Raising Thinkers or Followers? Negotiated Obedience, Autonomy, and Critical Thinking in Muslim Families

This study examines how obedience, autonomy, and critical thinking are negotiated in Muslim families. Using a qualitative Constructivist Grounded Theory design, the study drew on semi-structured interviews with 22 Muslim participants aged 18–20 years in Central Aceh, Indonesia. Data were analysed through constant comparison, initial coding, focused coding, and theoretical coding. The analysis was informed by Self-Determination Theory, relational autonomy, and the Islamic ethical concept of birr al-wālidayn (dutifulness and kindness toward parents), which frames parental authority in moral and religious terms. Participants described varied responses to parental authority, including reflective compliance, negotiated disagreement, and covert noncompliance. Negotiated obedience refers to compliance accompanied by reflection, personal evaluation, and negotiation of parental expectations rather than unquestioning acceptance. Autonomy and critical thinking were expressed through questioning family rules, comparing perspectives, experiencing internal conflict, and expressing opinions while maintaining respect for family relationships. These findings suggest that obedience, autonomy, and critical thinking can be interrelated rather than mutually exclusive in the family experiences examined. By interpreting negotiated obedience and relational critical thinking within the existing relational autonomy framework, the study offers a context-specific understanding of these relationships in Muslim family education, with relevance to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4).

adolescent autonomy · Central Aceh · Critical thinking · family education · Muslim families · parental authority · relational autonomy · Self-determination theory · Sustainable Development Goal 4 · Education and Character Development · Education and Islamic Studies · Philosophy, Sociology, Political Theory