Affective Domain in Learning Taxonomy at Institution of Higher Education

In the new era of Industrial Revolution 4.0, students must equip themselves holistically with knowledge, values, and skills to be relevant to current job market requirements. This requires students to be empowered in the affective domain to achieve balance with the cognitive and psychomotor domains. Student involvement in substance abuse, as well as an increase in mental health problems including depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts, are among the signs of a void in the affective or psychological aspects. The purpose of the paper is to highlight scholars’ discourse concerning the position of the affective domain and its challenge in integrating it into the learning taxonomy. This study involves utilizing content analysis of library documents. Data were processed using an analytical-synthetic descriptive method followed by deductive and inductive analysis. The results obtained showed that the cognitive domain was more dominant in the learning taxonomy, even though the affective domain has received more discussion. Accordingly, this study recommends conducting further research to incorporate appropriate elements from the existing taxonomy models with the main principle of Islamic education that emphasizes both psychological and spiritual development. Discourse on akhlaq and tasawuf in Muslim society is most noteworthy when it comes to applying the affective domain, allowing for complete conscious awareness of the mind (mindfulness) in human beings. A balance integration of cognitive and affective domains can be achieved to create a holistic human being as outlined in the Malaysiuan National Education Policy. As such, this will indirectly contribute to achieving quality tertiary education to ensure a prosperous society in this Industrial Revolution 4.0 era.