The Concept of Character Learning: A Comparative Study of Al-Ghazali and Thomas Lickona’s Perspectives

Abstract

The main goal in character education is to achieve noble character to create a harmonious human life, helping each other, being fair, and having a balanced relationship in social life. Because of that, instilling character in students is fundamental so that when they grow up, they can become the next generation of solid character. This study uses library research that compares the concept of learning the character of al-Ghazali and Thomas Lickona. The research method carried out in this study was carried out with several steps, such as collecting qualitative data based on reputable data sources and analyzing data to obtain final results. The study results show that Al-Ghazali's educational method is a traditional nuanced method of "lecture and uswah hasanah". Furthermore, Al-Ghazali's educational materials are all forms of teachings contained in the Islamic religion. More clearly and concretely, the concept of education initiated by Al-Ghazali contains two elements: transcendence (rububiyyah: divine) and humanization. Meanwhile, the concept of character learning initiated by Thomas Lickona formulates character learning that involves all components in the education process, both family, school, and community. In addition, the character learning process, according to Thomas Lickona is an effort that involves three aspects of intelligence, including cognitive through moral knowing, affective through moral feeling, and psychomotor through moral acting as follows: The purpose of character learning is to help students become intelligent and good in manners.

Analyzing Thomas Lickona’s Ideas in Character Education (A Library Research)

“…If someone possesses quality morals in both the intellectual and emotional realms, they will have actions that, according to their knowledge, are considered right. So it is necessary to look at three other aspects of character; competence, desire, and habit [21].…”

“…Habit People with good character behave in the best possible way, faithfully, courageously, with good manners and fairness, without being tempted by opposites [21]. They often make 'good choices' unconsciously.…”

Character Education Islam From the Views of Imam Al-Ghazali

“…In Al-Ghazali's view, good character is formed through a holistic tarbiyah (education) process, including intellectual, emotional and spiritual dimensions (Supriyanto, 2022). He believes that humans have innate potential that can be developed through consistent practice and habituation (Huda et al, 2022;Kirabaev & Chistyakova, 2023;Prasetia, 2023;Sari & Marhaban, 2023). Therefore, character education must start from an early age, by instilling basic values such as honesty, patience, humility and compassion.…”

Human Nature in the View of the Philosopher Al-Ghazali

“…Apart from the two elements that exist in humans, Al-Ghazali also stated that humans cannot be separated from their mind and heart. Therefore, humans can be divided into three groups, there are lay people, religious scholars and debate experts, the basis for these group differences is not to escape from the elements contained in humans and the reason and heart they have (Huda et al, 2022).…”