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The dynamics of English education in Indonesia : stakeholders' perspective on the policy shift of English subject from elective to compulsory in elementary school level
Mukhammad Imron Rosadi; Suwarsih Madya; Lukman Nul Hakim (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2026-07-29)
The status of English as a subject in elementary schools in Indonesia has shifted from elective to compulsory. Recently, Ministerial Regulation No. 12 of 2024, which states that English will be a compulsory subject in elementary schools in the 2027/2028 academic year, has revived discussions about educational priorities, language policy, and the balance between global competitiveness and national educational goals. This study aimed to explore how key stakeholders interpret, justify, and respond to the policy shift as English becomes a compulsory subject in elementary school. This descriptive qualitative interpretative study collected data through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. This study collected with one policymaker, two elementary school English teachers, and two parents and was complemented by an analysis of eight national policy documents. This study integrated Spolsky's Language Policy Framework and Fullan's Educational Change Theory while utilizing Discourse Network Analysis (DNA) as a tool to support the analyses of stakeholder narratives and policy documents. The study identifies three key patterns. First, stakeholders interpreted the policy change through three key frames categorized as English as human capital, the English competency gap in Indonesia, and the language ecology of multilingual Indonesia. Second, the stakeholders justified the policy based on educational, socio-economic, political-regulatory, and linguistic considerations. Third, while stakeholders exhibited broad support for the policy, they expressed anxiety regarding teacher scarcity, educational resource imbalance, preparedness for policy execution, and the sustainability of future policy pathways. The findings provide a detailed account of the need for political will, institutional readiness, stakeholder engagement, and the succession of educational support in the implementation of policy.
Mapping the landscape of Indonesian early childhood education teachers' mathematics knowledge for teaching
Trimadona B. Wiratrisna; Destina Wahyu Winarti; Bambang Sumintono (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2026-07-24)
Early mathematics competency lays the foundation for children's long-term academic success, yet the mathematical knowledge of Indonesian early childhood education (ECE) teachers remains underexplored. This explanatory mixed-methods study addressed that gap by examining ECE teachers' Mathematical Content Knowledge (MCK) and Mathematical Pedagogical Content Knowledge (MPCK), the relationship between these domains, and how they were reflected in classroom practice. The Foundational Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching (FMKT) instrument was modified and expanded from 23 to 41 items and administered to 418 ECE teachers across 29 regencies and municipalities in seven Indonesian provinces. Rasch analysis confirmed strong psychometric properties, including high item reliability (0.98) and adequate internal consistency (a = .83). Two teachers with contrasting MCK-MPCK profiles were then purposively selected for classroom observation and interviews in the qualitative phase. Findings showed that teachers generally demonstrated moderate-to-sufficient levels of both MCK and MPCK, with MPCK consistently lower than MCK and specialized content knowledge (SCK) emerging as a stronger predictor of pedagogical knowledge than common content knowledge (CCK). Significant disparities in MCK and MPCK were found by region and teaching level, with rural and kindergarten teachers showing consistently weaker profiles than their urban and primary-school counterparts. Regression analysis revealed that MCK significantly predicted MPCK, explaining 41.7% of its variance, confirming content knowledge as a necessary but insufficient foundation for pedagogical knowledge. Cross-case analysis showed that teachers with stronger MKT used more accurate mathematical representations, attended and responded to children's reasoning, and made instructional decisions supporting conceptual understanding, while teachers with weaker MKT relied on procedural, teacher-directed practices with limited attention to children's thinking. Measured knowledge and enacted practice were generally aligned, though some divergence emerged, suggesting that contextual factors and instructional habits also shape classroom teaching. This study provides a validated instrument and an updated, more granular picture of Indonesian ECE teachers' mathematics knowledge for teaching, offering evidence to inform teacher education, professional development, and policy initiatives aimed at strengthening early mathematics instruction.
Exploring factors contributing to girls' dropout in public secondary schools in Tanzania : a qualitative case study of Longido District, Tanzania
Kushoka, Elizabeth Morandi; Suwarsih Madya; Andar Nubowo (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2026-07-20)
Girls' education is one of the most valuable investments a society can make, but in some settings, girls leave school before completing even their basic education. Scholars often describe school dropout as the discontinuation of schooling before a learner graduate from an expected cycle of schooling due to various factors. However, in pastoralist districts like Longido in Tanzania, the specific ways these issues meet and how different stakeholders respond are not mapped in detail. The researcher decided to focus on this topic because, even with the government's Fee-Free Basic Education Policy, girls' attrition remains at higher rates, and their day-to-day experiences, along with the views of people around them, have rarely been examined in depth. Therefore, this research aims to explore how girls' dropping out of public secondary schools is actually experienced, understood, and addressed. A single-case embedded qualitative case study was employed in this research. Longido District was the case with two public secondary schools as embedded units of analysis. The research data were collected from ten participants, including three young women who had left secondary school, three parents, two school principals, and two community leaders, through semi-structured online WhatsApp interviews and document analysis. Data were analyzed and interpreted through reflexive thematic analysis, and Quirkos software supported that process. The study was guided by Bronfenbrenner's (1986) Ecological Systems Theory, which emphasizes that human development is influenced by many interrelated factors rather than a single one. Findings show that the stakeholders have varied, multidimensional views about girls' attrition, seeing it both as a serious community-wide issue and also a deeply personal and emotional experience for the girls themselves. In addition, girls' choice to leave school is formed from a mix of socio-cultural processes, like gender bias, teenage pregnancy, and early marriage, along with socio-economic pressures such as poverty, child labor, and the general perception that education has low economic value. There are also school-based issues, namely, long distances and inadequate menstrual hygiene facilities. Schools and communities responded by providing school materials and parental awareness meetings. Nevertheless, these efforts were reactive and hindered by cultural beliefs and limited collaboration between schools and families. Finally, the study does more than only expose the lived realities of girls' dropout; it also provides useful context-specific information for policymakers, school administrators, and societies focused on improving female students' retention in secondary education. It also brings practical recommendations for strengthening policy enforcement, enhancing school support structures, and improving community involvement to reduce girls' dropout in Longido District and similar settings across Tanzania.
Early childhood educator as a spiritual nurturer : exploring lived experiences in fostering children's spiritual intelligence in early childhood classroom
Alya Chairunnisa; Tati Lathipatud Durriyah; Andar Nubowo (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2026-08-18)
The role of educators as spiritual nurturers has emerged as a pivotal concern in early childhood education discourse. This study aims to explore the lived experiences of early childhood educators in enacting the role of spiritual nurturer, the specific aspects of spiritual intelligence manifested in pedagogical interactions, and the opportunities available for understanding how educators perceive their contribution to children's spiritual development within a qualitative multiple case study across two Indonesian institutions, a non-religious pre school and an Islamic kindergarten. This study involved semi-structured interviews with six educators, supported by classroom observations and student artifact analysis. Thematic analysis was employed to identify key patterns across different domains from the data collected. Findings reveal that spiritual formation is shaped not only by designated lessons but also by an holistic environment that embeds spiritual nurture across the totality of the child's experience. Educators shared that genuine interactions in the classroom often carry far more weight in shaping a child's spiritual intelligence than any formal curriculum guidance. However, the study also highlights a noticeable tension, both schools frequently reduce spiritual intelligence to mere religious rituals within their formal assessment systems. Furthermore, early childhood educators tend to build their professional identity as spiritual mentors through the moments of connection they build all along with children. The study concludes that nurturing spiritual intelligence is less about hitting curricular benchmarks and more about creating a deeply present educator and a thoughtful environment that come together to unlock a child's natural capacity for awe, joy, and wonder.
Leading schools amidst challenges : a case study of school principals' strategies for promoting student behavioral engagement in male secondary schools of Herat, Afghanistan
Alkozay, Mohammad Dawood; Bambang Sumintono; Amirrachman, R. Alpha (Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia, 2026-07-20)
Following the political power transition of August 2021, Afghan male secondary students have retained formal access to school, but under state-imposed conditions on dress code, appearance, and discipline, enforced by the Ministry of Education and the Wizārat-e Amr bil-Ma'rūf wa Nahī 'an il-Munkar (Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice). Research on Afghan education since 2021 has concentrated on the exclusion of girls; how school principals manage this altered landscape for boys, positioned between state authority and students' daily experience, remains understudied. This study explored the strategies principals in Herat Province male secondary schools used to sustain student behavioral engagement, how they interpret and implement dress code and disciplinary mandates in practice, and what challenges and contextual factors constrain their efforts. The study applied an interpretivist paradigm and an exploratory single case study design with three embedded units, following Yin. The bounded case comprised three government male secondary schools in urban Herat. Nine semi-structured interviews, one principal, one teacher, and one parent from each school, were conducted through encrypted online calls and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The Adaptive Buffering and Engagement (ABE) Framework, a study-specific synthesis of Adaptive Leadership Theory, Student Engagement Theory, and School Climate Theory, informed data interpretation. Three strategies were found. Principals relied on relational and paternalistic leadership, using advice and reassurance rather than threats to build an emotionally safer school environment. They also drew on families, community councils (Shuras), and mosques to monitor attendance and retain students at risk of dropping out. Finally, in the near-total absence of government funding, principals improvised material incentives, rewards, competitions, and basic repairs, using personal funds and charitable donations. These strategies did not appear to produce behavioral engagement. Across all three schools, students continued attending mainly to avoid being declared Mahroom, or formally disqualified after accumulating unexcused absences, rather than out of interest in learning. The study describes this pattern as surface compliance: attendance was sustained, but principals' strategies functioned more as tactics for keeping students enrolled than as means of fostering authentic behavioral engagement. Three contextual factors shaped what principals could do. Surveillance by the Ministry of Vice and Virtue left them with limited room for independent decision-making. Economic pressures, including child labor, a rise in uniform costs, and low teacher pay, narrowed their options. Community networks played a dual role. These findings point, tentatively, to a form of crisis leadership not fully captured by existing frameworks, one shaped by a threat originating from the state rather than from an external or non-state actor. The findings contribute to understanding educational leadership in constrained political environments and offer insights on schooling under conditions of state coercion.