Moral Dilemma Discussion In Akidah Akhlak Learning: Developing Ethical Reasoning Among Madrasah Tsanawiyah Students In Bungo

Abstract

Akidah Akhlak (Islamic creed and ethics) learning in Indonesian madrasah tsanawiyah (Islamic junior secondary schools) often remains confined to a normative-cognitive approach that emphasises the memorisation of scriptural proofs, which is of limited use in developing the ethical reasoning that students need to deal with complex moral problems in the digital era. This study aims to analyse the implementation of the Moral Dilemma Discussion strategy and its impact on the development of students' ethical reasoning in Akidah Akhlak learning at MTs El Mahira Bungo, Jambi. The study adopted a qualitative approach with a case study design. The participants were 30 eighth-grade students and two Akidah Akhlak teachers selected purposively. Data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and document analysis, analysed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, and verified through source triangulation, technique triangulation, and member checking. The findings show that (1) Moral Dilemma Discussion was implemented in four stages: presentation of a controversial case, group discussion based on cognitive dissonance, value clarification, and integrative Islamic reflection; (2) the strategy shifted students' ethical reasoning from the conventional level, oriented towards social norms and fear of punishment, towards post-conventional reasoning oriented towards universal principles and maqāṣid al-sharī'ah; and (3) the teacher's role was transformed from instructor to facilitator who provokes moral dialectics, although dominance by senior students and teachers' readiness to withhold answers remained challenges. The study recommends integrating Kohlberg's moral psychology with the values of tazkiyat al-nafs in the Akidah Akhlak curriculum so as to nurture a generation that is not only ritually observant but also ethically critical and wise.