Managing Problem-Based Learning to Strengthen Students’ Understanding of Rukhsah in Islamic Religious Education: A Comparative Multiple-Case Study

Abstract

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is widely recognized as a contextual approach in Islamic Religious Education (IRE), yet limited research has examined how its implementation is managed systematically across different school contexts, particularly in teaching rukhsah. This study compared the management of PBL-based rukhsah instruction at two public junior high schools in Karawang Regency, Indonesia. Using a qualitative multiple-case design, data were collected through interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis and examined through within-case and cross-case analysis. The findings show that effective implementation depended on the integration of planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling functions with contextual problem design, heterogeneous group organization, teacher scaffolding, authentic assessment, remedial support, and academic supervision. The two schools adapted PBL differently according to their environments: the industrial context of SMP Negeri 2 Klari encouraged worker-related cases and wider use of digital references, whereas the agrarian context of SMP Negeri 2 Ciampel emphasized local experiences and community resources. Across both sites, students showed stronger applied understanding through their ability to classify cases, apply religious principles, compare alternatives, and justify solutions. The study’s main contribution is an integrated POAC–PBL framework showing that managerial coherence, contextual adaptation, teacher scaffolding, and continuous evaluation jointly support the application of Islamic jurisprudential knowledge.