Toward a pedagogical model: insights from student perspectives in learning Islamic Education Philosophy

This study investigates how students’ perceptions of Islamic Education Philosophy, critical-thinking experiences, interest and motivation, and perceived relevance of course content shape instructional strategies and inform the development of an instructional model for teaching Islamic education philosophy in higher education. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was administered to 474 undergraduate students from diverse study programs at an Islamic higher education institution in Indonesia. Data were collected via a structured four-point Likert questionnaire and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The model showed good reliability, validity, and predictive relevance. Student interest emerged as the strongest predictor of perceived instructional strategy, followed by critical-thinking experiences, whereas general perceptions of the course and perceived relevance did not directly influence instructional strategy once other variables were controlled. In contrast, perceived relevance was the most powerful determinant of instructional development, with instructional strategy exerting an additional positive effect. Significant indirect effects indicated that critical thinking and interest contribute to instructional development primarily through their influence on instructional strategy. These findings highlight the need for student-centred, inquiry-based, and dialogic pedagogies that sustain interest, explicitly cultivate critical thinking, and connect philosophical content with contemporary educational and societal issues. The study is limited by its single-institution, cross-sectional, self-report design, which may restrict generalisability and introduce common-method bias; future multi-site, longitudinal, and mixed-method studies are recommended to refine and test the proposed instructional model.