Islamic Education and Moral Development in Moroccan Secondary Schools: A Mixed–Methods Examination of Students’ Classroom Experience and Value Internalization

Islamic Education and Moral Development in Moroccan Secondary Schools: A Mixed–Methods Examination of Students’ Classroom Experience and Value Internalization | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Islamic Education and Moral Development in Moroccan Secondary Schools: A Mixed–Methods Examination of Students’ Classroom Experience and Value Internalization Abdelghni el amoumri This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8167754/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study explores the role of Islamic Education in fostering moral development among secondary-school students in Morocco, with a particular focus on how learners internalize spiritual and ethical values through their classroom experiences. Although Islamic Education is theoretically designed to promote holistic character formation, empirical research examining students’ actual perceptions and lived experiences remains limited in the Moroccan context. To address this gap, the present study adopts a sequential mixed–methods design, drawing on quantitative data from 232 participants, complemented by qualitative insights derived from open-ended responses. The survey assessed four key dimensions: spiritual engagement, moral internalization, pedagogical effectiveness, and the curriculum’s relevance to contemporary issues. The findings reveal strong positive trends: approximately 85% of students reported enhanced spiritual connection and increased emotional tranquility during Islamic Education classes. Similarly, 78–82% indicated noticeable improvements in their daily ethical behavior. However, indicators related to critical thinking and dialogic engagement were comparatively weaker, suggesting a continued dominance of lecture-based pedagogies. The qualitative data further illuminate three overarching themes: (1) the influential role of the teacher as a moral exemplar; (2) the persistent gap between theoretical religious knowledge and real-life ethical application; (3) a strong student demand for modernizing the subject matter and linking it to contemporary realities, particularly issues such as digital ethics, environmental responsibility, and social justice. Overall, the study concludes that Islamic Education possesses significant transformative potential when it shifts from traditional, didactic instruction toward reflective, interactive, and experience-based learning. The findings contribute to global debates on religious pedagogy and moral education by highlighting how value internalization emerges from the dynamic interplay between spiritual depth, classroom practice, and contextual relevance. Religious Studies Islamic Education Moral Development Value Internalization Classroom Experience Mixed–Methods Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement The study received ethical approval from the School Administration and the Institutional Pedagogical Committee of the participating secondary schools. Approval was granted in accordance with national research guidelines for studies involving minors. No procedures involving risk or intervention were included. Participant Consent Statement All participants were informed about the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature of participation, and their right to withdraw at any time. Consent was obtained from legal guardians before completing the questionnaire. No personal or identifying data were collected. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8167754","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":548348344,"identity":"6ce09fb8-56f4-4bc1-a09b-d67dc5a14d4b","order_by":0,"name":"Abdelghni el amoumri","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"faculty of law fez morocco","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Abdelghni","middleName":"el","lastName":"amoumri","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-11-20 20:47:02","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8167754/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8167754/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":96893645,"identity":"99c70126-076b-46cd-8946-045c7bcec2ae","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-27 09:49:01","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":36274,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"IslamicEducationandMoralDevelopmentinMoroccanSecondarySchools.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8167754/v1/374bf55d8d898a149116b329.docx"},{"id":96920559,"identity":"614ef6d5-fdec-40da-b737-424ddf33ff05","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-27 14:15:16","extension":"json","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":342,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"rs8167754.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8167754/v1/c8ad695d7a46198b4722b3fc.json"},{"id":96920521,"identity":"40d5f95a-0f2b-4808-aa79-cd91b8ddf232","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-27 14:15:15","extension":"xml","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":66124,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"rs81677540enriched.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8167754/v1/72f90c32c41da80647a1bdce.xml"},{"id":96893648,"identity":"13a6a778-b55d-4ea7-ab07-11119d210ab9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-27 09:49:01","extension":"xml","order_by":3,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":65054,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"rs81677540structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8167754/v1/4dfd3ec1a081bb50a34ef704.xml"},{"id":96893643,"identity":"98fb08bd-cd4c-47a8-8b1f-08ef4d6ad406","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-27 09:49:01","extension":"html","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":71153,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8167754/v1/dd0653069575d1664ebbeb4e.html"},{"id":96923345,"identity":"b6ad7140-838f-4cc7-a7b8-6d5ea65e4f73","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-27 14:21:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":408616,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"IslamicEducationandMoralDevelopmentinMoroccanSecondarySchools.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8167754/v1_covered_e431fd38-5b5d-42a3-9ce9-fc1c3de61f8c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthics Approval Statement The study received ethical approval from the School Administration and the Institutional Pedagogical Committee of the participating secondary schools. 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