From Authority to Facilitator: A Grounded Theory Analysis of AI-Mediated Shifts in Islamic Religious Education Pedagogy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32729/edukasi.v24i1.2455Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence in Education, Islamic Religious Education, Grounded Theory, Pedagogical Negotiation, Teacher AuthorityAbstract
This study develops a grounded theory explaining how Islamic Religious Education (IRE) teachers negotiate pedagogical authority in AI-mediated classrooms. Using interviews, observations, and document analysis with 20 Indonesian IRE teachers, the study proposes a Tripartite Negotiation Model consisting of epistemic, pedagogical, and moral-relational negotiations. The findings show that teachers reconstruct rather than lose authority by positioning AI as a supportive tool within Islamic pedagical values. The study suggests extending TPACK with Theological Knowledge (TKw) and Relational-Moral Knowledge (RMK) to better explain AI integration in religious education. The findings challenge deskilling narratives by highlighting teachers’ agency in culturally embedding AI through concepts such as khadam (servant). Implications are offered for teacher development, curriculum design, and culturally responsive AI in religious education.
ABSTRAK
Penelitian ini mengembangkan teori grounded theory tentang negosiasi otoritas pedagogis guru Pendidikan Agama Islam (PAI) dalam kelas yang dimediasi AI. Melalui wawancara, observasi, dan analisis dokumen terhadap 20 guru PAI Indonesia, penelitian ini menghasilkan Model Negosiasi Tripartit yang mencakup negosiasi epistemik, pedagogis, dan moral-relasional. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa guru tidak kehilangan otoritas, melainkan merekonstruksinya dengan menempatkan AI sebagai alat pendukung dalam nilai pedagogi Islam. Penelitian ini mengusulkan perluasan kerangka TPACK dengan Pengetahuan Teologis (TKw) dan Pengetahuan Relasional-Moral (RMK) untuk menjelaskan integrasi AI dalam pendidikan agama. Temuan juga menantang narasi de-skilling dengan menyoroti keagenan guru dalam mengintegrasikan AI secara kultural melalui konsep khadam (pelayan). Implikasi penelitian mencakup pengembangan guru, desain kurikulum, dan AI yang responsif terhadap budaya dalam pendidikan agama.
Downloads
References
Almusaed, A., Almssad, A., & Yitmen, I. (2025). Grounded Theory and Phenomenology. In Practice of Research Methodology in Civil Engineering and Architecture: A Comprehensive Guide (pp. 355–387). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-97393-2_11
Biesta, G. J. J. (2015). Beautiful Risk of Education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315635866
Eickelman, D. F. (2003). New media in the Muslim world: The emerging public sphere. Indiana University Press.
Fazirah, N., & Rohman, A. (2026). Exploring the Islamic Investment Paradigm of Generation Z Muslims on Madura Island Using a Grounded Theory Approach. Indonesian Interdisciplinary Journal of Sharia Economics (IIJSE), 9(1), 850–861. https://doi.org/10.31538/iijse.v9i1.8890
Gao, R. (2025). The Erosion and reconstruction of teachers’ authority in the context of artificial intelligence. Journal of Theory and Practice in Education and Innovation, 2(2), 26–33. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15117783
Geertz, C. (1973). Chapter 1/Thick Description: Toward an interpretive theory of culture. The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays, 3–30.
Harley, B., & Cornelissen, J. (2022). Rigor with or without templates? The pursuit of methodological rigor in qualitative research. Organizational Research Methods, 25(2), 239–261. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428120937786
Haynes, J. (2022). The Routledge handbook of religion, politics and ideology. Routledge New York.
Heimans, S., Singh, P., & Kwok, H. (2022). Pedagogic rights, public education and democracy. European Educational Research Journal, 21(1), 71–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/14749041211011920
Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2019). Artificial intelligence in education promises and implications for teaching and learning. Center for Curriculum Redesign.
Holmes, W., Persson, J., Chounta, I.-A., Wasson, B., & Dimitrova, V. (2022). Artificial intelligence and education: A critical view through the lens of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Council of Europe.
Keane, E., & Thornberg, R. (2024). Synthesising Good Practice in Constructivist Grounded Theory Educational Research. In The Routledge International Handbook of Constructivist Grounded Theory in Educational Research (pp. 339–360). Routledge.
Ligita, T., Harvey, N., Wicking, K., Nurjannah, I., & Francis, K. (2020). A practical example of using theoretical sampling throughout a grounded theory study: A methodological paper. Qualitative Research Journal, 20(1), 116–126.
Luckin, R. (2018). Machine Learning and Human Intelligence. The future of education for the 21st century. UCL institute of education press.
Mills, J., Bonner, A., & Francis, K. (2006). The development of constructivist grounded theory. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), 25–35.
Mishra, M., Gorakhnath, I., Lata, P., Rani, R., & Chopra, P. (2022). Integration of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in classrooms through a teacher’s lens. International Journal of Health Sciences, 6(S3), 12505–12512. https://doi.org/10.53730/ijhs.v6nS3.9536
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 108(6), 1017–1054. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x
Moberg, M. (2020). Studying change in religious organizations: A discourse-centered framework. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, 32(2), 89–114. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700682-12341472
Mukhsin, M., & Hubby Dzikrillah Alfani, I. (2024). Imam Shafi’i’s Educational Thought And Its Implications For Contemporary Islamic Education. Oasis : Jurnal Ilmiah Kajian Islam, 9(1), 34. https://doi.org/10.24235/oasis.v9i1.18405
Mukhsin, M., Mutaqin, A. Z., Saway, M. H. M., Kiki, K., & Hamid, A. (2026). Curriculum Reconstruction for AI-Based Islamic Religious Education in the Society 5.0 Era at Madrasah. EDURELIGIA: Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.33650/edureligia.v10i1.12012
Mukhsin, M., Sahudi, S., Hidayatulloh, Y., Nasir, M., & Alfani, I. H. D. (2025). Love-Based Curriculum in Indonesian Madrasahs: A Conceptual Analysis Toward Inclusive-Humanistic Islamic Education. SYAMIL: Journal of Islamic Education, 13(3 SE-Articles). https://doi.org/10.21093/sy.v13i3.11485
Rawanita, M., Silahuddin, S., & Ariani, S. (2025). The Formation of Children’s Religiosity: Integrating Manual-Digital Learning at Al-Azhar Cairo Islamic Elementary School, Banda Aceh. Academica: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 9(2), 33–47. https://doi.org/10.22515/academica.v9i2.14138
Selwyn, N. (2021). Education and technology: Key issues and debates. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Tajik, O., Golzar, J., & Noor, S. (2025). Purposive sampling. International Journal of Education & Language Studies, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.22034/ijels.2025.490681.1029
Yan, L., Suleman Abdullah Alwabel, A., & Mohamad, U. H. (2025). AI‐Powered Education: Transforming Teacher‐Student Interactions and Advancing Sustainable Learning Practices. European Journal of Education, 60(4), e70351. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70351
Yono, S., & Helmi, A. M. (2025). Islamic Education Resilience: How Pesantren Maintain Authenticity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Journal of Islamic Education and Pesantren, 5(2), 77–86. https://doi.org/10.33752/jiep.v5i2.10970
Zawacki-Richter, O., Marín, V. I., Bond, M., & Gouverneur, F. (2019). Systematic review of research on artificial intelligence applications in higher education – where are the educators? International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-019-0171-0
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Mukhsin Mukhsin, Ade Zaenul Muttaqin

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.




