Curriculum Rationales and Approaches for Self-Control Education of 7 to 14-Year-Old Students: A Phenomenograghic Study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore, through a phenomenographic study, the rationales and approaches of selected implemented curriculums for “selfcontrol”. This is an important area to investigate because a central value in the field of religious education is a radical shift from external control to an internal self-control. Moreover, recently there have been various attempts to plan and carry out some educational interventions in the country which are worth investigating. To do so, educational experiences about this subject were considered and semi-structured interviews with teachers were carried out. It is worth mentioning that the participants of this qualitative research were selected via purposive sampling and the obtained data were analyzed through analytic, inductive method. Findings of this phenomenographic research are: In the main category of “rationale of self-control curriculum” there were two subcategories, i.e., “religious rationale” and “pre-religious or anthropological rationale”. In the main category of “curriculum approaches about freedom or obedience of learners” three subcategories were identified: “maximum freedom irrespective of learners’ age”, “maximum obedience regardless of learners’ age” and “freedom and obedience in accordance with learners’ age and conditions”.

Keywords

• self-control education
• phenomenography
• religious and moral education
• 7 to 14- year-old students
• islamic approach