Jurnal Empowerment Volume 9 Nomor 1, Februari 2020 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 100 MODELS INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS IN GROWING RELIGIOUS CHARACTERS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD Agus Sofyan1, Lety Suharti2, Edy Hardiyanto3, Dinno Mulyono4 1,2,3 PP PAUD dan DIKMAS Jawa Barat, Indonesia, 4 IKIP Siliwangi, Cimahi, Indonesia 1kinanti.clc@gmail.com, 4dinno@ikipsiliwangi.ac.id ABSTRACT This research departs from the field findings that the role of parents in inculcating religious character still lacks the proper portion, thus impacting children's understanding of religious values universally. With this model implemented in some PAUD units it is hoped that it will become a model that is ready to be used in other locations in order to develop religious values for early childhood. This research approach uses quantitative research methods with an instrument in the form of a questionnaire. The results of this study indicate that there are some changes in the understanding and behavior of parents in instilling religious character in early childhood. The main conclusion of this study is the model of involving parents in developing the religious character of early childhood provides a change in the attitude and understanding of parents in carrying out religious values in the family. Keywords: parents, religious character PRELIMINARY Minister of Education and Culture Regulation number 30 of 2017 indicates that family involvement in the administration of education in education units is initiated by schools by carrying out the following missions: 1) imaging schools as partners (one, not the only) institution that aims to foster academic intelligence and social piety of students; 2) convincing parents that the family and school have an equal role in the child's success; 3) eliminates the impression that the presence of parents to school is always due to the reason their children are having problems, fosters the perception that parents go to school because of the awareness to share experiences in how to educate children, among fellow parents; 4) facilitate and encourage parents to want and be able to improve the ability to educate children at home. To realize the creation of educational centers that are in line with what is expected by the government and the community, the role of formal education units or schools is expected to be the initiator to start the link. The consideration is that schools have relatively more prepared resources to facilitate family engagement activities in schools. Besides that, the school together with the school committee and parents need to design activities that involve parents optimally so that the process can be felt by parents and schools, especially in terms of encouraging the growth of children's religious character. One of the educational units that are considered strategic to strengthen its involvement programs from families is the early childhood education unit. Jurnal Empowerment Volume 9 Nomor 1, Februari 2020 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 101 Realizing the importance of cooperation between these three parties, namely; education, family and community units need to work to establish partnerships between the three by starting a partnership program that unites schools, families and communities. This program is realized in the collaboration of implementing the empowerment of schools, families and communities. With this activity, it is expected to establish a more intimate and harmonious partnership between the three elements of education so that it is able to become an educational environment that supports the growth and development of children to become whole and achieving individuals. Globalization and modernization result in social changes that are so fast and affect people's lifestyles. Many things can be seen in the environment around us about the process of change. For example, religious and social values that are highly respected by the community have been transformed into patterns of society that put aside morality and ethics in achieving desired goals. Collective lifestyle, mutual cooperation has changed into a subjective individualist style of society. Various changes that occur are very demanding readiness from community members. The development of mass media can provide information to the community of things that occur daily and the public is treated with negative information that occurs in the community. Now, pornography and violence are phenomena that occur in society and even students. At least the changes that occur also penetrated their world and it is unfortunate that many of them are not able to reach out and are not ready to face these developments, giving birth to development discontinuities such as the occurrence of deviant behavior. Student brawls, violations of driving rules, drug abuse, free sex, and school discipline violations have become commonplace. Almost every year students or communities who are involved in brawls are found even as if the community cannot use their functions and sound logic. In the past many things that were considered taboo and still limited to certain customers, now it seems to have become a public consumption that can be accessed anywhere. A concrete example is the spread of pornographic sites and can be easily consumed by internet users. Indeed, on one side it cannot be denied, that the internet has contributed greatly to moral and intellectual development. However, at the same time the internet can also be a source of moral, intellectual and mental construction of a nation's generation, if not balanced with the inculcation of positive values. According to statistical data sourced from the Child Protection Commission (KPA), it shows that in 2015 cases of pornography and cybercrime among students from 2011 to July 2015 there were 1,111 cases, then child victims of pornography from social media in 2015 were 576 cases. In addition, if we look at data from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), in 2011-2014 there were 12,714 cases of child complaints. The results of the 2011-2014 KPAI monitoring saw a significant increase. In 2011 there were 2,178 cases of violence, in 2012 there were 3,515 cases, in 2013 there were 4,311 cases, in 2014 there were 2,713 cases. Furthermore, violations of the law committed by children, resulting in cases of children dealing with the law until April 2015 there were 6,600 subsequent cases, 3,160 cases of parenting, 1,764 cases of education, health and drugs there were 1,366 cases. Law No. 20 of 2003 concerning the national education system has emphasized that, "National education functions to develop capabilities and shape the character and civilization of a dignified nation in order to educate the life of the nation, aiming at Jurnal Empowerment Volume 9 Nomor 1, Februari 2020 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 102 developing the potential of students into human beings who believe in and fear God. Almighty, virtuous mulya, healthy, knowledgeable, capable, creative, independent, and become citizens of a democratic and responsible ". Furthermore, Government Regulation Number 19 of 2005 regarding National Education Standards (SNP) also explicitly explained various competencies concerned with character in addition to intellect. This all indicates that actually education is tasked with developing character as well as intellect in the form of students' competencies. According to the Minister of Education and Culture Regulation No. 23 of 2015 concerning the growth of character to provide legal certainty how the issue of character is something that must be considered and developed immediately in everyday life at school. The term character according to Ki Hajar Diwantara is often called adab or morals. According to Ki Hajar Dewantara (1967) manners learned everything about good and bad in human life. Especially the movement of thoughts and feelings in the form of considerations and feelings to the application in the form of actions / behavior. From the cases above it is necessary to bring up the parents' classroom learning model for the inculcation of religious character in the family. As a solution, the need for parental support in involving the process of inculcation of children's character, according to Ki Hajar Dewantara (1967) in inculcating character education, children need to involve the three elements, namely parents, schools and society, which are referred to as "Tripusat education". Another problem that has surfaced in the context of instilling early childhood character education is the low role and participation of parents. Whereas parents are the first and foremost educators who need to be prepared for parenting skills and abilities in the application of the child's character planting, so to foster good character of the child it is necessary to have a habituation in planting religious character educators. Realizing the importance of the role of parents in shaping the character of early childhood, P2PAUD and West Java Dikmas developed a model based on previous studies and preliminary studies. The location of the preliminary study is Bandung Regency, Sumedang Regency and Garut Regency. THEORETICAL BASIS Parent Involvement Parent involvement is a collaborative process that is built between schools, families and communities based on the needs of children, so participation is expected to grow from parents / families and the community in various programs organized by the education unit. The model of family involvement in the implementation of early childhood education is expected to be able to involve all elements of both students, parents / family, educators, education staff, school committees, communities, and partner organizations in the field of education. This is based on the opinion of I. Hatimah (2016) which states that the family as the first and foremost educational institution for a child has a big contribution to the child's development towards a more complex life. So, if family life is fostered well, then community life will be good too. Therefore, the main concept of family involvement is to provide opportunities for families to participate in early childhood education, with a variety of programs implemented in this model. Jurnal Empowerment Volume 9 Nomor 1, Februari 2020 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 103 Religious Character Etymologically the word religious comes from the word religion which comes from English, namely religion, which means religion or belief in the existence of natural power over human power. While religious is a way of looking at someone regarding the teachings of his religion and the way that person uses his beliefs or religion in his daily life (Earnshaw, 2000). Religious is an obedient attitude and behavior in implementing the teachings of the religion it adheres to, showing tolerance towards the implementation of other religions and being able to live in harmony with followers of other religions (T. Ramli, 2003). In the opinion of Bloom (1956) states that the development of intelligence, personality and social behavior develops rapidly when the child is at an early age. Therefore the strengthening of the child's religious character will be strengthened when parents are involved in the child's educational process, especially to understand the conditions of the surrounding environment, in order to internalize the existing religious values. Parent Class Parent class is a parental education program or parenting program included in adult education, where adult education according to Sudjana (2010: 45) is intended for adults in their community environment, so they can develop abilities, enrich knowledge, enhance skills and professions that are have owned, obtained new ways, and changed the attitudes and behavior of adults. This is relevant to all efforts made by parents as a form of protection of children from the effects of the development of human life that is too sophisticated and modern, as well as attitudes or acts of violence against children that often occur in recent times. This form of protection needs to be done as early as possible, even since the baby is in the form of a fetus in the womb until the child is 18 years old. Knowledge and understanding of parents about parenting towards children is very influential on the child's growth and future development. Therefore parents need to be given understanding and skills in educating children in the middle of the family, knowledge of caring for and guiding children and so that they can become quality human resources in the future. One of them is by inculcating child-friendly parent attitudes or behaviors including education-friendly, nutritional-friendly, caring-friendly and protective-friendly so that the needs of their children can be facilitated properly because it will affect structured and orderly stages of child development. Included in maintaining developments in terms of children's psychology on an ongoing basis, so that physical and emotional development can run in a balanced manner. Therefore, it is important to hold a parent class in order to maintain and build a balanced child's character, so that it is not easy to fall into individual and social problems that are not in accordance with the task of its development. METHODS The research method used is to use a quasi-quasi-experimental approach, which utilizes two different groups, to compare the results of existing research. However, it provides different conditioning for the two groups, but is not made equal, so that it is left in accordance with the conditions in the field. This is because the field where the family involvement program is implemented in cultivating religious character is a different and very diverse field, especially for the regional environment that is the subject of this research. The instrument used was a questionnaire using a Likert scale to measure the level of understanding of parents before and after the family engagement program was Jurnal Empowerment Volume 9 Nomor 1, Februari 2020 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 104 implemented. The main target of this research was carried out in 3 locations, namely Kober SPNF on Jl. Raya Tanjungsari Km 18, Tanjungsari, Sumedang, PAUD Sartika on Jl. Muarasanding Garut and PAUD Rahadatul Aisy, Jl. Cimanuk, Kampung Cangkuang, Garut. With a total of 75 respondents. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Result Based on the results of the questionnaire distribution, the conditions for prior to using the family engagement model are found, the conditions can be illustrated in the following diagram: Figure 1. Initial Study Graph on Religious Character Education in the Family Whereas for the distribution of questionnaires after the model of family involvement was implemented in developing religious character in the framework of developing the development of learning tools based on the results of field study analysis as follows: Jurnal Empowerment Volume 9 Nomor 1, Februari 2020 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 105 Figure 2. Preliminary Study Results of the Role of Parents in Growing Religious Character at Home For this reason, the results of the study can be illustrated in the following graph, where the initial and final results of two different respondents are described as follows: 1. Improved Learning Outcomes Improved learning outcomes are measured by learning experiences in the form of using pretest and posttest questions. Pretest questions are given before learning and posttest questions are given after fostering the application of religious values. In this trial 25 (twenty five) Mawar Hidayah PAUD students who received guidance on the cultivation of religious characters became the treatment group while 25 (twenty five) participants who did not receive guidance on planting religious values became the control group. Based on the calculation, the average pretest score is 39.20 and the average post-test score is 77.36. Based on the average pretest and post-test scores an increase in cognitive value of 0.62 was obtained. The value of the increase is in the medium category. This can be seen based on the distribution of instruments with the normality test in the table below: Table 1. Normality Test Tests of Normality Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig. prestest .234 25 .001 .821 25 .001 posttest .275 25 .000 .785 25 .000 After carrying out the normality test, then proceed with the t-test, because the results are not normal. As for the results of t arithmetic can be described as follows: Table 2. Test T Calculate Changes in Parents' Understanding of Early Childhood Religious Character Planting Paired Samples Statistics Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean Pair 1 prestest 3.92 25 1.115 .223 posttest 7.76 25 .779 .156 Jurnal Empowerment Volume 9 Nomor 1, Februari 2020 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 106 Paired Samples Test t df Sig. (2-tailed) Pair 1 prestest - posttest -14.993 24 .000 Based on the calculation of the results of the pretest and post-test, there is an increase in learning outcomes after carrying out the teaching of fostering religious character cultivation. This is evident from the results of the calculation of t arithmetic under the value of 0.05. 2. Students' Responses to the Family Engagement Model for inculcating the religious character of early childhood in the family. Data on students' responses to the formation of religious character planting using questionnaires is given at the end of the coaching activities. Questionnaire responses of students to the formation of religious value investment consists of several statements. Questionnaire responses of students consists of two aspects, namely aspects of the material and aspects of teaching materials. Questionnaire responses of students distributed to students. Calculation of student response questionnaires uses the same method as calculating the feasibility of a conceptual model. The average material aspect score was 3.53 (B) and the reading material aspect was 3.62 (B). And the average score of the total responses of students to coaching religious value inculcation is worth A. This score is included in the category of "Very Good". This shows that the family engagement model for inculcating the religious character of early childhood in the family deserves wider use. Discussion Based on the results of the research conducted it can be described as follows: First, the model of family involvement in inculcating the religious character of early childhood. For the development of an educational model it is found that the role of parents needs to be increased so that it is expected to provide reinforcement to the formation of children's character, especially in the early age of the child (Akhyadi & Mulyono, 2019). With the condition of urban areas that have many TKIT (Integrated Islamic Kindergarten) Full Day School, then parents grow uncritically and entrust their children fully to the school, this has become one of the obstacles in developing awareness of religious values in early childhood (Sutarmin, Zuchdi, & Suardiman, 2014). With the trial of this model, it is expected to be able to facilitate parents to provide care and assistance in accordance with the tasks and development of early childhood, especially in inculcating religious character, because religious values are not only Jurnal Empowerment Volume 9 Nomor 1, Februari 2020 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 107 related to religion, but also related to values harmony and mutual respect between one religion and another (T. Ramli, 2003). Second, the development of learning tools in order to develop a family engagement program in fostering the religious character of early childhood. With the development of these learning tools, it is expected that parents who participate in the parent class program and inspirational classes can be encouraged to further improve the quality of early childhood care in their families. Parent class as one form of adult education, is an alternative education program that is expected to strengthen the quality of parents as well, in line with the opinion of Mulyono (2012) which states that one of the main education channels in non-formal education is education for people adult. The main role of parents in the class of parents also needs to be supported by strengthening the role of the education unit manager to increase the effectiveness of the educational program undertaken, this is in accordance with the opinion of Mulyono (2018) which states that the role of managers in non-formal education units will strengthen the capacity of unit management according with the expected goals. With the development of a model that also strengthens the development of the learning framework, it becomes a reinforcer in the model of planting religious character for early childhood. Third, the results of the learning process in the development of religious character planting models for young children seem to provide a pretty good value, this can be seen from the results of t arithmetic showing the number -14,993 which indicates a change in understanding and behavior of parents who have followed the planting model program religious character for early childhood. With an average level of change of 0.69 based on the N-Gen calculation of the scores obtained. With these achievements indicate an increase. A pretty good understanding of parents about inculcating religious character in a family. The development of religious values in the family becomes a reinforcement in the formation of character in the community which in turn will foster collective awareness in the community (Saepudin & Mulyono, 2019) CONCLUSION With various approaches that have been carried out to strengthen the results of the research carried out, it can be concluded that the model of religious character planting for early childhood in the family has given quite good results, with indicators being a change in understanding and behavior of parents in providing values religious to early childhood in the family concerned and supported with an adequate approach also from the manager of the early childhood education unit. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We thank the Directorate General of Early Childhood Education and Community Education, Ministry of Education and Culture for providing support in the form of funding and assistance during the process of developing the Religious Character Planting Model for early childhood. Do not forget to the leaders of P2PAUD and West Java Dikmas along with the ranks, peers, and academics who have helped in the development of this model. Jurnal Empowerment Volume 9 Nomor 1, Februari 2020 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 108 REFERENCE Akhyadi, A. S., & Mulyono, D. (2019). Program Parenting dalam Meningkatkan Kualitas Pendidikan Keluarga. Abdimas Siliwangi, 1(1), 1-8. Bloom, B. (1956). Taxonomy of Education Objective. New York: David McKay Company Inc. Earnshaw, E. (2000). Religious Orientation and Meaning in Life: An Exploratory Study. Missouri, USA: Departmen of Psychology: Central Modist College. Hatimah, I. (2016). Keterlibatan Keluarga dalam Kegiatan di Sekolah Dalam Perspektif Kemitraan. Pedagogia: Jurnal Ilmu Pendidikan, 14(2), 290-297. Mulyono, D. (2012). Menegaskan Karakter Pendidikan Nonformal. Empowerment, 1(1), 63-68. Mulyono, D. (2018). The Strategy of Managers in Moving Business Learning Group Program in PKBM Srikandi Cimahi City. 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