Digital Learning Media in Early Childhood Islamic Education: A State Kindergarten Case

Abstract

Digital media have become a routine part of teaching Islamic values in early childhood settings, yet little research examines what actually produces the observed changes in children's behavior. This study investigates the implementation of digital learning media in early childhood Islamic education at TK Negeri Pembina Kute Panang, how such media support value internalization, and what constrains their use. A qualitative case study design was employed over six weeks, involving four teachers, the principal, fifteen children aged five to six, and two parents, with data collected through observation, interviews, and document analysis. The findings show that behavioral change did not arise from the viewing itself but from post-viewing activities that required children to produce something, such as role-play, drawing, or card-making. Children imitated actions they had enacted rather than actions they had merely watched. The study further found that resource scarcity pushed teachers toward more post-viewing activity, so that the shortage of technology functioned as a productive constraint. The most consequential difficulty was the scarcity of culturally relevant content, which teachers addressed through re-voicing and the insertion of local examples