Challenges Of Value Degradation And The Erosion Of Scholarly Authority
Keywords:
value degradation, scholarly authority, digital disruption, character education, Islamic higher education
Abstract
This study examines the phenomenon of moral and value degradation alongside the weakening of scholarly authority in contemporary society, particularly within the context of Islamic higher education in Indonesia. The rapid advancement of information technology and digital media has transformed the way knowledge is produced, disseminated, and validated, creating a paradox in which access to information expands while trust in established sources of authority diminishes. This research employs a qualitative approach through library research, analyzing relevant literature, journal articles, and scholarly works related to value degradation and academic authority. The findings indicate that factors such as globalization, digital disruption, information overload, and the democratization of knowledge production contribute significantly to the erosion of traditional value systems and scholarly credibility. The study recommends strengthening character education, digital literacy, and the revitalization of kyai and ulama authority as strategic responses to preserve moral integrity and academic legitimacy in the digital era.
References
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Vasileiou, K., Barnett, J., Thorpe, S., & Young, T. (2018). Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: Systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0594-7
Wei, Y., Zheng, P., Deng, H., Wang, X., Li, X., & Fu, H. (2020). Design Features for Improving Mobile Health Intervention User Engagement: Systematic Review and Thematic Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22. https://doi.org/10.2196/21687
Alibašić, H., Atkinson, C., & Pelcher, J. (2024). The liminal state of academic freedom: Navigating corporatization in higher education. Discover Education, 3. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-024-00086-x
Bauwens, T., Reike, D., & Calisto-Friant, M. (2023). Science for sale? Why academic marketization is a problem and what sustainability research can do about it. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100749
Beigel, F. (2024). The transformative relation between publishers and editors: Research quality and academic autonomy at stake. Quant. Sci. Stud., 6, 154–170. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00343
Bell, M., & Lewis, N. (2022). Universities claim to value community-engaged scholarship: So why do they discourage it? Public Understanding of Science, 32, 304–321. https://doi.org/10.1177/09636625221118779
Butler, N., & Spoelstra, S. (2014). The Regime of Excellence and the Erosion of Ethos in Critical Management Studies. British Journal of Management, 25, 538–550. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12053
Challenging Academia: A Critical Space for Controversial Social Issues. (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-0365-0827-6
Chesterman, S., & Chieh, L. H. (2026). Research Integrity and Academic Authority in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: From Discovery to Curation? ArXiv, abs/2601.05574. https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2601.05574
Edwards, M., & Roy, S. (2017). Academic Research in the 21st Century: Maintaining Scientific Integrity in a Climate of Perverse Incentives and Hypercompetition. Environmental Engineering Science, 34, 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1089/ees.2016.0223
Fasenfest, D. (2021). Reflections on the Decline of Academia: Large Problems and Small Minds. Critical Sociology, 47, 1057–1063. https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205211054607
Goel, I. (2025). Rituals of Harm: Castration and Genealogies of Sacred Wound Cultures in the Hijra Communities of India. Behavioral sciences & the law. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2713
Gonzalez, P., Wilson, G., & Purvis, A. (2022). Peer review in academic publishing: Challenges in achieving the gold standard. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.19.5.1
Gurung, D., Poudyal, A., Wang, Y., Neupane, M., Bhattarai, K., Wahid, S., Aryal, S., Heim, E., Gronholm, P., Thornicroft, G., & Kohrt, B. (2022). Stigma against mental health disorders in Nepal conceptualised with a ‘what matters most’ framework: A scoping review. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 31. https://doi.org/10.1017/s2045796021000809
Hamid, N., & Wahyuni, S. (2024). A Multicultural Islamic Religious Education Curriculum Development. Jurnal Pendidikan Islam. https://doi.org/10.38073/jpi.v14i2.1731
Hansen, T. (2026). Symbolic scarcity and epistemic waste: A systems theory of academic publishing failure. Research Integrity and Peer Review, 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-026-00193-3
Hartz, R. (2023). Demeaning, depriving, and isolating the academic subject: A case study of the degradation of professional autonomy. Management Learning, 55, 703–719. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505076231207938
Hasra, R., Sah, Moh. A., Mashuri, S., & Ubadah, U. (2025). Avoiding Social Discord via Islamic Religious Education Rooted in Multiculturalism Islamic Religious Education. Maharot : Journal of Islamic Education. https://doi.org/10.28944/maharot.v9i1.2078
Hermanowicz, E., & Hermanowicz, J. (2023). The Perversion of Virtue―Causes and Consequences of Threats to Academic Freedom in the Contemporary University. Journal of Controversial Ideas. https://doi.org/10.35995/jci03010009
Hernawati, S., Hafizh, M., & Arya, M. N. F. (2024). Adjusting the Ideal Islamic Religious Education Curriculum to the Development of AI-Based Technology. Progresiva : Jurnal Pemikiran dan Pendidikan Islam. https://doi.org/10.22219/progresiva.v13i01.32931
Huang, Q. (2024). From Ivory Towers to Corporate Ladders: The Impact of Managerialism on Academic Profession. Adult and Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.23977/aduhe.2024.060124
Kobylarek, A., & Maturkanič, P. (2025). Value Order Decomposition as an Educational Challenge. Journal of Education Culture and Society. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2025.3.7.14
Kumar, R. (2025). Silenced Professoriate. Brock Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.26522/brocked.v34i1.1186
Maistry, S. (2019). (Re)counting the high cost of predatory publishing and the effect of a neoliberal performativity culture. Journal of Education. https://doi.org/10.17159/2520-9868/i75a01
Orhan, M., Bal, P., & Van Rossenberg, Y. (2024). Rise of the most excellent scholar, demise of the field: A fictional story, yet probable destiny. Culture and Organization, 31, 86–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/14759551.2024.2383891
Petzold, A., & Nichols, M. (2025). Regaining Scientific Authority in a Post-Truth Landscape. Publ., 13, 65. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications13040065
Reed, C., & Reed, M. (2022). Expert Authority in Crisis: Making Authority Real Through Struggle. Organization Theory, 3. https://doi.org/10.1177/26317877221131587
Rhodes, C., & Linnenluecke, M. (2025). The junkification of research. Organization. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505084251399576
Rossello, G., & Martinelli, A. (2024). Breach of academic values and misconduct: The case of Sci-Hub. Scientometrics, 129, 5227–5263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-024-05046-8
Ruiz-Eugenio, L., Valls-Carol, R., Flecha, A., & Aubert, A. (2024). A systematic literature review and case study on the social impact of the other women’s contributions to education and dialogic feminism. Frontiers in Sociology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2024.1477983
Sadatmoosavi, A., Khasseh, A., & Tajedini, O. (2026). Link rot in LIS literature: A 20-year study of web citation decay, recovery and preservation challenges. Aslib Journal of Information Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/ajim-05-2025-0286
Sancho-Gil, J. (2021). Quo vadis university? (¿Quo vadis universidad?). Culture and Education, 33, 397–411. https://doi.org/10.1080/11356405.2021.1904659
Taber, K. (2018). The end of academic standards? A lament on the erosion of scholarly values in the post-truth world. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 19, 9–14. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7rp90012k
Timmis, K., Williams, P., Karahan, Z., López-García, P., Rainey, P., Chavarría, M., Greening, C., Steward, K., Hallsworth, J., Pereira, C. S., Giraldo, R., Verstraete, W., Jonjić, S., Ramos, J.-L., Nunes, O., Ventosa, A., Armstrong, R., Sessitsch, A., Ron, E., & Wang, H. (2025). Journals Operating Predatory Practices Are Systematically Eroding the Science Ethos: A Gate and Code Strategy to Minimise Their Operating Space and Restore Research Best Practice. Microbial Biotechnology, 18. https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70180
Vasileiou, K., Barnett, J., Thorpe, S., & Young, T. (2018). Characterising and justifying sample size sufficiency in interview-based studies: Systematic analysis of qualitative health research over a 15-year period. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0594-7
Wei, Y., Zheng, P., Deng, H., Wang, X., Li, X., & Fu, H. (2020). Design Features for Improving Mobile Health Intervention User Engagement: Systematic Review and Thematic Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22. https://doi.org/10.2196/21687
Published
2026-07-17
How to Cite
Madlur Rhisky, & Hasan Baharun. (2026). Challenges Of Value Degradation And The Erosion Of Scholarly Authority. International Journal of Education, Vocational and Social Science , 5(03), 5104-5122. https://doi.org/10.63922/ijevss.v5i03.5301
Contact Person +6282139474255
Email : ijevss@citakonsultindo.or.id / editor.ijevss@gmail.com
