Islamic Education Teacher Strategies in Facing Digital Modernization: A Case Study at SMP Terpadu Riyadlul Ulum Wadda’wah, Tasikmalaya

Abstract

Modernization and digital disruption challenge adolescent morality, including students in formal Islamic boarding schools. This study analyzes the modernization challenges faced by Islamic Religious Education (PAI) teachers and the strategies they employ to maintain the relevance of Islamic education while preserving its core values at SMP Terpadu Riyadlul Ulum Wadda’wah, Tasikmalaya. Using a qualitative instrumental case study, data were collected through passive observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and analyzed using the Miles, Huberman, and Saldana interactive model. The findings identify five major challenges: curriculum gaps, increasingly critical student attitudes, declining religious authority due to short-form digital content, internet slang that weakens verbal ethics, and resistance to gadget restrictions. Teachers address these issues through differentiated pedagogy, digital-based learning, value filtering based on tsawabit-mutaghayyirat, and role-modeling as mu’addib. These strategies foster a shift from externally enforced obedience toward intrinsic self-regulation grounded in internalized religious values.