The Role of Islamic Religious Education Teachers in the Formation of Students’ Morality at SDN Bahalayung Bakumpai, Barito Kuala

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the role of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) teachers in forming students’ morality at SDN Bahalayung, Bakumpai, Barito Kuala, and to identify the internal and external factors that hinder this process. The study employed a descriptive qualitative approach involving the principal, IRE teacher, and students of Grades IV, V, and VI as research subjects. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation and analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. The findings indicate that the IRE teacher performs four interconnected roles: role model, guide, motivator, and supervisor. These roles are implemented through exemplary behavior, advice, direct guidance, encouragement, habituation, behavioral monitoring, and educational sanctions. The main obstacles are students’ low moral awareness, differences in student characteristics, limited instructional time, insufficient parental support, and the influence of gadgets, social media, and unfavorable peer environments. The novelty of this study lies in its integrated analysis of the four teacher roles within a rural public elementary school context and its identification of digital exposure and family-school discontinuity as interconnected challenges to moral formation