Ta'dib: Jurnal Pemikiran Pendidikan

The Implementation of the Merdeka Curriculum in Islamic Religious Education: A Study at a Junior High School in Blang Kejeren

Safwan Safwan — 2025-03-14

The introduction of the Merdeka Curriculum has reshaped how Indonesian schools translate national educational aspirations into classroom practice, yet its uptake within Islamic Religious Education (Pendidikan Agama Islam) in geographically peripheral districts remains poorly understood. This study examines how teachers at a junior high school in Blang Kejeren, Gayo Lues Regency, Aceh, enact the Merdeka Curriculum in Islamic Religious Education, and identifies the enabling and constraining conditions that shape that enactment. Employing a qualitative case-study design, data were generated through semi-structured interviews with six teachers and two school leaders, non-participant classroom observation, and documentary analysis of lesson plans and school policy artefacts. Data were analyzed thematically using the Braun and Clarke framework with the assistance of NVivo, and trustworthiness was secured through triangulation, member checking, and an audit trail. Findings indicate that teachers embraced the curriculum's differentiated and student-centered orientation conceptually but operationalized it unevenly, constrained by limited professional development, scarce contextualized teaching materials, and assessment routines that reverted to conventional cognitive testing. The Pancasila Student Profile was interpreted largely through a moral-religious lens congruent with local Gayo values, producing a distinctive vernacular adaptation of national policy. The study contributes a situated account of curriculum enactment at the intersection of national reform and local religious culture, extending policy-enactment theory to an under-researched peripheral Islamic-education setting. Practically, the findings underscore the need for context-sensitive teacher support and locally grounded assessment guidance.

Transformative Islamic Education in Building Students' Character at SMPIT Raudlatul Jannah Blangkejeren, Gayo Lues, Aceh

Marwan Marwan — 2026-03-14

Character erosion among adolescents has intensified amid rapid digitalization and value pluralism, prompting renewed scholarly attention to education models that integrate spiritual, moral, and cognitive development. Although Islamic integrated schools (SIT) have proliferated across Indonesia, empirical evidence on how transformative pedagogy operationalizes character formation in peripheral, culturally distinctive regions remain scarce. This study examines how transformative Islamic education is enacted to build students' character at SMPIT Raudlatul Jannah in Blangkejeren, Gayo Lues, a highland Gayo community in Aceh governed by Islamic law. Employing a qualitative single-case design, data were gathered through in-depth interviews with fifteen participants (school leaders, teachers, students, and parents), non-participant classroom observation, and document analysis over four months. Data were analyzed thematically using the Braun and Clarke framework with NVivo 14, and trustworthiness was established through triangulation, member checking, and an audit trail. Findings reveal that character formation emerged through four interwoven mechanisms: prophetic exemplification (uswah), habituation of worship-integrated routines, dialogic value internalization, and school–family–community synergy anchored in local Gayo Islamic norms. Transformation occurred not through content transmission but through relational modelling and reflective habituation that repositioned students as moral agents. The study advances transformative learning theory by extending it to a faith-based, non-Western adolescent setting and demonstrates that character education is most durable when institutional structures, pedagogical intent, and cultural ecology are aligned. Practically, the findings offer a replicable, context-sensitive framework for integrated Islamic schools operating in culturally embedded peripheries.

Contextualization of Qur’an Learning in Shaping Students’ Environmental Awareness at SMPN 1 Blangpegayon

Marlina Marlina — 2026-07-11

Environmental degradation has intensified calls for education systems to cultivate ecological responsibility, yet the potential of religious instruction to nurture such responsibility remains underexploited in mainstream schooling. This study examines how teachers at SMPN 1 Blangpegayon contextualize Qur’an learning to shape students’ environmental awareness, and analyses the conditions that enable and constrain this pedagogical integration. A qualitative case-study design was employed, generating data through semi-structured interviews with five Qur’an and Islamic Religious Education teachers and two school leaders, non-participant classroom observation, and analysis of teaching modules and student work. Data were analyzed thematically using the Braun and Clarke framework in NVivo, with trustworthiness secured through triangulation, member checking, and an audit trail. Findings show that teachers connected Qur’anic themes of stewardship (khalifah), prohibition of corruption on earth (fasad), and moderation to concrete local environmental problems, translating scriptural interpretation into practical conduct such as waste management and tree planting. Contextualization was most effective when scriptural exegesis was paired with experiential activity, but it was constrained by limited eco-pedagogical training and the absence of environmental indicators in assessment. The study contributes a situated model of value-based environmental education that links Qur’anic hermeneutics to place-based ecological practice, extending eco-pedagogy into the domain of religious instruction. Practically, it offers a transferable approach for integrating environmental awareness into Qur’an learning without displacing its devotional aims.

The Application of the Discovery Learning Method in Teaching Zakat to Junior High School Students at Safinatussalam Islamic Boarding School

Muhammad Riza — 2026-03-14

Zakat occupies a constitutive position in Islamic practice, yet its treatment in secondary religious instruction is frequently reduced to the memorisation of thresholds and ratios, producing computational fluency without moral or civic engagement. This study examines how the discovery learning method is enacted in zakat instruction and what forms of learning it generates in a setting where the subject matter is doctrinally fixed rather than empirically negotiable. Using a qualitative single-case design with embedded units, the study was conducted over one academic semester at Safinatussalam Islamic Boarding School in Indonesia, involving one fiqh teacher, twenty-four Grade VIII students, six focal learners, and two institutional informants. Data were generated through eight non-participant lesson observations, semi-structured and stimulated-recall interviews, one focus group discussion, and the analysis of 96 student work artefacts, and were interpreted through reflexive thematic analysis supported by NVivo 14. Findings show that the teacher relocated the object of discovery from the ruling itself to the reasoning that connects a ruling to a contemporary case, producing a pattern the study terms bounded discovery; that guidance was calibrated rather than withdrawn; and that gains in case-based reasoning and moral disposition outpaced gains in computation. Institutional time pressure, examination logic, and heterogeneous prior knowledge constrained the deepest phases of inquiry. The study contributes an epistemically differentiated account of discovery learning that specifies what is discoverable in a revealed-knowledge domain, extends inquiry research beyond its science and mathematics heartland into pesantren education, and offers teachers a defensible design logic for teaching normative content without abandoning learner agency.

The Exploration of PAI Teachers’ Strategies in Implementing Inclusive Learning for Students with Special Needs at MIN 2 Gayo Lues

Susanti Arian Fitry — 2026-07-14

Inclusive education has become a global policy imperative, yet its realization within faith-based instruction in Indonesian madrasah settings remains poorly understood. This study explores the pedagogical strategies employed by Islamic Religious Education (Pendidikan Agama Islam, PAI) teachers in implementing inclusive learning for students with special needs at MIN 2 Gayo Lues, a state Islamic elementary school in a rural highland district of Aceh, Indonesia. Adopting a qualitative single-case study design, data were generated through semi-structured interviews with four PAI teachers, non-participant classroom observation, and document analysis over a three-month period. Data were analyzed thematically following Braun and Clarke’s reflexive procedure, supported by NVivo 14, with trustworthiness ensured through triangulation, member checking, and an audit trail. Findings indicate that PAI teachers enacted inclusion through four interlocking strategies: differentiated and multisensory delivery of religious content, peer-mediated spiritual scaffolding, affective relational accommodation grounded in Islamic values of compassion (rahmah), and improvised curricular modification compensating for the absence of formal individualized education programs. These strategies were constrained by limited specialist training, absent shadow teachers, and minimal institutional support. The study’s novelty lies in theorizing inclusion within PAI as a value-mediated rather than merely technical practice, extending Universal Design for Learning into a faith-based, resource-constrained madrasah context underrepresented in the literature. Practically, the findings inform madrasah-specific teacher professional development and evidence-based inclusion policy for religious education in peripheral regions.

Tipe dan Gaya Kepemimpinan Pendidikan Islam

Asnawi Asnawi — 2026-08-05

This study is a library research that aims to analyze the types and styles of leadership relevant to Islamic education management. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, this study identifies several leadership types that have been applied in Islamic educational institutions, namely transformational, instructional, participative, and value-based leadership. Leadership styles that are considered effective in this context, such as consultative, collaborative, and visionary, are also examined based on relevant sources. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding and applying leadership types and styles that are in line with Islamic values. Strong leadership grounded in Islamic values has a positive impact on organizational culture, the quality of teaching, and staff development in Islamic educational institutions. Through this library research, a deeper understanding is obtained regarding the leadership types and styles relevant to Islamic education management. The findings provide guidance for Islamic education leaders in leading and managing their institutions. This study also contributes to a better understanding of the role of leadership in Islamic education and can serve as a basis for further research in this field.