Teacher Passion as a Spiritual Vocation in the Framework of Islamic Education Toward Holistic and Ethical Teaching Practice

Abstract

Research on teacher passion has grown significantly over the past decade, primarily framed within psychological constructs such as motivation, identity, and engagement. While this body of work has advanced understanding of emotional and professional dimensions of teaching, moral and spiritual perspectives remain underexplored, particularly within Islamic educational contexts. This study aims to map the global research landscape of teacher passion, identify its conceptual evolution and thematic orientations, and explore its integration with Islamic educational values. It also highlights epistemological gaps and proposes a broader conceptual reframing of teacher passion. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using 452 peer-reviewed articles retrieved from the Scopus database covering 2017–2026. Data were analyzed using VOSviewer and Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny (Biblioplot) to examine publication trends, influential authors, countries, institutions, citation impact, and thematic clusters through keyword co-occurrence and trend analysis. The findings reveal a significant increase in teacher-passion research, dominated by Western and East Asian scholars, with the United States, China, and Australia leading in output and citations. Four major clusters were identified: (1) teacher motivation and identity, (2) pedagogy and leadership, (3) self-efficacy and engagement, and (4) emotional development. Despite its maturity in psychological perspectives, moral and spiritual dimensions remain largely absent, indicating a clear epistemological gap. Integrating Islamic pedagogical values such as ikhlas (sincerity), amanah (moral trust), tarbiyah (character cultivation), and da’wah (spiritual purpose) can expand teacher passion into a spiritual vocation that unites intellect, emotion, and faith, offering a more holistic framework for future research and teacher development.