Cultural and Structural Pathways to Character Formation: Teacher Parent Collaboration in Islamic Education

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the forms, strategies, and supporting and inhibiting factors of collaboration between Islamic Religious Education (PAI) teachers and parents in developing students’ character, as well as to compare collaboration patterns within different Islamic educational traditions. This study employed a qualitative descriptive approach with a comparative case study design. Data were collected through non-participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and documentation involving PAI teachers, parents, school principals, and students. Data were analyzed through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing, supported by source and technique triangulation. The findings show that teacher–parent collaboration plays an important role in strengthening students’ religiosity, discipline, responsibility, politeness, and social behavior. Two complementary collaboration patterns were identified: a cultural-relational approach emphasizing religious habituation, exemplary behavior, and interpersonal communication, and a structured-programmatic approach emphasizing formal communication, character monitoring, parenting programs, and systematic documentation. Supporting factors include shared religious values, institutional commitment, communication technology, and parental awareness, while major obstacles include limited parental availability, uneven participation, and differences in home-based parenting practices. The study implies that sustainable character formation requires adaptive collaboration that integrates institutional systems, interpersonal relationships, and continuity between school and home.