Mental Health Promotions in Islamic Education: A Field Study of Faith- Based Educational Practices
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19109/tadrib.v12i1.34269Keywords:
Islamic Education, Student Mental Health , Mental Health Promotion, Character Education, PesantrenAbstract
Student mental health has become a critical concern in educational systems worldwide, as rising academic pressure places students at heightened risk of stress, anxiety, and emotional fatigue. In Muslim-majority contexts, Islamic education offers a holistic framework integrating moral, spiritual, and social development; however, field-based evidence on its role in mental health promotion remains limited. This study examines how Islamic educational practices function as promotive mechanisms for student mental health and identifies contextual factors shaping their implementation. A qualitative field study was conducted in Islamic schools and pesantren in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, non-participant observations, and document analysis with teachers, school leaders, and students selected through purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was employed to identify recurring patterns across the data. Findings indicate that religious routines, character education (akhlaq), and supportive teacher–student relationships serve as culturally embedded mechanisms promoting emotional regulation, meaning-making, and social connectedness. However, mental health promotion remains largely informal, constrained by limited mental health literacy, absent institutional policies, and insufficient professional support. This study highlights the need for culturally responsive, institutionally supported mental health strategies in faith-based education.
Downloads
References
AbdAleati, N. S., Zaharim, N. M., & Mydin, Y. O. (2016). Religiousness and mental health: A systematic review. Journal of Religion and Health, 55(6), 1929–1937.
Abu-Raiya, H., & Pargament, K. I. (2015). Religious coping among diverse religions: Commonalities and divergences. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 7(1), 24–33.
Abu-Raiya, H., Pargament, K. I., Mahoney, A., & Stein, C. (2021). A psychological measure of Islamic religiousness: Evidence for relevance to mental health. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 13(2), 162–175.
Altinyelken, H. K. (2022). Education, religion, and youth well-being in Muslim societies. Comparative Education, 58(3), 321–338.
Auerbach, R. P., Mortier, P., Bruffaerts, R., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P., … Kessler, R. C. (2018). WHO World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Project: Prevalence and distribution of mental disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 127(7), 623–638.
Barry, M. M., Clarke, A. M., Jenkins, R., & Patel, V. (2017). A systematic review of the effectiveness of mental health promotion interventions for young people in low- and middle-income countries. BMC Public Health, 17, 835.
Bernal, G., & Domenech Rodríguez, M. M. (2012). Cultural adaptations: Tools for evidence-based practice with diverse populations. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches
(4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432.
Eccles, J. S., & Roeser, R. W. (2011). Schools as developmental contexts during adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 225–241.
Fazel, M., Patel, V., Thomas, S., & Tol, W. (2014). Mental health interventions in schools in low-income and humanitarian settings. PLoS Medicine, 11(5), e1001697.
Goldberg, J. M., Sklad, M., Elfrink, T. R., Schreurs, K. M., Bohlmeijer, E. T., & Clarke, A. M. (2019). Effectiveness of interventions adopting a whole-school approach to enhancing social and emotional development: A meta-analysis. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 34(4), 755– 782.
Halstead, J. M. (2004). An Islamic concept of education. Comparative Education, 40(4), 517–529. Hashim, R. (2017). Islamic education in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: IIUM Press.
Hidayati, N., Salim, A., & Syamsudin, A. (2022). Islamic character education and student resilience in Indonesian secondary schools. Journal of Islamic Educational Research, 7(2), 145–160.
Ijaz, T., Khalily, M. T., & Ahmad, S. (2017). Religious coping and mental health among Muslim adolescents. Journal of Religion and Health, 56(4), 1172–1187.
Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The prosocial classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to student and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 491–525.
Khaki, S., & Habibabad, M. J. (2020). The relationship between Islamic lifestyle and psychological well- being among students. Journal of Religion and Health, 59(3), 1450–1465.
Koenig, H. G. (2018). Religion and mental health: Research and clinical applications. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Lubis, R., Hasanah, U., & Fauzi, A. (2023). Religious school climate and student well-being in Indonesian Islamic schools. Journal of Moral Education, 52(3), 365–380.
Miller, R. (2019). Holistic education and the quest for meaning (3rd ed.). Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Mukhlis, H., Habibi, M., & Nashori, F. (2020). Spiritual well-being and psychological distress among
Muslim students. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 23(6), 529–543.
OECD. (2021). Beyond academic learning: First results from the survey of social and emotional skills. Paris, France: OECD Publishing.
Park, C. L. (2013). Religion and meaning. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (2nd ed., pp. 357–379). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Pascoe, M. C., Hetrick, S. E., & Parker, A. G. (2020). The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 104–112.
Rippy, A. E., & Newman, E. (2006). Perceived religious discrimination and its relationship to anxiety and paranoia among Muslim Americans. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 1(1), 5–20.
Saleem, S., Hussain, S., & Mahmood, Z. (2020). Islamic coping strategies and psychological adjustment among Muslim youth. Journal of Religion and Health, 59(4), 1885–1901.
Sahin, A. (2018). Education, ethics and religion: An Islamic perspective. London, England: Routledge.
Sahin, A., & Francis, L. J. (2019). Assessing the influence of Islamic education on students’ values and well-being. British Journal of Religious Education, 41(3), 302–315.
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14.
Taylor, R. D., Oberle, E., Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Promoting positive youth development through school-based social and emotional learning interventions: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 88(4), 1156–1171.
Ungar, M. (2018). Systemic resilience: Principles and processes for a science of change in contexts of adversity. Ecology and Society, 23(4), 34.
Uyun, Q., Nursalam, N., & Widodo, A. (2019). Spiritually integrated counseling and adolescent well- being in Islamic schools. Counseling Psychology Quarterly, 32(3), 387–402.
VanderWeele, T. J. (2017). Religion and health: A synthesis. Health Affairs, 36(10), 1834–1841.
Weare, K., & Nind, M. (2011). Mental health promotion and problem prevention in schools: What does the evidence say? Health Promotion International, 26(Suppl. 1), i29–i69.
World Health Organization. (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Zaenal Abidin, Mustapa Ahmad
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
