STRENGTHENING STUDENTS’ DIGITAL ETHICS THROUGH KI HAJAR DEWANTARA’S TRI-CENTER SOCIAL STUDIES LEARNING

Abstract

The rapid advancement of digital technology has transformed educational practices while simultaneously creating ethical challenges for students, including cyberbullying, digital plagiarism, misinformation, privacy violations, and the irresponsible use of social media and artificial intelligence (AI). These challenges indicate that digital literacy alone is insufficient without strengthening digital ethics and moral responsibility. This study aims to analyze the role of Social Studies learning grounded in Ki Hajar Dewantara's Tri-Center Education philosophy in strengthening students' digital ethics in the digital era. A qualitative approach was employed through a literature review by analyzing and synthesizing 42 scholarly publications published between 2018 and 2025, comprising peer-reviewed national and international journal articles, books, and policy documents from UNESCO and OECD. The literature was synthesized using a thematic synthesis approach involving literature identification, screening, coding, categorization, and interpretation to identify key themes and conceptual relationships. The findings demonstrate that integrating the three educational environments family, school, and community—creates a holistic educational ecosystem that effectively promotes ethical digital citizenship. Social Studies learning contributes to developing critical thinking, empathy, responsibility, integrity, collaboration, respect for diversity, and ethical decision-making in digital contexts. Furthermore, Ki Hajar Dewantara's educational principles of Ing Ngarsa Sung Tuladha, Ing Madya Mangun Karsa, and Tut Wuri Handayani, reinforced by the Among System, emphasize teachers' roles as moral exemplars, facilitators, and mentors in guiding students toward responsible digital behavior. The study's primary conceptual contribution is the development of an integrative framework that connects Tri-Center Education, character education, digital citizenship, AI ethics, and Social Studies learning as a foundation for strengthening students' digital ethics. This framework offers a culturally grounded and humanistic approach to preparing digitally responsible citizens who demonstrate moral integrity, critical awareness, social responsibility, and constructive participation in the increasingly interconnected digital society of the twenty-first century.