UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta has added another academic achievement by conferring a doctoral degree in Islamic Studies on Nadlifah, M.Pd. Through an Open Doctoral Promotion Examination held at the UIN Sunan Kalijaga Graduate School Hall on Wednesday (8/26/2026), Nadlifah passed with the distinction of Highly Satisfactory (Sangat Memuaskan), becoming the 2,006th recipient of a Doctorate in Islamic Studies from UIN Sunan Kalijaga.
Nadlifah, a lecturer in the Early Childhood
Islamic Education (PIAUD) Study Program at the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher
Training (FITK), UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, defended her dissertation
titled “Affirmative-Negotiative Pedagogical Construction of Reward and
Punishment: Shaping Islamic Habitus in Early Childhood at Two Islamic Early
Childhood Education Centers in Yogyakarta.”
The research grew out of concerns over
reward-and-punishment practices in early childhood education. Children's
compliance with rules is often viewed as an indicator of educational success,
even though such compliance does not necessarily mean that the values being
taught have truly taken root within the child.
According to Nadlifah, a child may display good
behavior simply to earn a reward, avoid a reprimand, or because they are under
adult supervision. For this reason, Islamic education should not be directed
solely toward producing orderly behavior, but also needs to cultivate values
such as adab (proper conduct), amanah (trustworthiness), rahmah (compassion), responsibility,
care for others, independence, cleanliness, and the practice of worship.
Using qualitative research with a
focused-comparative ethnographic design, Nadlifah examined educational
practices at two institutions: RA Ibnu Abbas Ibn Jabal 1 in Yogyakarta City and
TK (Kindergarten) Aisyiyah Bustanul Athfal Sapen, Yogyakarta. Research data was
gathered through repeated observation over three months, in-depth interviews
with 26 adult informants, including institutional heads, teachers, and
parents/guardians, and documentation review.
The study found that reward-and-punishment
practices could not be separated from each institution's distinct character and
culture. RA Ibnu Abbas showed a more structured pattern of religious-Qur'anic discipline
built through habituation in worship and memorization, while TK Aisyiyah
Bustanul Athfal Sapen developed a more dialogical-cultural approach emphasizing
a child-friendly culture, conflict mediation, Muhammadiyah values, and local
norms of respectful conduct (unggah-ungguh).
Across both contexts, Nadlifah found that the
formation of Islamic habitus in children unfolds gradually and remains in an
early, fragile stage. Islamically valuable behavior begins to emerge when
children are able to display it relatively spontaneously, without depending
entirely on supervision or the promise of a reward.
One of the study's key contributions is its
affirmative-negotiative pedagogical construction. In the affirmative approach,
reward is understood not merely as giving a gift or a star sticker, but as a
form of pedagogical recognition of the value, effort, and improvement process a
child has undertaken. In this way, educators do more than tell a child they are
“good”, they help the child understand the value behind what they have done.
Meanwhile, the negotiative approach positions punishment not as a means of instilling fear, but as a proportional, dialogical, educational consequence oriented toward behavioral improvement and relational repair. Moral values remain a clear boundary, while understanding of the incident, the child's emotional state, and the appropriate pedagogical response can be discussed wisely.
During the examination session, several examiners
probed the methodological and conceptual strength of the research. One question
that arose concerned whether three months of observation was sufficient to
capture the process of Islamic habitus formation. Nadlifah explained that the
duration was intended to capture the early phase and dispositional tendencies of
habitus formation, not to conclude that children's Islamic habitus had become
firmly established. She also acknowledged that longitudinal research could
offer a more extended picture of this development.
The examination discussion also touched on the
relationship between reward, punishment, and child development. Nadlifah
affirmed that fear, within certain limits, can still play a role in the
educational process, but must never strip away a child's dignity or hinder
their development. Reward, too, needs to be kept free of competitive patterns
and directed toward helping children recognize the value behind positive
behavior.
The examiners also emphasized the importance of
continuity in education between family and school. Nadlifah affirmed that the
family remains a child's first and primary educational environment, while the
school's role is to reinforce and continue the process of value formation that
begins at home.
The discussion deepened further as examiners
raised the issues of corporal punishment, the interpretation of the Prophet's
hadith, and the risk of negatively labeling children. In the context of early
childhood education, Nadlifah grounded her approach in humanistic and
contextual principles: physical punishment is not the primary option in raising
children, while correction of behavior remains necessary through methods that
are educational, proportional, and rooted in compassion.
Academically, the dissertation contributes by
drawing a sharper distinction between habit, habituation, compliance, and
Islamic habitus, a distinction important for ensuring that children's religious
activities are not automatically taken as evidence that internalization of
values has occurred.
Nadlifah's research also connects
reward-and-punishment practices to the educational field, pedagogical capital,
and the continuity between school and family. From a pedagogical perspective,
the affirmative-negotiative construction she proposes repositions reward from a
mere gift into an affirmation of value, and punishment from an instrument of
fear into an educational consequence that fosters responsibility.
The open examination was chaired by Prof. Moch.
Nur Ichwan as committee chair/examiner, with Dr. Nina Mariani Noor serving as
committee secretary. The dissertation advisory team consisted of Dr. Hj.
Maemonah and Sibawaihi, Ph.D., while the other examiners were Dr. Rohinah,
Prof. Zulkipli Lessy, and Dr. Sunarwoto, along with Prof. Ahmad Maimun of UIN
Salatiga as external examiner, who joined the session via Zoom Meeting.
Nadlifah's graduation reaffirms UIN Sunan
Kalijaga Yogyakarta's commitment to developing a tradition of Islamic
scholarship that is not only academically rigorous but also closely engaged
with human concerns. This research on early childhood education demonstrates how
Islamic studies can respond to the need for education that is more dialogical,
dignified, and oriented toward children's growth and development.
With this doctoral degree, Nadlifah not only adds
to the roster of UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta's doctoral graduates but also
brings a scholarly contribution relevant to the advancement of early childhood
Islamic education. This achievement is expected to be part of UIN Sunan
Kalijaga Yogyakarta's ongoing effort to produce academics capable of connecting
scholarly depth with genuine concern for real issues in society. (humassk)