Zikr Practice Intervention and Analysis of the Subjective Wellbeing of Special Education Students

Abstract

Subjective well-being or a good life is the dream of every individual including special education students. In developing a sustainable life, subjective well-being is vital and listed as one of the important agenda by the United Nations. However, special education students show limited characteristics of subjective well-being compared to typical students. This has dwarfed the emotional and behavioral development as well as the teaching and learning process of special education students. Therefore, the intervention of zikr practice has been found to be the best practice to help nurture the subjective well-being of special education students, especially from the emotional and behavioral aspects. A total of 30 Muslim special education students, two special education teachers and three parents from SMK Dato` Haji Talib Karim (Dato` Haji Talib Karim Secondary School) Alor Gajah, Melaka in 2022 were selected as the subjects for this study. The data is obtained through observations of the special education students and semi-structured interview sessions with the teachers and parents. The findings are also supported by the analysis of Individual Education Plan documents, behavior checklist, good practice checklist, Student Personality System information and photos of special education student activities. The data obtained is analyzed by assigning codes, categories and themes. The results of this best practice show that special education students who went through the intervention of zikr practice appear to be emotionally calmer. From the behavioral aspect, students obey instructions more easily and show increasingly positive behavioral development. In conclusion, the implementation of this best practice gives positive implications on the aspects of learning and facilitation for special education students.