Indonesian Journal of Educational Management and Leadership

A model for excellence in Muhammadiyah school management based on Islam and Muhammadiyah Principles

Muhammad Bustomi — 2026-09-28

Purpose – The implementation of Al-Islam and Kemuhammadiyahan (AIK) is a key characteristic of Muhammadiyah’s educational system. The implementation of AIK in Muhammadiyah schools still tends to focus on teaching the AIK subject and has not yet been fully and systematically integrated into school management functions. This study aims to develop a model for excellence in Muhammadiyah school management based on Al-Islam and Kemuhammadiyahan (AIK) through the integration of AIK values into the functions of planning, organizing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating education.

Method – This study employs a qualitative approach using a case study design at SMA Muhammadiyah 1 Palembang, an exemplary Muhammadiyah school. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with the principal, vice principal, AIK teachers, subject teachers, educational staff, students, and Muhammadiyah Association officials. Data was also obtained through observations of the school culture and document analysis. The data were analyzed using the interactive model developed by Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, which includes data condensation, data presentation, and the drawing and verification of conclusions.

Findings – The research findings indicate that AIK-based school management is implemented through the integration of AIK values into all functions of school management, including planning, organizing, executing, monitoring, and evaluating. This integration is realized through the alignment of the school’s vision, mission, and programs with AIK values; the division of tasks and coordination among all school components; learning, habit formation, exemplary behavior, and school culture; as well as supervision, monitoring, evaluation, and follow-up.

Implications – The research findings indicate that the integration of AIK into school management supports the creation of an educational environment that fosters students’ character development, particularly in the areas of religiosity, integrity, discipline, responsibility, and social concern. Based on a synthesis of empirical findings, a model for excellent Muhammadiyah school management based on AIK was formulated, which positions AIK values as the foundation of governance and integrates them into the entire cycle of school management functions.

Educational leadership, political communication, and students' civic participation in the digital political era: The mediating role of digital citizenship

Vini Agustiani Hadian — 2026-09-29

Purpose - This study examined whether educational leadership and political communication are associated with Indonesian secondary students’ civic participation directly and indirectly through digital citizenship.

Method - A cross-sectional survey involved 262 eligible students recruited purposively from cooperating public and private secondary schools. Four constructs were measured with an 80-item questionnaire. The measurement and structural models were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling with 5,000 bootstrap resamples.

Findings - All five direct relationships were positive and significant. Political communication had the strongest direct association with digital citizenship (β = 0.587, p < 0.001), followed by digital citizenship with civic participation (β = 0.348, p < 0.001). Educational leadership and political communication were also indirectly associated with civic participation through digital citizenship (β = 0.104 and β = 0.204, respectively; both p < 0.001). The model explained 70.7% of digital citizenship and 71.9% civic participation.

Conclusion and Implications - Digital citizenship connects institutional leadership and students’ political communication with meaningful civic participation. School leaders should embed information verification, ethical digital dialogue, and civic inquiry across policy, curriculum, and student activities. Longitudinal and multi-informant research is needed to test temporal ordering and reduce self-report bias.

From Islamic values to sustainable practice: Rethinking leadership in Islamic educational institutions

Muhammad Faizul Husnayain — 2026-10-03

Purpose – This study examines how sustainability, particularly in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is conceptualized and institutionalized within Islamic educational institutions.
Method – Using a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA framework, this study analyzes 36 scholarly studies selected through a structured screening process. Four additional foundational sources were used only for theoretical and contextual interpretation and were not counted in the PRISMA synthesis.
Findings – The findings reveal that sustainability is not achieved through isolated initiatives but emerges from the integration of three key dimensions: educational leadership, Islamic ethical values, and institutional practices. Educational leadership encompassing transformational, distributed, instructional, and relational approaches functions as the primary driver of institutional change. Islamic ethical values, particularly amanah, shura, and khilafah, provide the normative foundation that guides and legitimizes sustainability-oriented actions. These dimensions are operationalized through institutional mechanisms, including curriculum integration, sustainable campus practices, community engagement, and capacity building. The study further proposes a conceptual framework that explains the dynamic interaction between leadership, values, and institutional practices in producing sustainability outcomes aligned with SDGs, such as educational quality, environmental responsibility, and social inclusion.
Implication – The findings also highlight the importance of contextual enablers, including governance, resources, stakeholder engagement, and technological readiness, in shaping the effectiveness of sustainability implementation. The novelty of this study lies in integrating leadership models, Islamic ethical values, institutional mechanisms, and contextual enablers within a single mechanism-based framework, rather than treating these dimensions as separate strands of analysis. However, the evidence base remains limited by contextual concentration and methodological constraints. Future research is recommended to empirically test the proposed framework across diverse settings using longitudinal and mixed-method approaches

Analyzing the affective domain of environmental literacy: A quantitative study of ‘Tatanen di Bale Atikan’ program in elementary school

Deliana Dwi Hafsari — 2026-10-05

Purpose – Environmental issues increasingly demand character-based education from an early age, yet the affective dimension of ecological literacy covering attitudes, sensitivity, and willingness to act remains understudied compared to its cognitive counterpart. This study aims to analyze the affective dimension of ecological literacy and to describe the achievement of each indicator among elementary school students during the implementation of the TdBA Program.

Method – This study employed a quantitative approach with a descriptive method and survey design, supported by triangulation. Data were collected from 100 fifth-grade students purposively from three elementary schools in Purwakarta Regency (SDN 2 Sindangkasih, n = 30; SDN 1 Nagrikidul, n = 40; SD Labschool UPI, n = 30), using an adapted, validated, and reliable Children’s Environmental Affect Scale (13 items across 3 indicators, Cronbach’s α = .909). Data were analyzed using descriptive percentage analysis. The instrument used was an adaptation of the Children's Environmental Affect Scale (CEAS), which had been tested for validity and reliability.

Findings – The research results show that the affective dimension of students’ ecological literacy as a whole falls into the “Very High” category (81,19%). By indicator, both Environmental Attitudes and Environmental Sensitivity were categorized as Very High, while Willingness to Take Action was categorized as High. The highest achievement was found in students' conviction regarding the importance of preserving natural resources, while the greatest challenge lay in the transfer of ecological behavior from school to the home environment.

Conclusion – The TdBA program has proven effective in internalizing ecological values as part of students' daily character, rather than mere knowledge. These findings affirm that local wisdom-based environmental education holds significant potential as a contextual and meaningful model for ecological literacy development at the elementary school level to sustain long-term pro-environmental behavior.

Character education policy fosters adolescents’ responsible online behavior through a sequential digital development pathway

Imas Kurniawaty — 2026-09-27

Purpose – This study examined whether character education policy is associated with adolescents’ responsible online behavior directly and through the sequential roles of digital citizenship, digital well-being, self-regulation, and learning engagement.
Method – A cross-sectional survey was completed by 245 senior high school students in Bandung, Indonesia, selected purposively because they regularly used digital technologies and had participated in school-based character education. The six-construct model was tested with partial least squares structural equation modeling and 5,000 bootstrap resamples.
Findings – All 15 direct paths were positive and statistically significant. Character education policy showed its strongest association with digital citizenship (β = 0.661, p < 0.001). The model explained 60.1% of the variance in responsible online behavior. Four specific indirect paths and the proposed serial pathway were significant. The serial association from character education policy through digital citizenship, digital well-being, self-regulation, and learning engagement to responsible online behavior was β = 0.081 (p < 0.001).
Conclusion and Implications – Responsible online behavior appears to develop through an interconnected institutional, psychological, and educational process. Schools should align character education with digital citizenship instruction, support for healthy technology use, self-regulatory practice, and engaging learning activities. Longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to test temporal ordering and causal effects

Homeroom teachers’ reflective coaching connects self-regulated learning and academic grit: A qualitative study

Tamrin Tamrin — 2026-10-16

Purpose – This study developed the preliminary LC-SRLG (Learning Coach–Self-Regulated Learning and Grit) framework to explain how homeroom teachers’ learning-coach roles can foster academic grit through coaching and self-regulated learning.

Method – A qualitative descriptive design involved 12 purposively selected participants: one principal, one vice principal, three ninth-grade homeroom teachers, one guidance counselor, five students, and one parent. Screening of 240 students identified 70 with high, 110 with moderate, and 60 with low academic grit. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis. Source and technique triangulation and member checking supported trustworthiness.

Findings – Four interrelated mechanisms emerged: reflective dialogue, goal-oriented learning planning, continuous progress monitoring, and collaborative support. Open-ended questions helped students recognize difficulties, evaluate study habits, and set realistic goals. These goals were translated into manageable plans supporting time management, strategy selection, task monitoring, and responses to setbacks. Follow-up and collaboration among teachers, parents, and school leaders helped students sustain effort. Coaching competence, institutional support, parental involvement, and mentoring procedures influenced implementation. The resulting framework positions self-regulated learning as the mechanism connecting sustained coaching with perseverance and consistency of effort.

Implication – The framework repositions homeroom teachers as continuous learning partners who support students’ autonomy and academic grit through structured mentoring. Schools may use it to guide coaching conversations and coordinated follow-up, although evaluation across other contexts remains necessary

Teacher autonomy in postmethod Arabic language teaching: A conceptual analysis of curriculum negotiation and local contexts

Besse Wahida — 2026-10-17

Purpose – This study analyzes the construction of teacher autonomy in Arabic language learning based on post-method pedagogy, the process of negotiating curriculum demands with student needs, and the integration of local social, cultural, institutional, and linguistic contexts into pedagogical decision-making. This study is motivated by the limitations of the method-based approach, which tends to position teachers as implementers of learning procedures and provides little room for professional consideration.

Method – The study employed a Systematic Literature Review, adhering to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. A search of several academic databases yielded 312 records. After removing duplicates, screening titles and abstracts, and assessing full-text eligibility, 42 studies were included in the final synthesis. Data were extracted using a structured matrix and analyzed through open coding, categorical grouping, cross-source comparison, and thematic synthesis. These procedures yielded themes directly aligned with the three research questions.

Findings – The synthesis shows that teacher autonomy is a relational and situated form of professional agency, enacted through reflective, contextual, creative, and responsible decision-making. Curriculum negotiation operationalizes autonomy by interpreting learning outcomes, diagnosing needs, adapting materials and strategies, and aligning assessment. Local social, cultural, institutional, and linguistic contexts provide situated knowledge for pedagogical decisions.

Implication – Theoretically, the study extends postmethod pedagogy by integrating teacher autonomy, curriculum negotiation, and contextual responsiveness into a unified framework in which teachers mediate curricular expectations, learner needs, institutional conditions, and local realities. Practically, it highlights the need for curricular flexibility, collaborative planning, reflective professional development, diagnostic assessment, and documentation of pedagogical adaptations. In Arabic language teaching, these conditions support contextualized materials, local cultural integration, strategic use of learners’ linguistic resources, and communicative assessment

Managing character education through collaboration between classrooms and dormitories in boarding madrasah

Kiagus Faisal — 2026-10-17

Purpose – Character education in boarding madrasah requires a management approach that integrates classroom learning with habit formation and guidance in dormitory life. This study aims to formulate a collaborative, integrative character education management model based on a case study of MAN Insan Cendekia Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI), by examining the collaboration between Islamic Religious Education teachers and dormitory counselors as a mechanism linking the two educational environments.

Method – This study employed a qualitative approach using a case study design. Data were collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and documentation involving Islamic Education teachers, dormitory counselors, and students. The data were analyzed through data condensation, data presentation, and the drawing and verification of conclusions, using triangulation of sources and techniques.

Findings – The study identified three main findings: (1) the alignment of academic learning and boarding school programs through planning and coordination among teachers and counselors; (2) the instillation of values through habit formation, leading by example, religious activities, social activities, and the management of personal needs; and (3) the monitoring of behavior through mentoring, rules and regulations, rewards, educational consequences, and evaluation. Religious devotion, nationalism, independence, mutual cooperation, and integrity are positioned as the targets of guidance, rather than measurable outcomes of character change. These three findings form the basis for constructing a model that links program alignment, role distribution, cross-environmental practices, and monitoring through the functions of planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling.

Implication – The model’s contribution lies in the operationalization of the connection between classrooms and dormitories within a collaborative management mechanism. The model is a contextual synthesis based on a single madrasah and has not yet been widely tested; this study describes the process of character education management rather than proving the model’s effectiveness in improving students’ character

The impact of the digitalization of the financial mathematics module on budgetary governance through financial literacy: The readiness of prospective education managers

Nispi Syahbani — 2026-10-25

Purpose – Budget management in Islamic educational institutions still faces significant challenges in the form of the low level of financial preparedness among prospective education managers, a gap that has not yet been adequately bridged by digital-based financial mathematics education; consequently, research that integrates the digitization of modules, financial literacy and budget management within a single structural model remains necessary. This study examines the role of the digitalization of Financial Mathematics modules in the budget management competencies of prospective education managers, as well as examining financial literacy as a mediating mechanism linking the digitalization of modules to budget management competencies.

Method – The study employed a quantitative approach, an explanatory design, and cross-sectional data collection using total sampling (a census) of students who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected in August 2026 from 72 fifth-semester students (out of a population of 110 students) on the Islamic Education Management programme at UIN Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi who had used the ‘Financial Mathematics’ digital module and had complete data, via a 24-item Likert-scale questionnaire that had been tested for convergent validity, discriminant validity and reliability. This sample size met the minimum threshold of the priori statistical power analysis (68 respondents). The data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4, including an evaluation of the measurement model and structural model, as well as mediation testing based on bootstrapping.

Findings – The digitisation of the Financial Mathematics module proved to be a key driver of improvements in both financial literacy and budgetary management competence amongst prospective education managers, with a strong direct effect on both constructs (β = 0.438; p < 0.001 and β = 0.455; p < 0.001). Financial literacy also contributes positively to budgetary management competence (β = 0.239; p = 0.033) and acts as a mediating mechanism, albeit partially, in the relationship between the digitisation of the module and this competence (β = 0.105; p = 0.049), indicating that mastery of financial concepts alone is insufficient without their application in budgeting practice. The model explains 19.2 per cent of the variance in financial literacy and 36.0 per cent of the variance in budgetary management competence.

Implications – These findings provide theoretical implications for the development of a mediation-based financial-managerial readiness model, as well as practical implications for strengthening the Financial Mathematics curriculum and budgetary management policies in Islamic educational institutions.