Islamic Education: Examining AI Use, Reliance, and Perceived Validity among Tarbiyah Students
Abstract
The growing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education raises an important question about whether students’ practical reliance on AI is accompanied by confidence in the credibility of AI-generated information. This study examines patterns of AI use and perceived validity of AI-generated answers among students in the Faculty of Tarbiyah and considers their implications for AI literacy in Islamic education. Using a descriptive quantitative survey design, data were collected from 18 students at Pemalang Islamic Religious Institute and analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The analysis focused on three indicators for which complete respondent-level data were available: frequency of AI use, preference for AI-generated versus self-generated academic answers, and perceived validity of AI-generated answers. The findings show that 14 students (77.8%) reported using AI often and the same proportion indicated greater reliance on AI-generated academic answers, whereas four students (22.2%) reported rare AI use and greater reliance on their own answers. Notably, all respondents (100%) expressed uncertainty about the validity of AI-generated answers. These findings reveal a descriptive gap between practical reliance and epistemic confidence: frequent use of AI does not necessarily imply that students regard its outputs as authoritative or reliable knowledge. In the context of Islamic education, this pattern underscores the need to conceptualize AI literacy beyond technical proficiency by incorporating critical evaluation, source awareness, information verification, and epistemic responsibility. Given the small sample and descriptive design, the findings are limited to the surveyed group and do not establish causal relationships or learning effectiveness.
Downloads
References
Andrei, Olivia. “Enhancing Religious Education through Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 78, no. 1 (December 19, 2022). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v78i1.7887.
Avoyan, Emma. “Collaborative Governance for Innovative Environmental Solutions: Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Cases from Around the World.” Environmental Management 71, no. 3 (March 23, 2023): 670–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01642-7.
Bearman, Margaret, Juliana Ryan, and Rola Ajjawi. “Discourses of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: A Critical Literature Review.” Higher Education 86, no. 2 (August 24, 2023): 369–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00937-2.
Bingaman, Kirk A. “Religion in the Digital Age: An Irreversible Process.” Religions 14, no. 1 (January 12, 2023): 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010108.
Dimitriadou, Eleni, and Andreas Lanitis. “A Critical Evaluation, Challenges, and Future Perspectives of Using Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies in Smart Classrooms.” Smart Learning Environments 10, no. 1 (February 6, 2023): 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-023-00231-3.
Falcão, Filipe, Daniela Marques Pereira, Nuno Gonçalves, Andre De Champlain, Patrício Costa, and José Miguel Pêgo. “A Suggestive Approach for Assessing Item Quality, Usability and Validity of Automatic Item Generation.” Advances in Health Sciences Education 28, no. 5 (December 25, 2023): 1441–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-023-10225-y.
García-Martínez, Inmaculada, José María Fernández-Batanero, José Fernández-Cerero, and Samuel P. León. “Analysing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Computational Sciences on Student Performance: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research 12, no. 1 (January 15, 2023): 171–97. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2023.1.1240.
Griffioen, Amber L. “Rethinking Religious Epistemology.” European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 14, no. 1 (March 31, 2022): 21–47. https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.2022.3290.
Han, Shengnan, Eugene Kelly, Shahrokh Nikou, and Eric-Oluf Svee. “Aligning Artificial Intelligence with Human Values: Reflections from a Phenomenological Perspective.” AI & SOCIETY 37, no. 4 (December 20, 2022): 1383–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01247-4.
Husgafvel, Ville, and Terhi Utriainen. “Contemporary Mindfulness and Transreligious Learning Paths of Mental Health Professionals.” Religions 14, no. 6 (June 19, 2023): 807. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060807.
Hwang, Gwo-Jen, Yun-Fang Tu, and Kai-Yu Tang. “AI in Online-Learning Research: Visualizing and Interpreting the Journal Publications from 1997 to 2019.” The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 23, no. 1 (February 1, 2022): 104–30. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v23i1.6319.
Jia, Fenglin, Daner Sun, Qing Ma, and Chee-Kit Looi. “Developing an AI-Based Learning System for L2 Learners’ Authentic and Ubiquitous Learning in English Language.” Sustainability 14, no. 23 (November 22, 2022): 15527. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315527.
Jiang, Huimin, Xianhui Wu, Farzad Sabetzadeh, and Kit Yan Chan. “Developing Explicit Customer Preference Models Using Fuzzy Regression with Nonlinear Structure.” Complex & Intelligent Systems 9, no. 5 (October 21, 2023): 4899–4909. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40747-023-00986-9.
Jungherr, Andreas, and Ralph Schroeder. “Artificial Intelligence and the Public Arena.” Communication Theory 33, no. 2–3 (July 28, 2023): 164–73. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtad006.
Kim, Jinhee, Hyunkyung Lee, and Young Hoan Cho. “Learning Design to Support Student-AI Collaboration: Perspectives of Leading Teachers for AI in Education.” Education and Information Technologies 27, no. 5 (June 28, 2022): 6069–6104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10831-6.
Lechuga, Christopher G., and Shayan Doroudi. “Three Algorithms for Grouping Students: A Bridge Between Personalized Tutoring System Data and Classroom Pedagogy.” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 33, no. 4 (December 12, 2023): 843–84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-022-00309-y.
Lee, Sang-Eun. “Otherwise than Teaching by Artificial Intelligence.” Journal of Philosophy of Education 57, no. 2 (July 24, 2023): 553–70. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopedu/qhad019.
López-Martínez, Ana, Lourdes Meroño, María Cánovas-López, Antonio García-de-Alcaraz, and Luis Manuel Martínez-Aranda. “Using Gamified Strategies in Higher Education: Relationship between Intrinsic Motivation and Contextual Variables.” Sustainability 14, no. 17 (September 3, 2022): 11014. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141711014.
Mantini, Alessandro. “Technological Sustainability and Artificial Intelligence Algor-Ethics.” Sustainability 14, no. 6 (March 9, 2022): 3215. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063215.
Marciniak, Renata, and Cristina Cáliz Rivera. “A System of Indicators for the Quality Assessment of Didactic Materials in Online Education.” The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 22, no. 1 (March 11, 2021): 180–98. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v22i1.5069.
Marek, Zbigniew, and Anna Walulik. “Ignatian Spirituality as Inspiration for a Pedagogical Theory of Accompaniment.” Journal of Religion and Health 61, no. 6 (December 18, 2022): 4481–98. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01628-z.
Marrone, Rebecca, Victoria Taddeo, and Gillian Hill. “Creativity and Artificial Intelligence—A Student Perspective.” Journal of Intelligence 10, no. 3 (September 6, 2022): 65. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence10030065.
McKee, Martin, and Olivier J. Wouters. “The Challenges of Regulating Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Comment on ‘Clinical Decision Support and New Regulatory Frameworks for Medical Devices: Are We Ready for It? - A Viewpoint Paper.’” International Journal of Health Policy and Management, September 19, 2022. https://doi.org/10.34172/ijhpm.2022.7261.
Nguyen Duc, Tho, Chanh Minh Tran, Nguyen Gia Bach, Phan Xuan Tan, and Eiji Kamioka. “Repetition-Based Approach for Task Adaptation in Imitation Learning.” Sensors 22, no. 18 (September 14, 2022): 6959. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22186959.
Palik, Júlia, and Gudrun Østby. “Interventions to Improve Refugee Children’s Access to Education and Quality Learning: A Scoping Review of Existing Impact Evaluations.” International Review of Education 69, no. 1–2 (April 29, 2023): 227–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-023-10004-2.
Pallathadka, Harikumar, Sulieman Ibraheem Shelash Al-Hawary, Iskandar Muda, Susilo H. Surahman, Ammar Abdel Amir Al-Salami, and Zarina Nasimova. “The Study of Islamic Teachings in Education: With an Emphasis on Behavioural Gentleness.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 79, no. 1 (February 24, 2023). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v79i1.8193.
Rangel-de Lázaro, Gizéh, and Josep M. Duart. “You Can Handle, You Can Teach It: Systematic Review on the Use of Extended Reality and Artificial Intelligence Technologies for Online Higher Education.” Sustainability 15, no. 4 (February 14, 2023): 3507. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043507.
Ranson, Janice M., Magda Bucholc, Donald Lyall, Danielle Newby, Laura Winchester, Neil P. Oxtoby, Michele Veldsman, et al. “Harnessing the Potential of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Dementia Research.” Brain Informatics 10, no. 1 (December 24, 2023): 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40708-022-00183-3.
Rathore, M. Mazhar, Syed Attique Shah, Dhirendra Shukla, Elmahdi Bentafat, and Spiridon Bakiras. “The Role of AI, Machine Learning, and Big Data in Digital Twinning: A Systematic Literature Review, Challenges, and Opportunities.” IEEE Access 9 (2021): 32030–52. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3060863.
Robbins, Scott, and Aimee van Wynsberghe. “Our New Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure: Becoming Locked into an Unsustainable Future.” Sustainability 14, no. 8 (April 18, 2022): 4829. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084829.
Schiff, Daniel. “Out of the Laboratory and into the Classroom: The Future of Artificial Intelligence in Education.” AI & SOCIETY 36, no. 1 (March 9, 2021): 331–48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-020-01033-8.
Sovrano, Francesco, and Fabio Vitali. “Explanatory Artificial Intelligence (YAI): Human-Centered Explanations of Explainable AI and Complex Data.” Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery 38, no. 5 (September 10, 2024): 3141–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10618-022-00872-x.
Stamer, Tjorven, Jost Steinhäuser, and Kristina Flägel. “Artificial Intelligence Supporting the Training of Communication Skills in the Education of Health Care Professions: Scoping Review.” Journal of Medical Internet Research 25 (June 19, 2023): e43311. https://doi.org/10.2196/43311.
Tolman, Ethan R., Daniel G. Ferguson, Mark Mann, April Maskiewicz Cordero, and Jamie L. Jensen. “Reconciling Evolution: Evidence from a Biology and Theology Course.” Evolution: Education and Outreach 13, no. 1 (December 2, 2020): 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12052-020-00133-9.
Tondok, Marselius Sampe, Suryanto Suryanto, and Rahkman Ardi. “Intervention Program to Reduce Religious Prejudice in Education Settings: A Scoping Review.” Religions 13, no. 4 (March 30, 2022): 299. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040299.
Utami, Pratiwi Tri. “Raising Religious Inherency: The Role of Interreligious Competence in Achieving Religious Education Equality in Multireligious Public Schools in Indonesia.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 9, no. 1 (August 16, 2022): 271. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01298-y.
Vallis, Carmen, Stephanie Wilson, Daniel Gozman, and John Buchanan. “Student Perceptions of AI-Generated Avatars in Teaching Business Ethics: We Might Not Be Impressed.” Postdigital Science and Education 6, no. 2 (June 6, 2024): 537–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-023-00407-7.
Ven, Gido M. van de, Tinne Tuytelaars, and Andreas S. Tolias. “Three Types of Incremental Learning.” Nature Machine Intelligence 4, no. 12 (December 5, 2022): 1185–97. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-022-00568-3.
Volkman, Richard, and Kathleen Gabriels. “AI Moral Enhancement: Upgrading the Socio-Technical System of Moral Engagement.” Science and Engineering Ethics 29, no. 2 (April 23, 2023): 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-023-00428-2.
Wang, Ning, and James Lester. “K-12 Education in the Age of AI: A Call to Action for K-12 AI Literacy.” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 33, no. 2 (June 20, 2023): 228–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-023-00358-x.
Williams, Randi, Safinah Ali, Nisha Devasia, Daniella DiPaola, Jenna Hong, Stephen P. Kaputsos, Brian Jordan, and Cynthia Breazeal. “AI + Ethics Curricula for Middle School Youth: Lessons Learned from Three Project-Based Curricula.” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 33, no. 2 (June 1, 2023): 325–83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-022-00298-y.
Xu, Weiqi, and Fan Ouyang. “The Application of AI Technologies in STEM Education: A Systematic Review from 2011 to 2021.” International Journal of STEM Education 9, no. 1 (September 19, 2022): 59. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-022-00377-5.
Zelesniack, Elena, Viktor Oubaid, and Sigrid Harendza. “Final-Year Medical Students’ Competence Profiles According to the Modified Requirement Tracking Questionnaire.” BMC Medical Education 21, no. 1 (December 5, 2021): 319. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02728-2.
Copyright (c) 2026 Paedagogia: Jurnal Pendidikan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The author agrees to the following conditions upon publishing a work to Paedagogia: Jurnal Pendidikan:
1. Each article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. The author(s) recognizes that Paedagogia: Jurnal Pendidikan has the right to be the first to publish under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. This license permits the copying and redistribution of this material in any form or format, as well as the composition, modification, and creation of derivative works of this material for any purpose, but Non commercial, as long as the author is credited with the original work.
2. Authors may submit articles separately or arrange for non-exclusive distribution of manuscripts previously published in this journal in other forms (e.g., to the author's institutional repository, publication in books, etc. ), provided that the manuscript is acknowledged as having been published first in the Paedagogia: Jurnal Pendidikan.
3. A copyright submission agreement must attach each approved manuscript prior to publication. You may obtain the form for the copyright submission agreement here (INA) (EN).
This work is licensed under a 