Exploring Muslim Pre-schoolers’ Religious Self-Identity, Moral Values and Reasoning: A Case Study in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Aishah Hanim Abd Karim1*
1 Kulliyyah of Education, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
*Corresponding Author: [email protected] Accepted: 15 February 2022 | Published: 1 March 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.55057/ijarih.2022.4.1.2
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Abstract: This is an exploratory qualitative research that aims to explore Muslim pre- schoolers’ development of religious self-identity and moral values and reasoning for behavioral conformity. Based on Bowlby’s theory of attachment (1971), both infants and mothers need to stay in constant contact with each other. Children who did not experience warm and continuing attachment would fail to develop healthy relationships when they get older. If these biological needs were not met, not only emotional but also intellectual problems in adulthood might occur. The Informants involved two Muslim Malaysian children – a boy and a girl, both aged five years old. They were selected by their classroom teacher in a public preschool. The research setting was a classroom setting. The research applied in-depth, semi- structured interview protocols as a method of collecting data based on several pictures related to Muslim religious practices and moral behaviors. From the study, it was found that the two pre-schoolers have developed the rudiments of religious self-identity, sense of moral values and conform to Kohlberg’s first stage of moral judgement, which is to act due to fear of getting punished and not wanting to displease adults, especially their parents. There is not much research done on the development of self-identity in young Muslim children in Malaysia, specifically for children aged five years old. This research would assist teachers, parent, and caregivers in guiding young children to shape their identity and acquire good Muslim characteristics. Understanding the reasons for children’s conformity would also be achieved in this research.
Keywords: attachment theory, pre-schoolers, religious self-identity, moral development, moral values, moral behaviors
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1. Introduction
It is a well-known fact that the foundation of adult development is dependent on the nurturance obtained during the period of early childhood. Adolescent life is closely related to early childhood life which in turn is a function of the family ties. According to Bowlby (1971), both infants and mothers would have evolved a biological need to stay in constant contact with each other. He believed that there was an optimal time for both mothers and infants to bond. They showed that this bonding, also called attachment by behaviors were designed to bring the mother to its newborn infant. In general, attachment can be referred to as an innate human characteristic that motivates an infant to seek closeness with a special person (Whites, Hayes, and Livesay, 2005). It does not only describe the bonding and interactions between a child and his caregiver, but also how the attachment style of the child influences his behavior and development (Bowman, 2019). Bowlby believed that mothers also have a biological need to be
close to their babies. That is why they responded quickly to their babies’ smiles and to their signals of distress. Bowlby’s theory of attachment assumed that form babies to be kept free from predators in those distant evolutionary days, it would have been necessary for the mother to want to stay by the baby, as well as the other way around. In other words, both mothers and infants need each other.
In addition, Bowlby warned that young children who did not experience warm and continuing attachment would fail to develop healthy relationships when they get older. The process of bonding was the basis for attachments in adult life. It is sad for a child to have no opportunity to form a secure attachment. If these biological needs were not met, Bowlby predicted that not only emotional but also intellectual problems in adulthood might occur. Young children usually develop strong relationships with their caregivers or parents than friends. Children with secure attachment histories will adapt better in a school environment. They will enjoy learning and socializing with peers. Therefore, it is important for caregivers to develop secure attachment relationships with their infants so that they will become socially competent. Thus, it is vital to investigate early childhood development of children as a basis for security in adolescence.
From the Islamic perspective, nurturing young children is greatly emphasized very early in their life. Biologically, mothers are encouraged to breastfeed their infants for approximately two years, as mentioned in the Qur’an (2:233; 31:14; 65:6). This is important for mother-child bonding and for the health benefits of the breastmilk. Physically, as infants develop, they are encouraged to take up physical activities such as swimming, horse riding and shooting the bow and arrow to keep fit and healthy. Spiritually, parents are encouraged by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to train their children to pray when they reach seven years of age to arouse awareness of their faith. Mentally, they are trained to exercise their mind and preserve it from being clouded through prohibition of alcohol, drug or cigarette. In this condition, they are even forbidden to perform their regular prayers, as mentioned in the Qur’an (2:219; 4:43).
Sexual education in young children is also emphasized in Islam whereby they are allowed to sleep together with their siblings, but are advised to sleep separately from ten years old onwards. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Teach your children to pray when they are seven years old and smack them if they do not do so when they are ten years old, and separate them in their beds” (The Hadith, n.d.). They are also taught not to enter their parents’ bedroom before dawn prayer and after Isha’ (night) and zuhur (afternoon) prayers for their parents’ privacy as stated in the Qur’an (24:58).
Clearly the versus of the Qur’an provide evidence of the emphasis given by Islam to sex education, to be modest and to avoid being promiscuous. Hence, it prescribes a code of dressing that is not licentious especially for girls, that covers the whole body from head to toe, and the hijab to cover the head (except the face) and the chest. Socially, Muslim children are socialized to play in separate male and female groups once they reached the age of puberty.
However, today, a large number of Muslim youths are confused with their identity. The do not seem to know who they really are due to the influence of not only their peers but more often the alien values which they absorbed from watching television or from interaction in the Internet and social media. According to Erik Erikson, the leading proponent of psychosocial development, who introduced the theory of psychosocial development in the 1950s, the fifth stage of his eight stages, is that of identity versus confusion which occurs during adolescence
between the ages of approximately 12 and 18. During the stage, the youths want to explore their independence and develop a sense of self and thus, they do many things, especially high- risk activities. But this is inconsistent with the Islamic principle that the age of puberty signifies the ability to perform serious responsibilities, such as leading congregational prayers and even that of marriage.
Female youths are demanding more freedom from their parents in the ways they dress, the authority and manners of social life, especially with the opposite sex. They have also begun to show disrespect to their parents in their manner of speech and also words used. This is in contrast to the period when they were younger children where they imitate their parents in terms of dress and behaviors. Furthermore, many Muslim youths today are reluctant to obtain counselling from teachers, parents and other authorities, when they need guidance and instead prefer to flout the rules. Hence, this study aims to investigate if Muslim preschool children have already formed a fixed identity of what it is to be a Muslim in term of their religious practices with respect to the code of dressing, ways and places of worship and knowledge of their holy scripture based on their bonding and association with their parents.
2. Literature Review
According to Erik Erikson, there are eight stages of psychosocial development. The two stages that concern us are the stages of toddler or early childhood (18 months to 3 years) and preschools (3 to 5 years). During the second stage of early childhood years, the child has an opportunity to build self-esteem and autonomy as he or she learns new skills and right from wrong. The child who is well nurtured is sure of himself, carrying himself or herself with pride rather than shame. Children tend to be vulnerable during this stage, sometimes they feel shame and has low self-esteem when they are unable to learn certain skills. During the third stage of early childhood years, children experience a desire to imitate the adults and create play situations, in making up stories with dolls, toy phones and cars, and experimenting with what they believe it means to be an adult.
Several psychologists such as Piaget and Kohlberg, had done extensive researchers related to the cognitive domain of morality, particularly on moral judgment. Kohlberg developed six stages of moral judgment development, which form a hierarchy of cognitive maturity that refers to the level of sophistication in a person’s reasoning. The higher the stage, the more cognitively sophisticated the reasoning. Besides that, an individual’s moral development and judgment becomes more internalized as he or she reaches the highest peak of the hierarchy. In other words, it means that his or her decisions is less influenced by external authorities and controlled more by the individual’s internal standards and principles.
According to Kohlberg (1987), the first level of moral development, which is pre-conventional consisted of the first two stages of the level of moral judgment. This level emphasizes on punishment and rewards. It occurs in children between the ages of four to ten. In the first stage, which is heteronomous morality, it refers to doing what is right, follow the rules and avoid punishment. It is also about doing what a person is told to do and keeping him or herself out of trouble. Children will obey the authorities in order to avoid punishments. For instance, “If you do that, you will get into trouble.” The second stage is instrumental morality. This stage refers to satisfying one’s own needs. Children will usually take care of their own needs first before the needs of others. They believe that if they are being nice to other people, then other people will also be nice to them. If it feels good, then it is good. Right is a reciprocal or equal agreement between others. For example, “I will invite you to my party if you let me play with you.”
The second level is called conventional. It emphasizes on social rules of an individual’s family, groups or nations. It occurs in children between the ages of ten and thirteen. The third and fourth stages of moral judgement development fall under this level. The third stage is interpersonal normative morality, which refers to showing concern about other people and keeping mutual relationships through trust and loyalty. It also refers to conformity that is to conform towards expected or stereotyped behaviors. Children realize that good behaviors are behaviors that are approved by other people around them. They also recognize intent that is attached to a behavior. Such as, “She did not really mean to ruin your drawings. She was just trying to help.” The fourth stage is social system morality. This stage requires maintenance of law and order, respect for authority, fulfilling one’s duty and responsibility, and also contributing to societies. For instance, “It is not right to take things that belong to other people.
You can get arrested for doing that.”
The last level is called post-conventional. It consists of the two lasts stages of the moral judgment development, which are the fifth and sixth stages. The level emphasizes on the universal moral values and principles. It occurs in adolescent period. The fifth stage is social contract morality. It refers to the principles arrived at consensus with other people around them, while at the same time respecting everyone’s variety of values. These principles should be upheld in the interest of society’s welfare. They learn that laws might be changed if a consensus can be reached. For example, “I think we should change the rules of this game so that little kids can play with us too.” Finally, the sixth stage of moral judgment development is the universal ethical principles. This stage is about self-chosen ethical principles, which is the universal principles of justice, equality of human rights and respect for human dignity. If there are any laws that violate these principles, then people should act according to the given principles rather than following the law. For instance, “I do not think that anyone should be discriminated against. Everyone has the right to live wherever he or she wants.”
The current study only investigates Kohlberg’s first two stages of moral development since the subjects of study were preschool children. Based on previous studies on stages of moral development, it was found that young children tend to develop their moral sense from within the family parents played the formative role of instilling a sense of right and wrong in their children. A study found that there exists a positive relationship between blessing of parenting (or parents’ religious beliefs) and parental induction and children’s conscience. Parents’ use of positive socialization combined with a belief in the sanctification of parenting predicted children’s conscience development (Volling, Mahoney, & Rauer, 2009). Parent’s roles and parenting styles may influence children’s morality (Tan & Yasin, 2020). For instance, parents with permissive parenting style were less likely to produce children with high morality.
Another study reported that males had significantly higher moral stage scores than female (White, 1975) while Waqar and Bibi (2019) stated that girls scored significantly higher than boys on moral justification. Moral judgment schemes existed, and it could be changed with age and education (Narvaez, 1998) and briefing training programs could be effective in raising the level of moral maturity in young children (Jensen & Murray, 1978). Older children used moral domains of reasoning such as welfare and fairness more than the younger children (Lee et al., 2021). These findings were related to the current study as it examines young children’s awareness and socialization of certain moral values.
Studies have shown that religiosity has an impact on children’s social-emotion and behaviors.
It could also be seen as a protective factor that could influence children’s propensity to engage in positive social behaviors. Carothers, Borkowski, Lefever and Whitman (2005) found that
“children and adolescents who are affiliated with religious communities were likely to have
expanded networks of individuals who know them well, are concerned about their well-being, serve as sources of support at multiple levels, provide models for positive behaviors, and facilitate resistance to negative influences in the surrounding environments” (p.271). “Church attendance appears to assist teens in developing socio-emotional self-regulation, helping them refrain from negative behaviors and increasing their engagement in positive social activities”
(Carothers et al., 2005, p. 272). Therefore, religiosity could be seen as a protective factor that could influence children’s propensity to engage in positive social behaviors. Religion could also bring positive impacts on socio-emotional development through maternal adjustment. For instance, Carothers et al (2005) study showed that “adolescent mothers” adjustment to parenthood – including self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and socioeconomic status – emerged as a mediator of the relationship between religiosity and children’s internationalization and externalization (p. 273). The religiosity of parents including the frequency of going to mass and the degree of coercion or encouragement to attend mass also affects adolescents’ religious practices (Miloš & Glavaš, 2021). Minority youths who had a close relationship with an individual of different religion that their own were found to be more socially skilled than those who did not (Eisenberg, Sallquist, French, Urip Purwono, Telie Ari Suryanti and Sri Pidada, 2009).
Young children will usually obey adult’s instructions or rules. They rarely rebel or go against the instructions or rules given. Previous studies found that children’s awareness and rationales for rules depend on the socio-economic status of the family and parental behaviors (Johnson &
McGillicuddy-Delisi, 1983). Sun & Yu (2016) found that 6-year-old children tend to conform to their peers when group ratings were different from their own ratings. Older preschool children and adults were able to make clear distinctions between social and physical laws (Kalish, 1998). Peer conformity on neutral behaviors such as sports and hobbies, peaked at ninth grade while parent conformity was greater than peer conformity at third grade (Berndt, 1979). Nevertheless, peer influence increased between the third and sixth grade even though there was no parent-peer conflict. In terms of social distance, it was found that white children were more likely to display greater feelings of social distance towards blacks than the blacks towards white (Schneider, 1970). This means that children of different ethnic groups have greater feelings of social distance.
It is a big challenge for parents to raise their children in the twenty first century due to the easy access of information from the electronic media, the internet and the social media that could be positive and negative. In order to prepare the children to become responsible members of the society, it is important to instill positive moral values and religious practices since the beginning of their early years of life. Thus, the major purpose of the study is to investigate Muslim preschoolers’ understanding of religious self-identity, perceptions of moral values and behaviors, and moral reasoning.
Conceptual Framework
There are many factors that may influence an individual’s self-concept and self-identity. Figure 1 shows two factors that might influence a child’s self-concept, namely, his or her perception of moral values and religious practices. The perceptions and beliefs in moral values would then bring an impact of how they would conform to the society and family traditions while religious practices will eventually shape the child’s religious identity.
Figure 1: Factors that may assist in developing a person’s self-concept
3. Methodology
This study employed the qualitative research method, specifically the case study as a means for collecting the data. The case study method which comprised semi-structure interview protocols is found to be more suitable for this study, as it involved young children who were too small to do tests or answer surveys. The site of the study was a preschool situated in a low- income community in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and was selected because it was under the care of a federal agency. Two Muslim pre-schoolers, a boy and a girl, aged five years old were chosen with the assistance of their class teacher to participate in the study.
The researcher employed big and colorful pictures, nine related to religious practices and six to moral values, as points for analysis in the interviews. The first two pictures were related to religious practices in term of dressing. The first picture showed a little girl without the hijab (head cover), whereas the second picture showed a little girl donning the hijab. The researcher asked the female participant to describe each picture and chose the one that resembled her. The researcher also asked her to explain the reasons for her choice.
The third and fourth pictures were also related to religious practices but these were in term of worship. These pictures showed a little boy and a little girl praying, respectively. The researcher asked the informants to describe the picture, that is “What are they doing? Which one are you? Why do you think so?”
The fifth and sixth pictures on religious practices were related to the holy scriptures, showing a picture of the Holy Qur’an and the Bible, respectively. Similar to the above procedures, the researcher asked the informants to describe the pictures and answer the following questions,
“Do you know what it is? Have you seen it before? Can you read the book?”
The seventh, eighth and ninth pictures on religious practices were related to places of worship, showing the picture of a Buddhist temple, a Hindu temple and a mosque, respectively. The researcher asked the informants to describe the pictures with follow up questions: “Do you know what it is? Have you seen it before? If yes, where?”
Self- Identity
Self-control Self-concept Self-esteem
Moral Values Religious Practices
In addition to the nine pictures on religious practices, the researcher employed six pictures related to moral values. The first picture on moral value showed two boys fighting over a few toys, whereas the second picture showed two children playing together happily. The researcher then asked the informants to describe the pictures based on their perspectives. Then, several questions were asked, such as “Which one suits you most? Do you enjoy playing together with your friends? Have you ever had a fight with your friends before?”
The third and fourth pictures on moral value were related to cleanliness, with the third presenting a clean bedroom, whereas the fourth presenting a messy bedroom. The informants were asked to describe both pictures and answered the following questions: “Which bedroom do you like better? Which bedroom is similar to your bedroom? Which one is cleaner?
Do you clean your bedroom?”
The fifth and sixth pictures were related to moral behaviors, whereby the fifth showed a girl sweeping the floor, whereas the sixth showed two boys smearing while paint all over the floor and on the television set in the living room. The boys were also splashed with white paint all over their bodies. Similar to the above procedures, the informants were asked to describe both pictures. Then, they were asked questions such as “What are the children doing in the picture?
Which picture sets a good behavior?”
Finally, the informants were asked the following questions pertaining to behavioral conformity:
1) If a teacher tells you to do your homework, would you do it? Why? What happen if you do not do your homework?
2) If your mother asks you to wash your school shoes, would you do it? Why? What happen if you do not do it?
3) Do you have an older sibling? If your older sibling tells you to steal an eraser from a mini market, would you do it? Why?
Individual in-depth interview was done, focusing on the children’s perceptions of religious practices, moral values and conformity to adults’ instruction. The interview lasted for about thirty minutes. It was audio-taped, then transcribed and analysed for key themes and categories, which were then developed into a framework for coding the body of the interview data. The study first attempted to understand the framework of young children’s perceptions of moral values and religious practices and then to grasp the reasons of their conformity towards adults’
instructions.
4. Findings
This study generated three themes: a) a sense of awareness towards religiosity, b) attitude towards certain moral values, and c) conformity towards adults’ instructions.
Self-Identity in Relation to Religious Identity
Sense of awareness towards religious identity is described as the individual’s awareness and observation towards religious groups. This theme had three subthemes (a) hijab (head cover), (b) praying attire, and (c) religious practice.
When shown Pictures 1 and 2 on religious code of dressing the female informant first preferred the girl without the hijab because of the lovely shirt that she was wearing. However, when the researcher rephrased her question, she then chose the girl with the hijab. She said that she also
wears hijab, especially when going out with her family members. She likes to wear hijab because it makes her look prettier. She also feels like wearing hijab when she grows older.
“Because I also wear hijab” (Informant 2)
“Because it is beautiful” (Informant 2)
In Islam, there are different dress codes for man and woman. The informants identified the hijab as the dress code for women upon the researcher’s question but were not concerned with other aspects of the dress, such as it covers the body up to the toes, is loose and not transparent.
“Wearing a hijab” (Informant 1)
“Hijab” (Informant 2)
The two informants were also able to identify the Muslim’s form of prayer when the research showed a picture of a Muslim praying. The female informant mentioned that:
“Every day…after I am home from school, I will take my bath and straightaway go to pray” (Informant 2)
She added that she always prays daily with her mother and sister. She also stated that she prays every day. When asked who “taught her how to pray, she answered:
“Mother” (Informant 2)
The researcher further probed the informants to check if they know the names of the daily prayers and also the number of rakaah (bowing) for each. They said respectively,
“Maghrib, asar, isya’” (Informant 1)
“Subuh…zuhr” (Informant 1)
They seem to know the name of the prayers but not the number of rakaah. They were just guessing. Hence, it is evident that children at this age are able to observe the obvious details but not the finer ones like the number of times one bow down.
Both the informants were also able to identify the Qur’an, which is the Muslim holy scripture, but not the Bible which they merely referred to as a book as evident from the verbatim below:
“This is a picture of a person reading a book, whereas this is a picture of a person reading the Qur’an” (Informant 1)
“Al-Qur’an” (Informant 2)
When the researcher asked whether they can read the Qur’an, they responded positively by nodding and shaking their head. The said that they have Qur’anic lessons. The male informant mentioned that his older friend come to his house to give him a Qur’anic lesson, whereas the female informant goes to the teacher’s house daily at 8:30 p.m. with her siblings for Qur’anic lessons.
“At my house.” (Informant 1)
“My friend teaches me.” (Informant 1)
“Everyday” (Informant 2)
“At 8:30 p.m. at night” (Informant 2)
When the researcher asked if they had read Iqra’ or Muqaddam, which are beginner’s books for reading in Arabic consisting of letters, words and sentences, they replied:
“Muqaddam” (Informant 1)
“Iqra’” (Informant 2)
The informants were also able to distinguish between places of worship for Muslims and non- Muslims such as Buddhists and Hindus. They said that the temples in the pictures are places for the Chinese and Indian to perform their prayers. One (Informant 1) has seen it in his village, and the other (Informant 2) “at the edge of a hill.” Thus, at this age, the informants were also able to relate ethnic group to their corresponding faith, which is true in the Malaysian contet.
“This is the place for Chinese.” (Informant 1)
“This is the Chinese’s home.” (Informant 2)
“This is the place for the Malays.” (Informant 1)
“Masjid [Mosque]” (Informant 2)
“This is for the Indians.” (Informant 1)
“This place belongs to the Indians.” (Informant 2)
“Perform prayers.” (Informant 2)
Self-Identity in Relation to Moral Values
Some of children’s attitude that the researcher desires to understand include the way they socialize with people around them, their values of cleanliness and offering help.
When the two informants were asked on whether they have been into a fight with their siblings or peers, both responded in the negative. “Never” (Informant 1) and (Shaking her head) (Informant 2). The reasons are as follows:
“A smart person would not get into fight” (Informant 1)
“I will get scolded by my mother.” (Informant 2)
With respect to the value of cleanliness, the researcher showed the informants pictures of two bedrooms – one was clean and the other was messy. When asked for their preference, both chose the clean bedroom. One chose because it was “Neat” (Informant 1) and the other
“Because it is beautiful” (Informant 2). The researcher then asked them whether or not they like to live in a messy bedroom. Informant 1 replied, “No” and Informant 2 said, “No, because it is messy.” Both of the informants said that they clean their bedrooms on their own.
When the researcher showed the informants a picture of a girl sweeping the floor and a picture of a boy playing around with white paint, and asked them which of these pictures set a good example, they immediately referred to the picture of the girl sweeping the floor as an example of good behavior.
“Because she and her sister sweep the floor.” (Informant 1)
The male informant said that the other picture does not set good example:
“Because he is playing with paint.. he smeared the paint on his young brother and on the television.” (Informant 1)
Both of them nodded their head and said that they both knew how to sweep the floor. The female informant enjoyed sweeping the floor and always did it at home. She did it on her own, without anyone else telling her to do so. The researcher then asked the informants what other helpful things they did at home. Here are their responses:
“Sweep the floor” (Informant 1)
“Bathe my little brother” (Informant 1)
“Cook” (Informant 2)
“Help to take care of my little brother” (Informant 2) Conformity Towards Adult’s Instruction
Children generally obey instruction. They like to be praised and appreciated. However, some children can be very disobedient and undisciplined. To investigate for conformity, the researcher asked the two informants whether they will complete the homework assigned by their teacher. Their responses were similar: “I will do it!” The informants gave several reasons for completing their homework, or in other words, for obeying the teacher’s instruction. They said that if they did not, then they would:
“Get scolded by my mother” (Informant 1)
“Get scolded and caned” (Informant 1)
“Get scolded” (Informant 2)
“Mother get the cane” (Informant 2)
“On my butt” (Informant 2)
“Usually on my hand” (Informant 1)
“She will cane me with a pencil” (Informant 1)
Then, the researcher asked if both were willing to assist their parents who requested their help.
For instance, what would be their reactions if their mother asked them to wash their school shoes or help them in the kitchen. Both informants answered, “No.” When the male informant (Informant 1) was asked why he would not assist his mother, he replied, “Because it is a difficult taks.” Informant 2 stated that she likes to help her mother because “otherwise mother will get body ache” due to an overload of housework.
When both informants were asked how would they feel if their parents or teachers were angry at them, their responses were “Scared.” The researcher also asked the informants whether or not they were willing to steal an eraser from a mini market. Their responses were as follow:
“You cannot do that!” (Informant 1)
“That is what you called a thief” (Informant 1)
“I do not want!” (Informant 2)
Here are the reasons why they would not steal:
“Get caught by the police” (Informant 1)
“Get into prison” (Informant 1)
“Sinful” (Informant 2)
“People will lodge a police report” (Informant 2)
“Get caught” (Informant 2)
“Get into prison” (Informant 2)
However, they both agreed that it would be fine if they were to purchase and pay for the eraser, because then it would not be considered as stealing and it would not be sinful.
5. Discussion and Conclusion
Findings from this study show that even though Malaysia is a multiracial country, the young Muslim children in this country are not confused between their religion identity and values with that of other religions. They have adequately understood which practices are theirs to follow and those not to follow. As Muslims, they know when and how to perform a prayer.
Although they do not have much knowledge on the number of rakaahs (bowing) and the Qur’anic recitations in the prayers, but at least they are able to perform the prayers by following the imam (leader). They also know that Muslims should pray in a mosque, and not in temples, which are the places of worship for Hindus and Buddhists. Children at this age are able to differentiate the praying attire and dress code for both man and woman. The pre-schooler Muslim girl was encouraged by her family culture to wear hijab at a very young age and both were encouraged to pray and recite the Qur’an. It is evident that the children learn through observing their family members. These findings on the important role of religiosity on self- identity is consistent with the findings of Carothers et al. (2005) and Erikson’s (2017) theory of development during the second and third stages, despite difference of faith and culture.
The findings also indicated that the young pre-schoolers can clearly identify good and bad moral values. They could distinguish between cleanliness and untidiness as evident from the choice of the clean bedroom. They could also identify good behaviors in choosing sweeping the room over smearing it with paint. They were able to related that they do help in the home.
Thus, in a sense they do activities “like” those their parents do. Being able to distinguish good and bad values was also translated into knowledge of good and bad behavior as it evident from both children’s reluctance to steal an erase from a mini-market. These findings concur with that of Volling, Mahoney and Rauer (2009) on the belief in the sanctification of parenting. It is also consistent with (Hanesová, 2021) who found that children refer “good” as the right thing to do, such as sharing things with others and being forgiving.
Finally, it is clear that the pre-schoolers’ reasons for believing and acting the way they do in conforming to adult’s instructions, rules and regulations is due firstly, to fear of punishment such as being scolded or being caned by their parents or teachers and fear of the authority of the police and imprisonment. To avoid from getting punished, children will obey their parents and teachers and conform to their instruction. Secondly, these children conform to adults to imitate or please them. They do not want to disappoint other people because of their actions and behaviors. Adults will frown when they are upset. This will make children feel guilty and start to blame themselves for making other people upset. Thus, to prevent this situation from happening, it is better for them to conform. The findings also show that the pre-schoolers were aware of the consequences of getting involved in bad activities such as to be sent to prison should they were caught stealing and it is a sin to steal other people’s property.
The findings on moral reasoning support Kohlberg’s (1987) moral cognitive development theory, which stated that children between the age of four to ten years old are more likely to obey the authority or adult’s rules in order to avoid punishment. This situation refers to the first level of the moral development theory, which is the pre-conventional level that emphasize on punishment and rewards.
This study provides some evidence of the role of socialization of family religious and moral beliefs and practices on young children’s development of religious self-identity, moral values and behaviors. Children learn from very early what are the family’s religious beliefs, values and traditions and can differentiate it from those of others. One important implication of this study is for parents themselves to internalize these values in their homes if they desire their children to develop them in themselves. A home that is devoid of these beliefs and practices will not help the child. But it is equally important for parents to talk to their young children for justification of their practices in simple terms understood by them so that they will be able to transfer it to many other things in their life. Related to religious beliefs and practices, parents should also broaden their children’s mind by talking about respect for others’ beliefs and practices. This will enable the development of a person who will have tolerance and mutual respect for others especially in a religiously diverse society they live in.
The foundation of children’s character, morality and discipline lies during this formative year.
Therefore, early childhood institutional leaders, parents, caregivers and educational policy makers should give this emphasis in early childhood education more than academic achievement. Both Muslim scholars such as Ulwan (2004) and western scholars such as Lickona (1991) states the importance of moral and character development more than anything else in this age. In fact, the Japanese kindergartens (Tsuneyoshi, 2021) emphasize this to the point of forbidding its teachers to teach academic materials. However, it is good practice to also talk to the children on the reason behind their actions and conducts and also the consequences of misconduct so that they will be trained to think before acting.
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