Moral Formation as Institutional Practice: Everyday Ethical Internalization in Primary Islamic Religious Education

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to examine Islamic Religious Education in a public primary school as an institutional space for everyday moral formation rather than merely a curricular activity. It seeks to understand how ethical values are internalized through routine pedagogical practices and social interactions in primary Islamic religious education.

Method: The research employs a qualitative case study approach conducted in a public primary school in Indonesia. Data were collected through classroom observations, in-depth interviews with teachers and students, and analysis of instructional documents related to Islamic Religious Education. The data were analyzed using thematic interpretation to identify patterns of moral instruction, habituation, and ethical meaning-making embedded in daily learning practices.

Findings: The findings indicate that moral formation in primary Islamic Religious Education occurs through continuous and repetitive practices that integrate instruction, habituation, and role modeling. Ethical values are not transmitted solely through formal teaching of religious texts but are gradually internalized through daily routines, teacher–student interactions, and implicit moral cues within the classroom environment. This process reflects an institutionalized form of ethical internalization, where moral norms become normalized as part of everyday school life rather than as explicit moral directives.

Significance: This study contributes to religious studies by reframing primary Islamic Religious Education as a site of lived religious practice and ethical formation. Rather than evaluating curricular effectiveness or learning outcomes, it conceptualizes classroom religiosity as an institutional practice through which moral subjectivity is routinely produced and stabilized. The findings provide conceptual insights into moral formation within educational institutions, offering relevance for scholars interested in religion, ethics, and institutional practice in diverse cultural contexts.