Reflective Practice Makes Teacher Professional Identity Revisable: A Conceptual Model for Islamic Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47453/eduprof.v8i2.590Keywords:
identity, muhasabah, reflection, teachers, professionalismAbstract
Teacher professional identity is widely treated as a determinant of teacher quality and policy enactment, yet teacher education and school-based professional development often position its formation as an implicit by-product of training, practicum, and accumulated experience rather than as something deliberately designed. This article proposes a conceptual model specifying the mechanisms through which reflective practice contributes to professional identity formation, and tests that proposal against competing accounts. An integrative conceptual review synthesised literature on reflection, teacher identity, situated learning, and Islamic self-examination, with the basis and boundaries of the source corpus reported in Table 1. Five mechanisms are proposed: cognitive-epistemic sense-making, affective-moral positioning, dialogic-social recognition, agentic experimentation, and muhasabah as accountable self-examination. The article argues that reflection is necessary but not sufficient for identity formation, and specifies the conditions under which socialisation, mentoring, and structured induction produce identity change without explicit reflective inquiry. A reflective identity formation cycle is offered as an original theoretical proposal, distinguished element by element from the models of Rodgers and Mezirow. The risks that reflective practice carries when institutionalised are examined in dialogue with the existing critical literature rather than raised independently. The model is conceptual and has not been empirically tested; it is offered as a design heuristic for teacher education and professional learning in Islamic educational settings, together with an account of the conditions under which institutionalised reflection produces professional growth rather than compliance.
References
Akbari, Ramin, ‘Reflections on Reflection: A Critical Appraisal of Reflective Practices in L2 Teacher Education’, System, 35.2 (2007), 192–207
Almulla, Mohammed A., ‘Constructivism Learning Theory: A Paradigm for Students’ Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Problem Solving to Affect Academic Performance in Higher Education’, Cogent Education, 10.1 (2023), 2172929 <https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2172929>
Boud, David, and David Walker, ‘Promoting Reflection in Professional Courses: The Challenge of Context’, Studies in Higher Education, 23.2 (1998), 191–206
Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke, ‘Reflecting on Reflexive Thematic Analysis’, Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 11.4 (2019), 589–97 <https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806>
Busahdiar, Ummu Karimah, and Sopa Tamin, ‘Total Quality Management (TQM) and Basic Education: Its Application to Islamic Education in Muhammadiyah Elementary Schools’, Jurnal Pendidikan Agama Islam, 20.2 (2023) <https://doi.org/10.14421/jpai.v20i2.8015>
Dewey, John, How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process (D. C. Heath, 1933)
Ecclestone, Kathryn, and Dennis Hayes, The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education (Routledge, 2009)
Fatihin, Muhammad Khoirul, Nur Asnawi, and Muhammad Fahim Tharaba, ‘Transforming Islamic Education: Madrasah-Based Management Strategies for Academic Excellence’, Al-Tanzim: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 7.4 (2023), 1145–60 <https://doi.org/10.33650/al-tanzim.v7i4.6746>
Fendler, Lynn, ‘Teacher Reflection in a Hall of Mirrors: Historical Influences and Political Reverberations’, Educational Researcher, 32.3 (2003), 16–25
Gafur, Abdul, Muhammad Zainuddin, Muhammad Walid, and Ahmad Barizi, ‘Enhancing the Quality of Life for Santri: Management of Pesantren through the Strengthening of Clean and Healthy Living Culture’, Al-Tanzim: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 8.3 (2024), 747–59 <https://doi.org/10.33650/al-tanzim.v8i3.7036>
Al-Ghazālī, Abū Ḥāmid, Iḥyā’ ‘Ulūm Al-Dīn (Dār Al-Ma‘rifa, [tahun]), Kitāb Al-Murāqabah Wa-l-Muḥāsabah, Vol. IV
Haddade, Hasyim, Andi Nur, Achruh Achruh, Muhammad Nur Akbar Rasyid, and Andi Ibrahim, ‘Madrasah Management Strategies through Madrasah Reform Program: An Evidence from Indonesia’, International Journal of Educational Management, 38.5 (2024), 1289–1304 <https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-05-2023-0236>
Hamdani, Nizar Alam, ‘Scrutinizing Islamic Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia’, Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 9.1 (2023), 79–92 <https://doi.org/10.15575/jpi.v0i0.24478>
Hasan, Muhammad Saipul, Miftahul Azizah, Qurrotul Ainiyah, Solechan, Sunardi, Agus Budiyono, and Hafiza binti Mastor, ‘Developing Administrative Excellence for Enhanced Educational Service Quality in Islamic Secondary Schools’, Kharisma, 4.2 (2025), 109–24 <https://doi.org/10.59373/kharisma.v4i2.99>
Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, Madārij Al-Sālikīn, ed. by Muḥammad Ḥāmid Al-Fiqī (Dār Al-Kitāb Al-‘Arabī, [tahun])
Ismail, Feriyanto, Ari Budi Santoso, Muhammad Umar, and Abdul Karim Halim, ‘Enhancing Excellence: Analyzing Quality Management in Islamic Boarding Schools’, Al-Tanzim: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 7.3 (2023), 848–62 <https://doi.org/10.33650/al-tanzim.v7i3.4522>
Korthagen, Fred, and Angelo Vasalos, ‘Levels in Reflection: Core Reflection as a Means to Enhance Professional Growth’, Teachers and Teaching, 11.1 (2005), 47–71
Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger, Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Cambridge University Press, 1991)
Mansur, Mansur, and Muhammad Sholeh, ‘Implementation of Character Education Based on Local Wisdom in Schools’, Journal of Integrated Elementary Education, 4.1 (2024), 54–70 <https://doi.org/10.21580/jieed.v4i1.20238>
Memon, Nadeem A., Mohamad Abdalla, and Dylan Chown, ‘Laying Foundations for Islamic Teacher Education’, Education Sciences, 14.10 (2024), 1046 <https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14101046>
Mezirow, Jack, Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning (Jossey-Bass, 1991)
Al-Muḥāsibī, al-Ḥārith, Al-Ri‘āyah Li-Ḥuqūq Allāh, ed. by ‘Abd Al-Qādir Aḥmad ‘Aṭā (Dār Al-Kutub Al-‘Ilmiyya, [tahun])
Norman, Erwin, Lina Marliani, Asep Paramansyah, and Fikri Aizat, ‘Implementing Sharia-Based Total Quality Management in Islamic Educational Institutions: Impact on Organizational Performance’, Eduprof: Islamic Education Journal, 6.2 (2025), 116–34 <https://doi.org/10.47453/eduprof.v6i2.299>
Putra, Purniadi, Mohd Faeez Ilias, Rudy Hartono, Burhanuddin, Nanda Saputra, and Barsihanor, ‘Digital Literacy as a Transformative Framework for Character Education: A Case Study in Madrasah Ibtidaiyah’, Nazhruna: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 9.1 (2026), 33–51 <https://doi.org/10.31538/nzh.v9i1.429>
Ramli, Rusdi, Bahrani Bahrani, and Ahmad Ramli, ‘Building a Quality Culture in Islamic Educational Institutions’, Jurnal Inovatif Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 4.1 (2025), 50–61 <https://doi.org/10.38073/jimpi.v4i1.1928>
OECD, TALIS 2018 Results, Volume II: Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals (OECD Publishing, 2020)
Rodgers, Carol, ‘Defining Reflection: Another Look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking’, Teachers College Record, 104.4 (2002), 842–66
Rusmiyati, Wan Jamaludin Z., Muhammad Akmansyah, and Eti Hadiati, ‘Strengthening Local Wisdom-Based Work Culture in Improving the Quality of Education in Madrasah’, Al-Tanzim: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam, 6.3 (2022), 868–79 <https://doi.org/10.33650/al-tanzim.v6i3.3508>
Schön, Donald A., The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (Basic Books, 1983)
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.