Strengthening Democratic Character through Pancasila-Based Civic Education among Indonesian University Students

Abstract

Democratic character among university students is increasingly important amid political polarization, intolerance, misinformation, and unethical participation in digital public spaces. This study examines the effects of Pancasila-based civic education on students’ democratic character and investigates the mediating role of Pancasila value internalization. A quantitative explanatory design was employed involving 250 Indonesian university students who had completed or were participating in civic education courses. Respondents were selected through purposive sampling, and data were collected using a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire. The relationships among the research constructs were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling based on Partial Least Squares. The findings demonstrate that Pancasila-based civic education positively strengthens democratic character and promotes the internalization of Pancasila values. Value internalization also contributes positively to democratic character and partially mediates the relationship between civic education and democratic character. These findings indicate that civic learning becomes more effective when students transform Pancasila from conceptual knowledge into ethical principles and social practices. Universities should therefore integrate contextual democratic issues, reflective dialogue, collaborative civic projects, and responsible digital participation into civic education to develop critical, tolerant, participatory, and ethically responsible citizens.