TRANSFORMING STUDENT CHARACTER THROUGH CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE: A CASE STUDY OF GKST TIU CHRISTIAN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
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Abstract
This study examines the role of Christian Religious Education (CRE) in shaping student character at GKST Tiu Christian Junior High School amid the pervasive use of digital technology. Employing a qualitative case-study design, the research drew on semi-structured interviews with six participants comprising the principal, CRE teachers, and students, together with classroom observations and an analysis of school documents. The data were subjected to thematic analysis through reduction, categorization, and interpretive meaning-making, while source and method triangulation was used to strengthen credibility. The findings show that CRE is implemented through classroom instruction, school worship, and the habitual enactment of values. Its impact, however, remains concentrated in the cognitive domain (moral knowing) and has not consistently extended to the affective and behavioral domains (moral feeling and moral action). Insufficiently guided digital-technology use manifests in learning distractions, weak self-regulation in social-media use, and declining academic responsibility, exposing a persistent gap between the teaching of values and their embodiment in students' daily lives. The study's distinctive contribution is its pneumatological account of character formation: Christian character is shaped not merely through moral regulation, but through inner transformation effected by the Holy Spirit. The findings therefore call for an integrative CRE model that combines spiritual formation, critical reflection, and ethical guidance for digital engagement.
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