Institutionalizing Character Education: An Ecological Framework for Indonesia's Seven Habits Movement

Abstract

Character education has become a strategic priority in Indonesia's educational reform agenda. However, its implementation remains fragmented, program-oriented, and insufficiently institutionalized within school governance and organizational culture. This article aims to develop a conceptual framework for institutionalizing the Seven Habits Movement of Great Indonesian Children (G7KAIH) by integrating Institutional Theory, the Whole-School Approach, Ecological Systems Theory, and the perspective of Nonformal Education. This study employs a conceptual paper design using an integrative literature review to synthesize contemporary scholarly literature, major theories of character education, national education policies, and official documents related to G7KAIH. The review proposes the Institutional–Ecological Lifelong Character Education Framework (IELCEF), which conceptualizes character education as a sustainable ecosystem rather than a school-based intervention. The framework demonstrates that effective institutionalization requires the integration of leadership, organizational culture, curriculum, character habituation, family engagement, and community participation within a lifelong learning system. It further emphasizes the strategic role of Nonformal Education in connecting formal, nonformal, and informal learning through community-based participation and family empowerment. This study contributes to the literature by introducing an institutional–ecological framework that expands the theoretical perspective on character education while offering practical guidance for implementing G7KAIH in a systematic, participatory, and sustainable manner within Indonesian schools.