THE INTEGRATION OF FAITH, TEACHING, AND LEARNING (IFEA) IN ADVENTIST EDUCATION

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING IN THE SCHOOL CONTEXT

Abstract

This study analyzes the Integration of Faith, Teaching and Learning (IFEA) as a pedagogical mediation in the development of argumentative writing and the integral formation of elementary school students. Grounded in the understanding of religion as a symbolic and constitutive dimension of human experience, the research investigates how the intentional articulation between a biblical narrative, experimental science teaching, and structured writing based on the Claim–Evidence–Reasoning (CER) model impacts scientific reasoning and meaning-making processes. This qualitative study was conducted in a confessional school with 51 fifth-grade students. Data were produced through written texts, questionnaires, and classroom observations, and analyzed using content analysis procedures. The findings indicate that 78.4% of the students demonstrated consistent argumentative structure (Scientific and Hybrid profiles), suggesting that the integration of faith and teaching does not compromise empirical rigor but rather enhances causal reasoning and meaningful learning. The emergence of argumentative profiles articulating scientific rationality and transcendence reflects a model of critical integration between science and religion. The study concludes that IFEA contributes to integral formation by fostering epistemologically consistent dialogue between science, religion, and education, offering empirical contributions to the field of Religious Studies.