Character-Based Bilingual Learning: Strengthening Students' Religious Identity and Personal-Social Development

Abstract

This study aims to identify the elements of character-based bilingual learning, analyse its contribution to students' religious identity, and explain its implications for personal-social development and the student support system. Employing a qualitative approach with an exploratory case study design at SMPI Nurul Istiqomah, Lumajang, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field observation, and document review, and were then analysed thematically following the model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña. The findings reveal four main elements bilingual orientation, religious habituation, character development, and relational collaboration that have not yet been integrated within an explicit curricular framework. The bilingual orientation has the potential to expand student agency, religious habituation provides a foundation for shared identity, and parental collaboration represents an important social asset. However, this potential remains latent due to the absence of simultaneous pedagogical planning, systematic assessment instruments, and professional counselling personnel that separate the disciplinary function from developmental support. This study fills a gap in the literature by connecting bilingual education, religious identity, and personal-social development in an integrated manner, and offers a multi-tiered support design as a practical solution. The limited number of informants and restricted classroom observations render these findings exploratory, and further multi-site research is recommended.