THE INFLUENCE OF FITRAH BASED LEARNING ON STRENGTHENING THE CHARACTER OF STUDENTS

Education that does not depart from human nature will fail to produce a generation that has the best specific role in civilization. To overcome the problem of the personality of the nation's children, strengthening character education is the entry point for making overall improvements to education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of nature-based learning on strengthening student character. This study uses a quantitative approach which will examine the effect of "Fitrah Based Learning" in learning and its effect on strengthening student character. This research was conducted in January-February 2023 at the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training UIN Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau. The sampling technique used random sampling technique with a total sample of 333 respondents. The data used is primary data by distributing questionnaires. The data analysis used is simple linear regression with SPSS. The results of the study show that the majority of fitrah based learning variables are very good as much as 74% and the majority student character variables are as much as 77%. The results of the Linear Regression test showed that the t observation was 9.343 and the p-value (sig.) was 0.000. Because the p-value = 0.00 is smaller than the value α = 0.05, then H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted, so it can be concluded that there is an influence of Fitrah Based Learning on strengthening student character


Introduction
The Islamic perspective states that a child is born in a state of fitrah, which means they possess a potential strength capable of accepting goodness and believing in and practicing a good life. Fitrah is the potential (Eni, 2021). Therefore, education must be able to develop and nurture the entire foundational potential (fitrah) of human beings, especially their psychological potential, without neglecting their physical potential. This is in line with the opinion of al-Ghazali, who stated that Islamic education should activate and optimize the spiritual potential of students without neglecting their physical potential (Aziz & Mubin, 2021).
Education that does not originate from the fitrah of human beings will fail to produce a generation that fulfills its specific role in civilization. If someone is not educated to discover their specific role, they will not fulfill their purpose as a servant of Allah and a Khalifah of Allah on Earth (Hadi Purnomo, 2016). This can lead to intellectual pressure and a tendency to focus solely on the development of intellect, which often results in negative consequences for children, such as boredom and imbalanced personality development, leading to the emergence of amoral behavior (Ayun, 2017).
Furthermore, in addressing the issue of the national character of children, Minister of Education and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy, emphasizes that strengthening character education is the gateway to comprehensive educational improvement. The movement to strengthen character education is considered the foundation and essential spirit of education, and it becomes the responsibility of schools as formal educational institutions to bear the significant burden in fulfilling this educational mission (Komara, 2018). The strengthening of the character of the nation's future leaders is implemented through the movement of Character Education Strengthening, which has been rolled out since 2016 in the revised 2017 edition of the Curriculum 2013. This is in accordance with the mandate of Law No. 20 of 2003 concerning the National Education System, Article 3 (Pemerintah Republik Indonesia, 2003), which states that : "National education serves to develop capabilities, shape character, and cultivate a dignified civilization of the nation in order to enlighten the lives of the people. National education aims to develop the potential of learners to become individuals who have faith and devotion to the Almighty God, possess noble character, are healthy, knowledgeable, competent, creative, independent, and become responsible citizens who are democratic".
The Educational Personnel Training Institution is an institution responsible for producing professional educators and has the main task of providing education for prospective educational personnel at all levels and areas of expertise (Suprayogi & Eko, 2020). Therefore, it is crucial for the organizers of the Educational Personnel Training Institution to have thoughtful considerations and policies in place to enhance the quality of their graduates.
The quality of graduates produced by the Educational Personnel Training Institution is related to the competency of the educators (Bakar, 2018). The curriculum of the institution includes the competencies that graduating students should possess, which align with the requirements of the revised 2017 edition of the Curriculum 2013.
In other words, the changes in the revised 2017 edition of the Curriculum 2013 are not limited to schools alone but also extend to the curriculum of Higher Education Institutions, particularly the Educational Personnel Training Institution. This is because prospective educators in schools are the graduates of the Educational Personnel

Training Institution
The Educational Personnel Training Institution should provide students with theoretical understanding as well as direct practical experiences in guidance and teaching strategies. The aim is for students, who are prospective teachers, to gain knowledge and implement it in the field from the beginning, equipping them with comprehensive pedagogical, personal, social, and professional competencies (Gardner & Tillotson, 2019). By mastering these competencies holistically, it is hoped that prospective teachers can guide students in exploring their fitrah (potential), enabling them to become individuals with the desired character according to religion, nation, and country.
The author sees the importance of understanding and exploring the concept of Fitrah Based Learning as a model and approach to education that is highly relevant in shaping the character of students. It is not limited to the cognitive aspect but also focuses on character development, which is crucial for the achievement of the nation's aspirations for high-quality and qualified resources. Furthermore, the author is curious about how this concept is implemented in the learning process at the Faculty of Islamic Education and Teacher Training, UIN Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau.

Results and Discussion
The hypothesis tested in this study is whether there is an influence of Fitrah Based Learning on the strengthening of the character of students at the Faculty of Islamic Education and Teacher Training, UIN Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau?. In the hypothesis testing, data analysis was conducted using linear regression in SPSS.

Figure 1. Implementation of Fitrah Based Learning
Based on the above Figure 1, it can be observed that the implementation of Fitrah Based Learning is mostly very good, accounting for 74%, while a small portion is not good, accounting for 1%.

Figure 2. Character of Students
Based on the above figure 2, it can be seen that the character of students is mostly very good, accounting for 78%, while a small portion is less good, accounting for 3%. Fitrah-based education essentially involves educating children in accordance with their inherent nature. Therefore, the task of parents in educating their children is actually quite simple, which is to nurture their innate disposition in order to raise them into virtuous individuals (Santosa, 2017). Fitrah represents the fundamental potential within humans that possesses qualities of goodness and purity, enabling them to receive external stimuli (influences) to attain truth and perfection.
The word "Fitrah" etymologically originates from the Arabic word "Fathara," which means to split or cleave. In terminology, Fitrah is defined as the innate ability or There are several necessary elements in implementing Fitrah-based education.
First, it involves establishing a community with shared goals and perspectives on nurturing and strengthening faith in the education of children. This is because the main foundation of educational objectives is faith. Second, it requires categorizing children's age stages and identifying their individual potentials. Third, understanding the framework that serves as a reference in Fitrah-based education is essential. Fourth, developing a personalized curriculum is necessary to identify the potentials of each child. Finally, to support the improvement of a child's Fitrah, mapping activities that enhance the mastery of each Fitrah should be created (Ramadlan, 2022;Burhanuddin et al., 2021). addition to educational institutions, the family also plays a crucial and key role in education by involving parents in the educational process (Santosa, 2017).
Character education is the education aimed at shaping an individual's personality through moral education, which is reflected in their actual actions, such as good behavior, honesty, responsibility, respect for the rights of others, hard work, and so on (Hermanto, 2020). Therefore, character education is a system that instills character values in learners, which includes components of knowledge, individual awareness, determination, and the willingness and action to implement these values, both towards God Almighty, oneself, fellow human beings, the environment, and the nation, in order to create virtuous individuals (insan kamil).
According to the Language Center of the Ministry of National Education, "karakter" in Indonesian refers to innate qualities, heart, soul, personality, moral values, behavior, personal traits, temperament, and disposition. On the other hand, "berkarakter" refers to having a personality, behaving, possessing certain qualities, disposition, and traits (Pamungkas et al., 2021). Character education is the education aimed at shaping an individual's personality through moral education, which is reflected in their actual actions, such as good behavior, honesty, responsibility, respect for the rights of others, hard work, and so on (Munir, 2019). There are five main character values derived from Pancasila, which serve as the priority for the development of the Character Education Strengthening movement, namely religiosity, nationalism, integrity, independence, and mutual cooperation (Atriyanti, 2020). Each value does not exist or develop independently but interacts with one another, develops dynamically, and forms a cohesive individual.
Education in higher education institutions will run smoothly if it adheres to several principles of character education. The Ministry of Education and Culture provides several recommended principles to achieve effective character education, namely: 1) Promoting fundamental ethical values as the basis of character; 2) Identifying character comprehensively to include thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; 3) Using sharp, proactive, and effective approaches to build character; 4) Creating a caring school community; 5) Providing opportunities for students to demonstrate good behavior; 6) Having a meaningful and challenging curriculum that respects all students, builds their character, and helps them succeed; 7) Fostering self-motivation in students; 8) Involving all staff members as a moral community that shares responsibility for character education and remains committed to the same fundamental values; 9) Establishing moral leadership and broad support in building character education initiatives; 10) Engaging families and community members as partners in characterbuilding efforts; 11) Evaluating the character of the school, the function of school staff as character educators, and the manifestation of positive character in students' lives (Julaiha, 2014).
Character education aims to enhance the quality of education and its outcomes in Teacher Education Institutions towards the achievement of forming students' character and noble morals holistically, comprehensively, and balanced, in accordance with the graduate competency standards. Through character education, it is expected that students will be able to independently enhance and apply their knowledge, evaluate and internalize noble values and morals, and personalize them in their daily behavior. Therefore, the Teacher Education Institution should be able to fulfill its role effectively in carrying out both the pre-service education function and the in-service education function. The function of the teacher education institution should not only be expanded to provide pre-service education for teachers but also contribute significantly to their further education. The provision and preparation of educational personnel, including kindergarten teachers, essentially fall under the responsibility of the Teacher Education Institution (Sugiarti, 2022).

Conclusion and Recommendations
Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the implementation of Fitrah-Based Learning has a significant influence on strengthening the character of students in the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Education at UIN Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau.