Critical thinking skills of Islamic education teachers, and its challenges in enhancing 21st century learning skills

Abstract

The aim of this article is to discuss critical thinking of Islamic Education Teachers (IET)secondary schools in Malaysia. The value of IET’s critical thinking skills lies in the cultural excellence of the knowledge and professionalism that it presents. Currently, influence of western line of thought, which monopolises secular education system if not beware can be harmful to Muslims’ faith. The Quranic and Sunnah-based knowledge, and competency based on different skills among IETs, can consequently impact defensively on students’ own thinking process. It is crucial for Islamic Education Teachers (IET) to foster generations of students who are not only highly skilled, but able to perform collaborative critical-thinking. Additionally, they must exhibit high creativity and competency as communicators with equally high emotional well-being, IET have to implement measures by adopting diversity of skills and teaching aids to promote Teaching and Facilitation (T&F) in the 21st century. This article also presents relevant Learning and Facilitation (L&F) strategies in Islamic Studies (IS). Furthermore, the article explores current challenges being faced by IETs in realizing 21st century learning skills, within the context of the 4.0 Industrial revolution.