INTEGRATION OF PAULO FREIRE'S DIALOGICAL PEDAGOGY AND TARBIYAH RUHIYAH IN ISLAMIC EDUCATION

Khalid Muddatstsir; Syamsul Rijal; Firdaus M. Yunus

doi:10.61796/jheaa.v3i1.1645

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Khalid Muddatstsir
khalidmuddatstsir.fuf@ar-raniry.ac.id
State Islamic University Ar-Raniry of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Syamsul Rijal State Islamic University Ar-Raniry of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Firdaus M. Yunus State Islamic University Ar-Raniry of Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026): Journal of Higher Education and Academic Advancement

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January 15, 2026

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Objective: Modern education has been caught in a technocratic view that emphasizes knowledge and technical mastery to the exclusion of critical as well as spiritual awareness. Meanwhile, while the critical pedagogy of Paulo Freire and the spiritual education of Islam both share a vision of education as consciousness-raising, they are often distinct in academic scholarship and practice. This article seeks to develop an integrative theoretical perspective from Paulo Freire's problem-posing education and Tarbiyah Ruhiyah in Islamic education. Method: This study is qualitative and adopted a critical literature review design as well as a conceptual framework development. Results: The findings of the study demonstrate that: 1) The similarity in the orientation of education as a process of awareness is that there is a fundamental similarity between Freire's critical pedagogy and Islamic spiritual education: both make education a process of awareness. 2) The similitude in pedagogical mechanisms: dialogue and muhasabah. The fact that there is an analogy between Freire's dialogue and tawjih (push) in spiritual education is because there is a similarity in the mechanism of dialogue by Freire with muhasabah (introspection) in spiritual education. Egalitarian dialogue creates shared knowledge through problematization of reality, while muhasabah is a critical evaluation of the self. 3) The compatibility of action orientation: praxis and righteous deeds. The compatibility between Freire's praxis (reflection-action) and righteous deeds in Islam is that praxis is about social transformation, and righteous deeds are about intentions and higher values. The two combined form a holistic model of action in which social transformation and personal (spiritual) change go hand in hand. Social work, in the community analyzed, is worship because it combines deliberation with ritual, and it uses religious social capital for praxis. Novelty: This article introduces an integrative theoretical perspective by combining Paulo Freire's problem-posing education with Tarbiyah Ruhiyah in Islamic education, providing a unique approach to merging critical pedagogy and spiritual education into a holistic model for personal and social transformation.

Muddatstsir, K., Rijal , S., & Yunus , F. M. (2026). INTEGRATION OF PAULO FREIRE’S DIALOGICAL PEDAGOGY AND TARBIYAH RUHIYAH IN ISLAMIC EDUCATION . Journal of Higher Education and Academic Advancement, 3(1), 58–71. https://doi.org/10.61796/jheaa.v3i1.1645

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