Integrating Spiritual Reflection and Social Ethics: Islamic Character Education for Indonesian Migrant Children in a Non-Formal Setting

Sarah Lady Diana Islamy; Ahmad Hafidz Lubis; Haidar Idris

doi:10.32806/jf.v15i03.2387

Authors

Sarah Lady Diana Islamy Universitas Islam Syarifuddin Lumajang, Indonesia
Ahmad Hafidz Lubis Universitas Islam Syarifuddin Lumajang, Indonesia
Haidar Idris Universitas Islam Syarifuddin Lumajang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32806/jf.v15i03.2387

Keywords:

Islamic character education; , spiritual self-reflection; , social ethics;, Indonesian migrant children;, non-formal education.

Abstract

The moral and religious formation of Indonesian migrant children abroad is constrained by restricted access to formal schooling and by assimilative pressures in the host country. This article examines how Islamic character education at a Community Learning Center and Non-Formal Education Program (PKBM PNF) under the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur integrates spiritual self-reflection and social ethics to shape learners' character. Existing research focuses on formal schools and pesantren in Indonesia; this study addresses a non-formal institution serving a labor-migrant diaspora. A qualitative transcendental-phenomenological design was used. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and document analysis with 12 purposively selected participants: 8 migrant-child learners, 2 teachers, 1 program manager, and 1 staff member. Analysis proceeded through data reduction, thematization, and source–method triangulation. Three themes emerged. Daily worship habituation and Qur'anic learning cultivated religious awareness and spiritual self-reflection; teacher exemplification and adab mentoring cultivated social ethics expressed as respect, discipline, and responsibility; and the two processes did not operate in isolation but reinforced one another, a link learners stated themselves, producing a character that was spiritually grounded, emotionally regulated, and socially aware. The study argues that PKBM PNF functions not merely as a service provider but as a strategic site of character formation and religious-identity reinforcement for undocumented migrant children. It contributes evidence that effective Islamic character education depends less on institutional status or resources than on consistent habituation, teacher modeling, and the deliberate fusion of spiritual and social learning.

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