Nurturing Critical Consciousness through Faith: Integrating Fitrah-Based Education in the Transformation of Islamic Early Childhood Education

Ferdiana, Ajeng. (2025). Nurturing Critical Consciousness through Faith: Integrating Fitrah-Based Education in the Transformation of Islamic Early Childhood Education. SEA-CECCEP. 6. 162-175. 10.70896/seaceccep.v6i01.114.

Abstract

Early childhood Islamic education is important because it influences children’s spirituality, character, and worldview. However, in practice, many early childhood education institutions in Islamic countries are still oriented towards a memorization and dogmatic approach, which provides little space for the development of children’s critical thinking from an early age. This article aims to examine the integration of a fitrah-based education approach in transforming early childhood Islamic education, with a focus on its potential to foster critical awareness rooted in faith. This study employs a qualitative method, drawing on literature reviews, a case study, and interviews with the management and a teacher of the BATAS Study. This early childhood education institution implements a fitrah-based education approach. The results of the study show that education based on fitrah can encourage children to think reflectively, understand values contextually, and internalize Islamic spirituality meaningfully. The main challenges include changing the role of teachers from being full authorities in learning to facilitators and nurturers of the child’s maximum potential. The BATAS Study offers a real-life example of how integrating faith, freedom of thought, and emotional guidance can shape children into independent, empathetic, and socially aware individuals. This article recommends a more transformative and dialogical approach to Islamic education, one that humanizes children from an early age, aligning with their inherent nature.


Budi Waluyo, Ph.D.

About SIR Fellow

PhD
University of Leicester, United Kingdom. 29/01/2021

Master
Prasetiya Mulya University, Indonesia. 15/06/2009

Bachelor
State College of Accounting, Indonesia. 17/05/2005

Associate Professor
Polytechnic of State Finance STAN, Jakarta. 2023 – Present

Assistant Professor
Polytechnic of State Finance STAN, Jakarta. 2020 – 2022

Teaching Assistant
School of Business, University of Leicester, United Kingdom. 2017–2019

Lecturer
State College of Accounting, Jakarta. 2006–2015

Waluyo, B. (2024). ‘Management by accounting’: the roles of accounting in agencification in Vollmer, H. (Ed.) Handbook of Accounting in Society, Edward Elgar Publishing: Cheltenham, pp. 107–122. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781803922003.00018
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qTjGesF0huj_4aoKJgT1JMnT4r4xKuZp/view?usp=sharing

Waluyo, B. (2022). The tides of agencification: Literature development and future directions. International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 34–60.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-04-2020-0105
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FBtk1x7YuOCdBQCZ6s7n3eEobo8wJWS7/view?usp=sharing

Waluyo, B. (2021). Accounting standards for semi- utonomous agencies: experiences and lessons from Indonesia. The Indonesian Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 321–348. https://doi.org/10.33312/ijar.539
https://drive.google.com/file/d/131CrZhcSy5s1gNY9pRdoBUeSWd6yVKky/view?usp=sharing

Waluyo, B. (2018). Balancing financial autonomy and control in agencification: Issues emerging from the Indonesian higher education. International Journal of Public Sector Management, Vol. 31 No. 7, pp. 794–810.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-10-2017-0272
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JZuC7L-_yJ-ZJtZBJ7ZcPH817aJj5V2l/view?usp=sharing


Taufik Ikhsan Slamet, Ph.D.

About SIR Fellow

PhD in Instructional Systems Technology
Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA (2019-2024)

MA in Instructional Technology
Universitas Negeri Malang (2010-2012)

BA in Educational Technology 
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (2005-1010)

Assistant Professor (September 2015 - Present)
Department of Educational Technology, State University of Malang, Indonesia

Associate Instructor (August 2021 - May 2023)
Instructional Systems Technology dept., School of Education,
Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA

Graduate Research Assistant (January-December 2021)
Applied Health Science dept., School of Public Health,
Indiana University Bloomington, IN, USA

University Instructor (September 2014 - August 2015)
Department of Computer Education and Informatics, Surya College of Education,
Tangerang, Indonesia

Training Analyst (Sept 2012 – Dec 2013)
Daya Indosa Pratama, IT Solution Provider for Healthcare and Education, Indonesia

Publications:

Slamet, T. & Meng, Chen. (in press). Gamification in Collaborative Learning: Synthesizing Evidence through Meta-Analysis. Journal of Computers in Education.

Slamet, T., Brush, T., & Kwon, K. (2024). The Effects of Competition in Gamified Online Discussions on Learners’ Behavioral and Cognitive Engagement. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 1-27.


Learning Design and Technologies

This course introduces the basic principles of learning, instruction and curriculum design and guide students to be able to develop materials to support teaching and learning within the educational context. This course will be focus on the application and evaluation of technologies
and multimedia in the development of materials design and production


Educational Policy Analysis

This course is part of the program concentration for the Master of Arts in Education at Indonesian International Islamic University. It gives the student the opportunity to have a clear understanding of how policy formulates and develops in the context of a formal education setting, how policy works in education, how to analyze educational policies, and identification of who are the key interest groups and players are in the making of educational policy. The course is designed for students who likely seek to become policy analysts, researchers, or leaders in educational setting.


Education and Society

This course examines the relationships of education and society with the use of interdisciplinary approaches, since education as a discipline spans the life course and happens in many contexts within society along with its social and political dynamics. This course offers students both theoretical overview and empirical observation on how education shapes societal development and social progress by addressing various essential issues e.g. how education creates good citizens and fosters good society, how education applies in diverse cultures of a society, how education promotes social mobility and alleviates poverty, the creation of middle-class groups, economic development and individual’s income, private and social benefits of education, how education promotes political
democracy, and others.

The course sessions will also address some specific questions, among others: How should educational institutions be developed in order to play a role in making progress, improving welfare, social cohesion, social justice, and gender equality? Why do certain educational institutions with certain orientation grow and become mainstream in a society, whereas others decline or even be marginalized? The course also observes education and society by taking comparative studies in the contexts of Asian, African, and several Western countries. Given the increasing importance of the Muslim community in recent times, the course also examines a number of case studies of education in Muslim societies or in Muslim-majority countries. As the global communities have a great deal of attention for decades to education focusing on developing countries, this course will also address the role of the international agencies e.g. UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO, the World Bank in promoting quality education for a country’s development. The main focus of this part is on the important role of international development partners in promoting quality education for the betterment of a nation. The course will be enriched with cross-subject analyses through the lenses of anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, and history.