The Role of Islamic Religious Education Teachers in Forming the Morals of Students at SMK Indonesia Membangun 2 Medan

EDUSOSHUM Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities Vol. 5, No. 2, August 2025, pp. 232-240 ISSN 2776-5229 1 232 The Role of Islamic Religious Education Teachers in Forming the Morals of Students at SMK Indonesia Membangun 2 Medan 12 Maya Santika1*, Hasan Basri2 Universitas Pembangunan Panca Budi Medan, Indonesia *Corresponding author: ARTICLE INFO Article history Received May 29, 2025 Revisied June 5, 2025 Accepted June 24, 2025 Keywords: The Role of Teachers, Islamic Religious Education, Morals ABSTRACT The low implementation of moral values among students at SMK Indonesia Membangun 2 Medan, can be seen from the behavior of lack of discipline, low responsibility, and disrespect towards teachers and peers. This condition is exacerbated by the negative influence of the environment outside the school, such as free association and uncontrolled use of social media. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the role of Islamic Religious Education teachers in forming morals of students at SMK Indonesia Membangun 2 Medan. The research method used is qualitative descriptive with a phenomenological approach. Data collection techniques use observation, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis techniques through the stages: data condensation, data presentation, and drawing conclusions and verification. The results of the study indicate that Islamic Religious Education teachers at SMK Indonesia Membangun 2 Medan play an active role as educators, moral educators, and role models who guide students through various strategies, such as role models, habituation of worship, personal approaches, and strengthening Islamic values in students' daily lives. Teachers also face various challenges, such as lack of parental involvement and factors in students' social environment. Meanwhile, teachers' efforts in forming akhlakul karimah remain significant in influencing students' positive attitudes and behaviors. 1. INTRODUCTION Problems regarding morals and human behavior, from the past until now the discussion about morals is never ending, This can be seen from the many young generations becoming a serious concern in the world of education. Especially in the midst of the era of globalization which is marked by the flow of information that is so fast and free, students are very vulnerable to negative influences from outside, such as misuse of technology, hedonistic lifestyles, and lack of moral control in interacting (Panggabean et al, 2022). This problem is increasingly visible, based on the results of research conducted by Fahdini et al (2021), that student behavior at school tends to ignore moral and religious values, such as loss of respect for teachers, low social concern, and high conflict between students. This condition demands a major role from educational institutions, especially Islamic Religious Education (PAI) teachers, in re-instilling the values of akhlakul karimah in students (Badruddin & Shidiq, 2022).The importance of forming good morals is EDUSOSHUM Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities Vol. 5, No. 2, August 2025, pp. 232-240 ISSN 2776-5229 45 233 emphasized in Islamic teachings, as narrated in the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, namely: ِ ‫ﺖ ِﻷَُﲤَِّﻢ َﻣَﻜﺎِرَم اْﻷَْﺧَﻼِق‬ ُ ْ‫إِﱠﳕَﺎ ﺑُﻌﺜ‬ Meaning: Indeed, I was sent to perfect noble morals." (HR. Ahmad) (Al-Hilali, 2005). This hadith emphasizes that the main purpose of the Prophet Muhammad's sending was to perfect human morals (Nurmilah & Irfan, 2024). The importance of instilling morals in every human being, so someone who has noble morals will be able to stay away from the bad influence of various negative things around him.The role of Islamic Religious Education teachers in shaping students' morals is not only limited to teaching in the classroom, but also through exemplary behavior and daily interactions with students. Islamic Religious Education teachers are expected to be role models for students in implementing Islamic values in real life. Therefore, in the learning process, Islamic Religious Education teachers will certainly face various problems in instilling moral education in students. As a PAI teacher at SMK Indonesia Membangun 2 Medan, facing various problems in the process of forming akhlakul karimah. This can be seen, based on the fact that as a vocational school that focuses on developing technical skills, moral and spiritual aspects are often neglected. Students are more directed to master skills that can be directly used in the world of work, without being accompanied by the instillation of adequate moral values. In addition, vocational high school students who are mostly teenagers face various external influences, including free association, gadget addiction, and lack of control over the use of social media. This makes teachers, especially Islamic Religious Education teachers, face a big challenge in shaping students' morals to be in accordance with Islamic values. Another challenge faced by Islamic Religious Education teachers at SMK Indonesia Membangun 2 Medan is the diverse socioeconomic backgrounds of students. Students who come from families with various economic statuses and social environments have differences in their outlook on life and attitudes towards moral education. Some students may grow up in an environment that is less supportive of positive character formation, so that learning at school is the only hope to shape them into individuals with noble morals. Islamic Religious Education teachers must be able to adjust their teaching methods so that they can touch the hearts of students from various backgrounds, so that moral messages can be received and internalized well. Based on the various problems above, this research is important to be conducted, so that as teachers we can understand more deeply the role or strategy of Islamic Religious Education teachers in forming students' morals, especially in vocational schools such as SMK Indonesia Membangun 2 Medan. This research is expected to provide a real picture of the efforts and strategies carried out by Islamic Religious Education teachers in instilling moral values in students amidst various existing challenges. In addition, this research also aims to identify the obstacles Maya Santika et.al (The Role of Islamic Religious Education Teachers) EDUSOSHUM Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities Vol. 5, No. 2, August 2025, pp. 232-240 ISSN 2776-5229 44 234 42 faced by teachers in carrying out their duties, so that appropriate solutions can be formulated to increase the effectiveness of moral learning in schools. Although this research has been done by many previous researchers. However, there are still limited studies that specifically discuss the role of Islamic Religious Education teachers in the formation of noble morals in vocational high schools. Many studies focus on moral education in public schools, but not many have highlighted how Islamic Religious Education teachers can play a (...truncated)