Representing cooperation and independence in Indonesian primary textbooks through transitivity and modality

Character values in language textbooks become pedagogically consequential through the roles and choices assigned to learners. This study examines how cooperation and independence are represented through transitivity and modality in six government-issued Indonesian primary student textbooks. An exploratory qualitative document analysis purposively selected eighteen instructional or narrative episodes across Grades I–VI. Clauses were interpreted within their surrounding tasks, with attention to participants, process types, obligation, permission, ability, and opportunities for meaningful and mindful learning. Four patterns emerged: cooperation as distributed action, participation negotiated through obligation and permission, independence supported by assistance and bounded choice, and reflection connecting action with personal judgment. Contrasting cases showed that a permission expression in a grammar exercise did not itself authorize learner choice, while early-grade reflection challenged a simple progression from elementary activity to upper-grade depth. The analysis suggests that character representation depends on how linguistic resources organize responsibility and reasoning, rather than on value labels alone. These findings identify textual affordances for deep learning; they do not establish classroom implementation, character development, or learning effects.