Character Education in the Pandemic Era: A Religious Ethical Learning Model through Islamic Education

The social distancing policy in the COVID-19 outbreak has influenced the non-holistic learning process, causing several moral problems. The learning process tends to promote the cognitive aspect, while the affective aspect tends to be neglected. This research aims at offering a learning model that promotes religious ethical values through religious education in junior high schools (SMP/Sekolah Menengah Pertama) in an effort to develop effective attitudes. The development of the model is carried out in five stages of research, namely analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE). This research involved two groups of participants consisting of 376 students and 45 Islamic Education (PAI/Pendidikan Agama Islam) teachers in junior high schools in West Java. The research results explore the PAI learning model that develops religious ethical values as learning objectives. The process of internalizing these values is developed through the processes of knowing, of doing, and of being. Religious ethical values that are developed in students are the crystallization of four prophetic characters, namely fathonah, siddiq, amanah, and tabligh. The test results of two junior high schools, both public schools and religious-based schools, concluded that the application of the religious ethical learning model was able to improve students' religious ethical character at a high level. This research contributes to the development of PAI learning designs in the pandemic era based on the development of prophetic characters. In addition, this research can be a guideline for teachers or academics in developing research related to student character within the framework of character education.