Cultivating Empathic Compassion in Aqidah Akhlak Learning as a Bullying Prevention Strategy at Madrasah Aliyah Tarbiyatul Mustafid Narmada

Abstract

This study is motivated by the limited research that explicitly positions empathic compassion as the core of bullying prevention in Aqidah Akhlak learning, despite the persistence of verbal bullying and social exclusion in madrasah settings. This study aims to analyze the strategies used by the Aqidah Akhlak teacher to cultivate empathic compassion as a bullying prevention strategy and to identify the obstacles and solutions encountered in this process at Madrasah Aliyah Tarbiyatul Mustafid Narmada. A qualitative descriptive phenomenological design was employed, involving one Aqidah Akhlak teacher, one guidance and counseling teacher, and one perpetrator–victim pair from class XI.1 as key cases selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and documentation, and were analyzed using Miles and Huberman’s interactive model, supported by triangulation of sources, techniques, and time to ensure credibility. The findings reveal three mutually reinforcing strategies: communicative value-based lectures, case-based reflective group discussions, and role play with guided reflection. These strategies activated perspective-taking in the perpetrator, consistent with Martin L. Hoffman’s moral empathy theory. The study concludes that cultivating empathic compassion plays a critical role in shifting how students interpret and respond to bullying. However, its effectiveness remains constrained by time limitations, peer group pressure, and limited parental involvement, indicating the need for broader ecosystem-based interventions. This study contributes to the literature on Islamic moral education and bullying prevention by demonstrating the role of empathic compassion in strengthening students’ moral awareness and prosocial responses, while also opening opportunities for future multisite and mixed-methods research.