INTEGRATING TRI HITA KARANA INTO HINDU RELIGIOUS EDUCATION TO STRENGTHEN STUDENT CHARACTER

Abstract

Character education is a central objective of Hindu Religious Education, yet classroom practice may remain dominated by cognitive attainment and provide limited opportunities for students to embody religious, social, and ecological values. This study examined the integration of Tri Hita Karana in Hindu Religious Education at SMP Negeri 4 Sukasada. It focused on the forms of integration, the learning process, and the implications for student character. A qualitative descriptive-analytic design was employed. Nine purposively selected informants represented school leadership, the Hindu Religious Education teacher, counseling and social studies teachers, the school greening program, and students. Data were generated through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, then interpreted using the interactive model of data collection, condensation, display, and conclusion verification. Trustworthiness was strengthened through source and method triangulation, member checking, peer discussion, and persistent observation. The findings show that Parahyangan, Pawongan, and Palemahan were incorporated into learning objectives, materials, teaching modules, classroom methods, media, and authentic assessment. Integration was enacted through teacher modeling, habituation, contextual and collaborative learning, direct experience, reflection, positive reinforcement, and alignment with school culture. Religious character developed through disciplined prayer, reverence, sraddha, and bhakti; social character developed through cooperation, tolerance, empathy, and respectful communication; and environmental character developed through cleanliness routines, waste management, greening, and conservation activities. The study concludes that Tri Hita Karana functions effectively as a holistic value framework when it is embedded consistently across planning, classroom experience, assessment, and institutional culture rather than presented only as religious content or ceremonial practice.