DIGITAL PARENTAL DELEGATION IN ISLAMIC EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN: MILLENNIAL MOTHERS' PRACTICES IN RURAL INDONESIA IN UTILIZING ELECTRONIC MEDIA

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the practice  of digital parental delegation in Islamic education for children carried out by millennial generation mothers. The research uses a qualitative approach with phenomenological design to understand the experiences and meanings constructed by mothers in digital-based religious parenting practices. Data were collected through unstructured in-depth interviews and participatory observations, then analyzed using an interactive analysis model developed by Matthew B. Miles and A. Michael Huberman. The results of the study show that the practice of digital parental delegation in Islamic education carried out by millennial mothers in Sangubanyu Village, Batang Regency, reflects the transformation of religious parenting patterns in contemporary Muslim families. Mothers no longer fully position themselves as the main source of transmission of religious knowledge, but use digital media as pedagogical partners in the process of children's religious learning. This delegation emerged as an adaptive response to time constraints, the demands of domestic and public roles, and the doubts of some mothers about their own religious literacy. Through various digital platforms such as YouTube, YouTube Kids, Qur'an learning applications, and online recitation classes, children gain access to visual, interactive, and interesting Islamic materials. In the perspective of Social Learning Theory, digital devices serve as new religious socialization agents that strengthen memory, encourage imitation of religious behavior, and increase motivation for independent learning. Nevertheless, the findings of the study also show a subtle shift in the authority of religious education in the family, where the role of parents is beginning to share space with algorithms, content creators, and digital platforms. This research contributes to enriching the study of family Islamic education by introducing the concept  of digital parental delegation as an analytical framework to understand the transformation of religious pedagogy in Muslim families in the digital era.