Vol. 2 No. 3 (2026): September
Articles

The Role of Fiqh Teachers in Fostering Students' Religious Character: A Qualitative Study of an Islamic Junior Secondary School in East Kalimantan

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  • Aisyah Aisyah,
  • Iskandar Yusuf
Aisyah Aisyah
Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Balikpapan
Iskandar Yusuf
Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Balikpapan

Published 2026-09-18

Keywords

  • Character Education,
  • Habituation,
  • Madrasah,
  • Religious Formation,
  • Teacher Roles

Copyright (c) 2026 Aisyah Aisyah, Iskandar Yusuf (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Religious character formation is a central objective of Islamic schooling, yet the specific contribution of Fiqh teachers — whose subject concerns the very practice of worship — remains underexplored, particularly in non-Javanese contexts. This qualitative descriptive study examined how Fiqh teachers foster students' religious character at MTsN 4 Kutai Kartanegara, a state Islamic junior secondary school in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the headmaster, the Fiqh teacher and ten students, complemented by observation of religious activities and documentary analysis. Data analysis followed the interactive model of data condensation, display and conclusion drawing, and trustworthiness was addressed through source triangulation. The findings reveal five interrelated teacher roles — educator, mentor, motivator, exemplar and habit-former — whose effectiveness rests on the performative character of Fiqh instruction: religious values are transmitted through supervised practice of worship, such as ablution and prayer, rather than through explanation alone. Religious character formation is further sustained by a structured habituation programme, including morning welcome, salat Duha, Qur'an recitation, congregational prayer, memorisation and student-led religious speeches, with the headmaster's periodic evaluation operating as a quality-control loop. Supporting factors include scheduled programmes, teacher involvement and a supportive school environment; hindering factors include diverse student characters and limited family reinforcement. The study integrates instruction, exemplary modelling and ritual within a single analytical framework for the madrasah context, with practical implications for programme design and parent engagement.

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