The Social Construction of Moral Authority in Children’s Character Learning: A Media-Based Perspective
Keywords:
Character Education, Media Characters, Moral Authority, Digital MediaAbstract
This study examines children’s preferences in learning character values from non-human media characters compared to real human figures. Employing a descriptive quantitative approach, data were collected through a questionnaire administered to children aged 8–12 years, focusing on their attitudes toward fictional media characters and adults as sources of moral learning. The findings reveal that children tend to show stronger positive preferences toward non-human characters, indicating that media-based figures function as influential moral references in contemporary childhood. These results suggest a potential shift in moral authority from parents and teachers to media characters within children’s character education. This study highlights the need to reconsider character education strategies in the digital era by acknowledging the growing role of media in shaping children’s moral understanding.
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