The Implementation of Islamic Snakes and Ladders as A Traditional Educational Medium for Elementary School Students in Community Service Activities in Nonthaburi, Thailand

Abstract

Islamic education in Muslim minority communities faces persistent challenges in maintaining student engagement and conceptual retention, particularly at the primary school level. This article documents the development and implementation of an Islamic Snakes and Ladders game as a traditional-format educational medium during a Community Service Program activity conducted with elementary school students in Nonthaburi, Thailand. The game was designed to embed Islamic knowledge challenges including questions on Islamic history, Quranic verse recitation, and basic religious practice directly into the board mechanics, so that academic content and play were structurally inseparable rather than merely adjacent. A qualitative descriptive approach was employed, drawing on participatory observation and reflective documentation gathered across three sequential activity phases: facilitated introduction, guided demonstration, and student-led independent practice. Findings indicate that the game format produced markedly elevated levels of student engagement, voluntary participation, and peer-assisted learning relative to conventional instructional approaches. Students demonstrated accelerated comprehension of Islamic content, with local teachers noting that the depth of spontaneous religious discussion observed during gameplay substantially exceeded what typically arose in standard lessons. The game's competitive-yet-collaborative structure was identified as a key mechanism driving both concentration and content retention. This study affirms the enduring relevance of traditional game formats as culturally resonant vehicles for Islamic education and contributes to a growing body of evidence supporting game-based learning in Muslim minority educational contexts across Southeast Asia.