Abstract

Character has a significant role in influencing one’s future, so it is necessary to begin building character from an early age. Character education is not an instantaneous process but a long and complex one. Play is the best approach in early childhood education. Engklek is a traditional game often played by young children and commonly used as learning media in early childhood education. The objective of this study is to see the use of Engklek in implanting character education in young children. The study was a quantitative investigation with a descriptive approach and used average scores to explain the data. Data were obtained through observation and documentation in the specified population. The results showed that Engklek was proven to implant character education, as reflected by the average score of each indicator, namely, tolerance, discipline, self-control, and empathy. All indicators showed that the average scores (3.04; 3.01; 2.07; 2.07, respectively) were higher than its median (2.00), indicating that Engklek has a positive effect on the development of character education in young children.