Teaching Digital Ethics through Citizenship Education in the Merdeka Curriculum at Junior High Schools in Surakarta

Abstract

Digital technology has had a far-reaching impact on society, and it is important to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to address ethical challenges in the digital world. This qualitative research aims to determine the implementation of digital ethics education in the Merdeka Curriculum at junior high school level in Surakarta. This study focuses on teaching practices in citizenship education, seeking to identify effective strategies for imparting knowledge of digital ethics. The methodology used in this research follows Miles and Huberman's qualitative research framework. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with experienced citizenship teachers and focus group discussions with students from two junior high schools in Surakarta. The findings from this research show that teachers use different strategies to teach digital ethics in the Merdeka Curriculum. These strategies include: discussion-based learning, case study analysis and lectures. The findings from this research also reveal the challenges teachers face in teaching digital ethics. These challenges are that many teachers lack the training and skills needed to teach digital ethics effectively, limited resources are available to support teachers in teaching digital ethics, some students have not shown seriousness about learning digital ethics, and find it irrelevant or boring. By analyzing the identified teaching practices, teachers can effectively meet development needs and opportunities in teaching digital ethics. This ultimately fosters responsible and ethical digital citizenship among junior high school students in Surakarta.