Survey of the Need for Implementing Javanese Culture in Kindergarten Learning: Language, Manners, Traditional Clothing, Food, and Daily Etiquette

Abstract

This study aims to identify the need for implementing Javanese culture in kindergarten education in Yogyakarta, particularly regarding the preservation of cultural identity from an early age. The research focuses on five main components of Javanese culture: the use of Javanese language, etiquette, etiquette, introduction to traditional clothing, and traditional foods. This need is crucial because various studies indicate that identity crises and cultural shifts in children are increasing due to the strong currents of globalization and the decline in local cultural practices in families and schools. This study used a survey approach involving kindergarten teachers and school principals as subjects. The research instrument was a Likert-scale questionnaire supplemented by brief interviews to enrich the data. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive quantitative methods to obtain a percentage of the actual conditions in the field. The survey was conducted in several early childhood education institutions in the Yogyakarta area. The results show strong indications of a decline in Javanese cultural practices in early childhood. 82% of respondents stated that their children experience a cultural identity crisis, 74% do not use Javanese in daily communication, 88% have not been introduced to Sabukwolo-Kencongan traditional clothing, and 72% have not been introduced to traditional Javanese foods. Additionally, 85% of children are not accustomed to using Javanese greetings such as "sugeng enjing," 65% do not address teachers with the greeting "Ma'am," and 92% do not use the expression "nyuwun sewu." These findings underscore the need for more systematic integration of Javanese culture into the early childhood education curriculum as an effort to strengthen children's cultural identity and character from an early age.