Prayers and Development of Narathiwat youth’s Morals, Ethics and Joyful Learning

Abstract

This research was aimed at studying prayers and development of Narathiwat youth’s morals, ethics and joyful learning. The sample included  40  participants of  Wat Cheong Khao (Daeng Utit) School under the Office  of  Narathiwat  Primary  Education  Area,  Region 1 covering 18  primary 4-6 students: 6 of each grade,  2 school committees, 1 school administrator, 1 teacher responsible for developing students’ morals and ethics, and 18 representative parents: 6 of each grade from Primary 4 to 6. The instruments were a structured interview form and focus-group discussions. The obtained data were interpreted. The findings indicated the following:

1. Prayers which were perfectly performed according to the Prophet’s model clearly affected development of the students’ morals and ethics. Their responses to the interview could reflect their obedience to Allah (swt), honesty, love, life skill, good mental health and positive attitudes.
2. The parents with high Islamic education always prayed and performed religious practices well. They applied Islamic approach into nurturing and being models of their children, contributing to the gentle Muslim youth with good personality and frequent prayers. In contrast, the students whose parents did not keep frequent prayers would not pray when they faced obstacles or inconvenience.
3. The teachers who were models in praying would be loved and respected by the students who fully accepted their teaching and advice, leading to happy learning.

4. The students who always prayed in congregation 5 times daily possessed high social skills with friendly manners to both Muslims and non-Muslims.