Analysis of the Foundations of Moral Education for Elementary School Students from the Perspective of Pragmatism and Islam in Order to Present Educational Implications

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the foundations of moral education for elementary school students from the perspectives of pragmatism and Islam in order to derive educational implications. The research corpus consisted of a set of key educational and philosophical texts in the two domains of pragmatism and Islam, from which 20 sources (10 from each domain) were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using the documentary analysis method and were analyzed through qualitative content analysis with a descriptive–comparative approach based on Brady’s model, consisting of description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison. The findings provided four key answers to the research questions. First, the foundations of moral education from the viewpoint of pragmatism included five themes: “the experiential nature of morality, the cultivation of moral habits in everyday life, continuous reflection and revision of moral beliefs, moral consensus, individualistic utilitarianism in morality, and moral relativism.” Second, the foundations of moral education from the perspective of Islam included five themes: “purification of the self, modeling and divine guidance, education based on righteous action, justice and compassion in social relations, and moral absolutism.” Third, the similarities between the perspectives of pragmatism and Islam included the importance and necessity of action and experience in moral education, the requirement of moral reconsideration, and an emphasis on social morality. Their differences included the relativistic view of pragmatism versus the absolutist view of Islam (derived from a divine source) regarding the nature of morality; the source of morality in pragmatism being based on experience and application, whereas in Islam it is based on revelation, divine nature (fiṭrah), and the tradition of the Prophet and the Ahl al-Bayt; and the method of moral education in pragmatism relying on practical participation, consensus, and dialogue, whereas in Islam it relies on purification of the self, modeling, and guided instruction. Fourth, based on these findings, several implications for the moral education of elementary school students were proposed, including active and experiential learning, integrating religious teachings with daily activities, designing moral situations for practicing decision-making, structured dialogue and reflection, modeling and teacher-led moral instruction, establishing moral routines and habits, family and community involvement, process-oriented and multidimensional assessment, strengthening the spiritual dimension and age-appropriate development of innate disposition, and developing teacher guide packages and practical instructional materials.