The Implentation of Character Education through the School Culture in Sma Negeri 1 Dompu and Sma Negeri Kilo Dompu Regency

This study aims to describe: a) the implementation of character education through the school culture in SMA Negeri 1 Dompu and SMA Negeri 1 Kilo, Dompu Regency and b) the impacts of the implementation of character education through the school culture in those two schools.This was a qualitative study employing the naturalistic approach, carried out in SMA Negeri 1 Dompu and SMA Negeri 1 Kilo. The data were collected through observations, in-depth interviews, and documents. They were analyzed by adapting the interactive model, consisting of three recurring and continuous activities, namely data reduction, data display, and data verification/conclusion drawing.Based on the research findings, the following conclusions are drawn. 1) The development of the school culture to build character in SMA Negeri 1 Dompu, consisting of planning, implementation, supervision, and evaluation, runs well. The implementation of character education through the school culture in SMA Negeri 1 Dompu runs well, supported by the school personnel and school committee. SMA Negeri 1 Dompu carries out a lot of activities to develop the school culture that the students adopt. Meanwhile, in SMA Negeri 1 Kilo, the planning of the school culture development is good but the implementation, supervision, and evaluation are not good enough. The implementation of character education through the school culture in SMA Negeri 1 Kilo does not run smoothly due to the lack of the school personnel's support and the school committee's support and the lack of activities to build the school culture. The difference in the conditions of the implementation of character education through the school culture between SMA Negeri 1 Dompu and SMA Negeri 1 Kilo depends very much on the principals' roles. The roles of the principals as leaders are capable of building a positive school culture. 2) The impacts of character building through the school culture are, among others, manifested in: a. caring cleanliness; b. beauty and tidiness c. religious service obedience; d. conformity to the rules; e. mutual respect, politeness, and family like relationship; f. honesty and responsibility; g. togetherness; h. tidy document filing and educational infrastructure; and i. stakeholders 'participation and involvement. Keywords: character education, school cultur