ABSTRACT
This article is an assessment of the concept of critical education that is reviewed in a paradigmatic frame and sees it from the perspective of Islamic education. The basic problems addressed in this article include the relevance, elaboration, and application in Islamic education. Education as a center for the advancement of a nation presents several paradigms that influence and represent the world of education. One such paradigm is the critical education paradigm. As for the concept of Islamic education, it basically emphasizes humanization and liberation as educational orientations and places students and educators as subjects in the learning process. Islamic education combines vertical (spirituality) and horizontal (social) aspects in one educational orientation. This is different from the paradigm of critical education, which places greater emphasis on materialistic matters and less on spiritual aspects. The Islamic education paradigm emphasizes social and togetherness aspects. The orientation of education in Islamic education is to awaken and actualize all the potential possessed by humans holistically. Because education aims to work on the reality of human consciousness, free will, critical reasoning, and creativity, critical education must be methodologically based on the principles of reflection and total action.
