Educational Paradigm in the Evaluation of Islamic Religious Education: Efforts to Balance Intellectual, Emotional, and Spiritual Intelligence

Abstract

The primary essence of Islamic Religious Education lies in the holistic formation of individuals, encompassing not only intellectual capacities but also emotional and spiritual dimensions. However, empirical realities in educational practice often reveal an imbalance, in which academic (cognitive) assessment overwhelmingly dominates, while the evaluation of attitudes and skills is frequently neglected. This study aims to examine how State Senior High School 1 Tawangsari implements the evaluation of Islamic Religious Education based on a holistic education paradigm, to identify the challenges faced by educators in assessing the three domains of competence, and to formulate evaluation strategies that are more objective and sustainable. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with Islamic Religious Education teachers and school management and were analyzed descriptively. The findings indicate that although there is an emerging commitment to the implementation of holistic evaluation, cognitive assessment remains highly dominant. This condition is largely attributed to technical constraints such as limited instructional time, large student–teacher ratios, and the absence of standardized non-cognitive assessment instruments. This study concludes by recommending the development of standardized affective and psychomotor assessment instruments so that the evaluation of Islamic Religious Education can transform from merely a tool for measuring academic achievement into a comprehensive instrument for fostering holistic Islamic character formation.