Fostering Critical and Creative Thinking in Islamic Education: A Systematic Review of Pedagogical Practices, Institutional Conditions, and Implementation Challenges Sungkem Tri Wahyuni, Wahyu Widada, Deny Haryadi
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Abstract
This systematic literature review examined how critical and creative thinking were fostered in Islamic education and how pedagogical, curricular, institutional, and ethical–epistemological conditions shaped implementation. A Scopus search identified 129 records. Sequential database limits retained 64 records, and manual scope screening excluded 30, leaving 34 studies for thematic synthesis. The analysis showed that inquiry, dialogue, reflection, problem-oriented learning, project work, experiential learning, and technology-supported approaches were associated with stronger opportunities for reasoning and idea generation than transmission-oriented instruction. Teacher capacity, curriculum–assessment alignment, professional learning, institutional resources, and learner engagement mediated these effects. Islamic values were not merely curricular content; when integrated through interpretation, ethical dialogue, faith–knowledge connections, and reflective inquiry, they functioned as resources for higher-order cognition. Critical thinking was studied more directly than creativity, and methodological heterogeneity constrained causal generalization. The review proposed an Islamic Higher-Order Thinking Ecosystem Framework linking ethical–epistemological orientation, curriculum, teacher capacity, pedagogy, assessment, and institutional conditions.
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