Fostering National Insight and Nationalism through a Hero-Biography Co-Curricular Activity in an Indonesian Elementary School

Abstract

Character education, particularly national insight and nationalism, remains a persistent challenge in Indonesian elementary schools, especially when instruction relies on classical, textbook-centered methods rather than contextual experience. This study aimed to describe how the "Bangga Tokoh Indonesia" co-curricular activity was planned, implemented, and evaluated at an elementary school in Tabanan, Bali, and to analyze its perceived contribution to Grade Five students' national insight and nationalism. A qualitative descriptive case study design was used, involving the Grade Five homeroom teacher and students as informants. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation, and analyzed through coding, categorization, and thematic identification. Findings showed that the activity was implemented through a structured sequence of hero introduction, narrative storytelling, discussion, creative production, and reflective evaluation, and that students reported positive change across three aspects of national insight, namely sentiment, understanding, and spirit, and four indicators of nationalism, namely unity, love for the homeland, nationalist attitudes, and appreciation of national symbols. Implementation also faced obstacles including limited time, thin instructional media, low reading initiative, difficulty grasping abstract values, and uneven presentation confidence, which the teacher addressed through visual media, contextual figure selection, and collaborative activities. These findings suggest that hero-biography co-curricular activities offer a feasible, contextually grounded strategy for strengthening elementary students' national character, while underscoring the need for adequate instructional resources and time to sustain such gains.