REKONSTRUKSI PERAN GURU DALAM IMPLEMENTASI KURIKULUM JARINGAN SEKOLAH ISLAM TERPADU (JSIT) TERHADAP PENGEMBANGAN CRITICAL THINKING DAN PROBLEM SOLVING: STUDI PUSTAKA KUALITATIF

Abstract

Twenty-first-century education demands transformation in teacher pedagogical practices to develop students’ critical thinking, including in Islamic Religious Education (PAI) across Islamic value-based schools. This article synthesizes empirical research on teacher pedagogical practices in PAI learning and examines their contribution to critical thinking development through thematic synthesis. The study employs a qualitative thematic synthesis approach to 18 relevant empirical studies published between 2015 and 2026 and obtained from national and international journal databases. Analysis identified patterns, trends, and variations in pedagogical practices across schools, madrasah, and Integrated Islamic Schools. The synthesis indicates that active, problem- and project-based strategies, including Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Project-Based Learning (PjBL), and Inquiry Learning, are the practices most consistently associated with critical thinking development in PAI and related subjects such as Fiqh. Their effectiveness is strengthened by integrating faith, knowledge, and morals, while learning motivation developed through Islamic value internalization supports students’ engagement and readiness for higher-order thinking. However, implementation varies according to teacher competence, curriculum load, and limitations in holistic assessment. The novelty lies in comprehensively synthesizing teacher pedagogical practices in PAI across diverse Islamic value-based school contexts, where previous studies have remained fragmented and context-specific. The synthesis also provides a cross-context perspective for understanding how pedagogical strategies interact with religious values and classroom conditions in fostering sustained critical thinking among diverse learners. The findings have implications for strengthening PAI curriculum, enhancing teacher competence, and developing Islamic education policies that are more adaptive to twenty-first-century demands.