Teaching Responsibility through the Pedagogical Competence of Christian Religious Education Teachers Based on Exodus 17:12 at SDN Tuhegeo II Gunungsitoli Idanoi

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of teaching responsibility through the pedagogical competence of Christian Religious Education (CRE) teachers based on the biblical reflection of Exodus 17:12 at SDN Tuhegeo II Gunungsitoli Idanoi. Responsibility is a fundamental character value that supports students’ moral, social, and academic development, yet it often remains underdeveloped when taught only at a conceptual level. This research addresses the need for pedagogically grounded and theologically integrated instruction to foster responsibility as a lived value among elementary school students. The study employed a quantitative experimental design using a one-group pretest–posttest model. The participants consisted of 45 Christian students selected through total sampling. The experimental treatment involved the implementation of pedagogically competent CRE instruction integrating learner-centered strategies, cooperative learning, reflective discussion, and contextualized biblical storytelling based on Exodus 17:12. Data were collected using a responsibility scale questionnaire administered before and after the intervention and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a paired sample t-test. The results revealed a significant increase in students’ responsibility levels after the intervention, indicating that pedagogically competent CRE teaching had a positive effect on responsibility development. Students demonstrated improved task completion, accountability, discipline, and cooperative behavior. The findings suggest that responsibility can be effectively cultivated when biblical values are integrated into learning through appropriate pedagogical strategies. This study concludes that the pedagogical competence of CRE teachers plays a crucial role in translating theological teachings into meaningful educational experiences. The integration of Exodus 17:12 provides a strong spiritual and moral framework for character formation. The findings contribute to the field of Christian Religious Education by offering empirical evidence on the role of pedagogy in faith-based character education and provide practical implications for teachers and educational institutions.