Understanding And Perception Of Primary School Students In Malaysia Towards Sharia-Based Financial Education

Abstract

The development of the Islamic financial industry in Malaysia needs to be supported by improved financial literacy from an early age through formal education. However, the implementation of Islamic-based financial education at the elementary school level remains suboptimal, so that students' understanding of basic Islamic finance concepts is relatively limited. This study aims to analyze elementary school students' understanding and perceptions of Islamic financial education in Malaysia and to identify the obstacles they face in understanding these concepts. This study uses a qualitative method with a case study approach. Data were collected through observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation. The results show that students' understanding of Islamic-based financial management remains limited. Some students are already familiar with simple activities such as saving, using money for needs, helping parents, and giving alms, but have not yet been able to connect these habits with Islamic values in financial management. Nevertheless, students hold a positive perception of the importance of Islamic financial education and show high interest in learning it. The main obstacle found is that Islamic financial education has not yet been integrated into the school learning process. Therefore, integrating Islamic financial education into elementary school learning through contextual methods suited to students' developmental characteristics is needed to improve Islamic financial literacy from an early age