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2017.1356806
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Kress, Gunter and van Leeuwen, T. (2006). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design (2nd ed.). Routledge.
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Lickona, T. (1996). Eleven principles of effective character education. Journal of Moral Education, 25(1), 93–100.
Lickona, T. (2013). Educating for character in the sexual domain. Peabody Journal of Education, 88(2), 198–211.
Malti, T., & Ongley, S. F. (2013). The development of moral emotions and moral reasoning. In Handbook of Moral Development, Second Edition. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203581957
Manalu, D. B., & Marpaung, T. I. (2018). Student Teachers’ Ways To Integrate Character Values In EFL Classroom. J. Humanit. Soc. Sci, 23(7), 37–42.
Nasional, K. P. (2011). Panduan pelaksanaan pendidikan karakter. Jakarta: Badan Penelitian Dan Pengembangan Pusat Kurikulum Dan Perbukuan.
Puspitasari, D., Widodo, H. P., Widyaningrum, L., Allamnakhrah, A., & Lestariyana, R. P. D. (2021). How do primary school English textbooks teach moral values? A critical discourse analysis. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 70(May), 101044. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.101044
Qoyyimah, U. (2016). Inculcating character education through EFL teaching in Indonesian state schools. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 11(2), 109–126.
Setyono, B., & Widodo, H. P. (2019). The representation of multicultural values in the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture-Endorsed EFL textbook: a critical discourse analysis. Intercultural Education, 30(4), 383–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2019.1548102
Sugirin, S. (2018). Role models in language acquisition and character education. In Character education for 21st century global citizens (pp. 451–457). Routledge.
Sulistiyo, U., Supiani, S., Kailani, A., & Lestariyana, R. P. D. (2020). Infusing moral content into primary school English textbooks: A critical discourse analysis. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(1), 251–260.
Widodo, H. P. (2018). A Critical Micro-semiotic Analysis of Values Depicted in the Indonesian Ministry of National Education-Endorsed Secondary School English Textbook. 131–152. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63677-1_8
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