Noble Values in the Subject of Usul ad-Din at Religious Secondary Schools in Malaysia: A Preliminary Study

Abstract

The inculcation of noble values through all subjects including Usul ad-Din is one of the key principles in the national curriculum. The issue of deterioration of values among students nowadays is quite worrying, especially if it involves students from religious schools. Thus, this study aims to identify the factors influencing the inculcation of noble values among Usul ad-Din students and the importance of inculcating those values in parallel with the 16 core values. This study also aims to determine the extent of the problems pertaining to the exposure of noble values to teachers, the textbooks and Arabic language used, facilities and infrastructure, and inculcation methods and techniques for Usul ad-Din students at religious secondary schools. Apart from that, the objective of this study is to analyse the opinions of teachers regarding the extent of the problem pertaining to students’ internalisation of noble values. This study is a quantitative study using the survey instrument. A total of 34 teachers teaching the subject of Usul ad-Din, Dini Integrated Curriculum (KBD) at several government-aided religious secondary schools (SABK) were selected as the sample of the study. Data were analysed using basic descriptive statistics consisting of frequencies and percentages. The results of the study show that 85.7% of the KBD teachers agreed that they needed clear and comprehensive exposure regarding the importance, methods, and techniques of inculcating noble values that are in line with the National Education Philosophy (NEP). In addition, among the KBD teachers, 71.4% agreed and 14.3% strongly agreed that their students were still lacking in internalising the noble values in daily practices. The findings of this study have an indirect implication to the government’s efforts to produce students that are balanced in physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual aspects