Constructivist Pedagogy Develops Critical Thinking in a Traditional Putri Pesantren: Evidence from a Convergent Mixed-Methods Case Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47453/eduprof.v8i2.584Keywords:
constructivist pedagogy, critical thinking, pondok pesantren, professional education, santriwatiAbstract
Traditional pedagogy in Indonesian pondok pesantren, organised around teacher-centred transmission and extensive memorisation, has long secured moral formation and mastery of classical Islamic texts, yet contemporary professional roles for Muslim graduates additionally require analysis, evidence-based evaluation, and principled problem-solving. This study examined how the systematic introduction of constructivist pedagogy shaped the development of critical thinking among santriwati in professional-track programmes at Pondok Pesantren Putri ‘Aisyah Kempek, Cirebon. A convergent parallel mixed-methods case study was conducted over six months during the even semester of 2024/2025, with the qualitative strand as the dominant component. Data comprised fourteen semi-structured interviews with six ustadzah and eight santriwati, twenty-four non-participant classroom observations, document analysis of lesson plans and reflective journals, and rubric scoring of forty-five paired student work samples using an instrument adapted from Facione’s critical thinking framework. Qualitative data were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis and rubric data descriptively. Four themes emerged: a shift from knowledge reception to collaborative construction; professionally situated critical capacities; negotiation of cultural and theological tension resolved through a hybrid model; and gendered dimensions of critical thinking in a putri setting. Rubric means rose from 2.2 to 3.4 on a four-point scale, with the largest gains in self-regulation and analysis. The study concludes that constructivist strategies framed as instruments of tadabbur and collectively accountable ijtihad can be integrated into traditional pesantren professional education without displacing its epistemological commitments, and that the theological reframing rather than the techniques themselves is what makes integration workable.
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