fading of social interaction in children because they
no longer have to communicate directly with friends
and neighbors so that it also fades the communication
skills and social spirit of children, who are the future
generations of the nation and future leaders of the
nation. This is also very dangerous for the survival of
the nation's character. The changing times and
technological developments in the digital era have
made it easier for humans to carry out activities
independently, individually, without the help of
others. This can result in the erosion of the values of
communication, social, cooperation, and mutual
cooperation in children, who are the nation's next
generation.
Currently, the rapid development of technology
also makes traditional games increasingly
marginalized. Traditional games have several
advantages, especially in instilling character values in
children. Dharmamulya explained that traditional
games contain several positive values for the
development of children's character, including fun,
friendship, freedom, obedience, mutual cooperation,
responsibility and democracy (Munisa, 2020). The
purpose of early childhood education is for children
to become complete human beings with noble,
intelligent, and skilled personalities, able to
communicate, socialize, and cooperate with others,
and able to live in a society, state, and happy. based
on the characteristics of the Indonesian nation. Based
on these objectives, communication skills and social
skills are very important to achieve a complete
personality in accordance with the cultural
characteristics of the Indonesian nation.
Communication skills and social spirit are needed,
because humans are actually social creatures (zoon
politicon-Aristotle).
The school environment is a suitable environment
for children to socialize. In a social environment,
children will learn to relate to peers, teachers and
people in the school environment (Istianti et al.,
2016). Character education is an educational concept
that is currently being implemented. Apply the
concept of moral education and shape the character of
students who have political ability and integrity.
Hariyanto explained that personality is the basic value
of every person, and is formed due to environmental
influences and genetic influences that shape
personality. Therefore, the cultivation of character
values must begin at an early age. Lickona revealed
that without character values, one cannot live happily
and social life cannot run smoothly. Without good
character values, humans cannot achieve a life that
respects the dignity of all people (Kirom, 2017).
Social attitude is personal awareness, which
determines the correct and repetitive behavior of
social objects. Social attitudes are not expressed by
one person alone, but are noticed by people in the
group. The object is a social object (many from a
group of people) and is stated repeatedly. If the social
environment in question encourages or provides
opportunities for children to develop actively, then
children will be able to achieve mature social
development. Conversely, if the social environment
is not good, then the child's social attitude will often
show deviant behavior. In schools, teachers play an
important role in fostering students' social attitudes.
In the classroom, the teacher plays an important role
in guiding students to achieve the goals to be
achieved, including the development of social
attitudes. The goal is to train students to become
human beings who believe and fear God Almighty,
have noble character, are healthy, knowledgeable,
capable, creative, independent, and are democratic
and responsible citizens (Law of the Republic of
Indonesia No 20 of 2003).
In order to develop children's communication
skills and social skills in the learning process outside
the classroom, a traditional game that can improve
children's communication skills and social attitudes is
gobak sodor (Fakhriyani, 2018). The selection of the
Gobak Sodor game was based on various
considerations. As said by (Angraini & Nurhafizah,
2020), the Sodor game requires good strategy, agility,
cooperation, leadership, honesty and good intuition to
play. Gobag Sodor is a game played in a square-
shaped arena bounded by chalk lines. It consists of
two teams, each with three guards, one team as
guards, the other as players, and teams of alternate
players. Will try to hit the line. Behind the arena (the
door), a guard will stop him. If a player is touched by
a defender, the two teams will take turns as a player
and a defender (Ariani, 1998). Gobak sodo is a team
sport game that requires teamwork. In addition to
cooperation and community participation in teams,
the Gobak Soodor game is also a sport with complex
sports elements. In practice, the game of gobak sodor
involves mastering various elements of skills,
including mastery of technical skills, tactical skills,
physical and mental skills (Ariani, 1998).
Departing from the above phenomenon, the
researcher is interested in describing the children's
game gobak sodor to foster communication skills and
social attitudes. This is the reason why researchers are
interested in conducting research with the title "The
benefits of the traditional game of Gobak Sodor to
improve communication skills & social skills in early
childhood".