أساليب تعليم العقيدة الإسلامية للأطفال: دراسة في روضة الأطفال

Abstract

'Aqidah is the foundation of Islam without which a person cannot be acknowledged as a Muslim. Islam places the importance in instilling the seed of 'aqidah immediately when a baby is born. This seed must be watered as the infant grows up as a child so that he is able to know his Creator. This research studies the methodology of teaching 'aqidah to children between the age of five to six years old in a kindergarten run by Masjid Darul Ghufran, a satellite mosque in Singapore. This research is a qualitative case study research that uses scientific observations as the research method. Several classrooms observations were carried out in the research to investigate the teaching methodology employed by two teachers. Each teacher was observed for a week of lesson. The research findings indicate that the effectiveness of teaching 'aqidah as a subject matter to kindergarten students is highly dependable upon (i) the teacher's belief on the importance of 'aqidah as a subject matter, (ii) the teacher's personality and (iii) the teaching methods used. A teacher who is aware of the impact of instilling 'aqidah to children will be able to seize teachable moments within their daily interactions with the children in the classroom to bring awareness to the children on the different limited to just a specific time in the timetable of confined within the classroom but must be enhanced and complimented with appropriate environment and outdoor activities. The significance of this research is that it illustrates that the teaching of 'aqidah for children is not just the role of teachers in school but parents have a significant role in the proper development of 'aqidah in their children,