Gender Inclusivity Evaluation in the Philosophy Learning Program at Murthada Muthahhari Yogyakarta Islamic Student Boarding School: A Feminist Analysis

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the extent to which the philosophy learning program at Murthada Muthahhari Yogyakarta Islamic Student Boarding School reflects gender inclusivity using a feminist evaluation approach. The research employs a qualitative case study method to gain an in-depth understanding of pedagogical practices, gender relations, and students’ experiences, particularly female students, within this specific institutional context. The philosophy learning program at the boarding school demonstrates gender inclusivity through equal access, dialogic and egalitarian pedagogical relationships, equitable participation in learning activities, Focus Group Discussion, and short religious lectures (kultum), as well as the integration of women’s philosophy, women’s cosmology, and women’s history as part of reconstructing a gender-just knowledge canon. Female students perceive philosophy learning as an emancipatory space to develop critical thinking, self-reflection, and awareness of patriarchal social realities. Philosophy is understood as a means of intellectual empowerment that acknowledges women’s experiences as legitimate knowledge sources and encourages women to participate in public knowledge spaces. Furthermore, philosophy learning enhances students’ awareness of gender-equal relations embedded in institutional practices and regulations. From a feminist evaluation perspective, this boarding school can be considered a model of inclusive and transformative philosophy education that challenges the patriarchal legacy in philosophy education.