Vol. 4 No. 2 (2026): Indonesian Journal of Pedagogy and Teacher Education (Special Issue August 2026)

Background: Growing digitalization in education has renewed interest in human-centered capacities that support effective teaching in increasingly technology-rich learning environments. Among these, spiritual intelligence (SI) has attracted attention as a multidimensional construct associated with meaning-making, self-awareness, ethical sensitivity, and emotional regulation. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding its relationship with pedagogical success among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between EFL teachers’ spiritual intelligence and pedagogical success, examine the predictive contribution of SI dimensions, and explore how spiritual intelligence is reflected in teachers’ professional practice.

Methods: A mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 120 EFL teachers using validated measures of SI and pedagogical success and analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression analyses. Qualitative data were obtained through interviews, classroom observations, and syllabus analysis.

Results: The findings revealed a strong positive relationship between overall SI and pedagogical success. Transcendent self-realization emerged as the strongest predictor, followed by patience and spiritual experience. Qualitative findings indicated that teachers with higher levels of SI demonstrated stronger interpersonal relationships, greater emotional resilience, enhanced self-awareness, a stronger sense of purpose, and higher levels of professional commitment.

Conclusion: SI appears to be meaningfully associated with effective teaching and may represent an important personal resource for EFL educators. The study contributes to discussions of teacher effectiveness and holistic professional development while highlighting the continuing importance of human-centered capacities in contemporary educational environments.

Background: Sudanese University students face significant challenges in English proficiency due to historical Arabicization policies and outdated pedagogical frameworks. While vocabulary is a primary predictor of linguistic success, a systemic gap exists between strategy awareness and long-term lexical retention.

Aims: This study investigated the relationship between Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS), institutional support, and actual proficiency (receptive and productive) among Sudanese undergraduates.

Methods: Using s triangulated quantitative and documentary design (N=240), the study utilized the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), Lex30, a Likert-scale VLS questionnaire, and a systematic analysis of university syllabi. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and psychometric validation.

Results: Psychometric tools demonstrated strong internal validity (VLT α= 0.86; Lex30 M = 14.2/30). Latent profile analysis revealed a severe "Knowledge-Application Gap": 64% of students possess theoretical awareness of exploratory strategies, yet 30% of the total sample occupy an "Overlap Group" experiencing persistent lexical acquisition failures. SEM confirmed that while discovery strategies predict receptive (β= 0.35) and productive (β= 0.29) outcomes, consolidation strategies are the strongest predictors of productive mastery (β= 0.41). Crucially, institutional support moderates strategy effectiveness by 18% (β= 0.18). Documentary analysis revealed that 83% of syllabi ignore explicit strategy instruction entirely, and 0% feature systematic spaced-retrieval tasks.

Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that individual learner strategic awareness is heavily suppressed by a systemic instructional vacuum. Sudanese university curricula are overwhelmingly biased toward passive word recognition, failing to provide the structured consolidation routines required to transition vocabulary from short-term memory into active communicative competence. Rectifying this deep-seated proficiency gap requires immediate curriculum reform, institutionalized strategy modeling, and the integration of low-bandwidth, offline-capable digital learning tools.

Background: Empathy is an essential social competence that supports children’s moral development and helps build positive relationships and conflict resolution; however, technological advancements and social changes have reduced direct social interactions among children, potentially weakening their social sensitivity. Therefore, character education in elementary schools plays a strategic role in fostering empathy and positive behavior.

Aims: This study aims to analyze the role of the school environment in fostering empathy and positive character in elementary school students.

Methods: This study employed a qualitative approach using a library research method. Data were collected from books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and relevant educational documents published between 2015–2025. The data were analyzed using content analysis to identify key themes related to empathy, character education, and school environment

Results: The findings reveal that the school environment plays a significant role in developing students’ empathy and positive character. Key factors include teacher role modelling, positive school culture, integration of character values into learning, habituation programs, and collaboration between school and parents. A supportive and inclusive environment enhances students’ social awareness, cooperation, and responsibility.

Conclusion: The school environment is a fundamental element in fostering empathy and positive character. Therefore, schools need to implement holistic and sustainable character education strategies to support students’ social and moral development.

Background: Teacher deployment remains a challenge in resource-constrained education systems, yet evidence on the educational consequences of the One-Class-Per-Teacher (OCPT) model remains limited.

Aims: This study examined Malawian primary teachers’ perceptions of OCPT, focusing on its pedagogical benefits, workload, professional confidence, motivation, instructional effectiveness, and preferred reforms.

Methods: A convergent mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected from 451 teachers using structured questionnaires and analyzed through descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, t-tests, analysis of variance, correlations, and multiple regression. Qualitative data from seven semi-structured interviews were analyzed thematically and integrated with the survey findings.

Results: Teachers acknowledged that OCPT strengthened learner familiarity, instructional continuity, and monitoring of learner progress. However, perceived challenges were very high (M = 4.27, SD = 0.64), while perceived benefits were moderate (M = 2.88, SD = 0.87). Moreover, 79.2% reported negative effects on motivation and job satisfaction, and perceived challenges were the strongest predictor of negative evaluations (β = .374, p < .001). Participants strongly supported team teaching, subject sharing, and partial specialization.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that substantial professional costs outweigh OCPT’s relational benefits. Context-sensitive hybrid deployment models, supported by continuous professional development, are recommended to improve teacher well-being, instructional quality, and workforce sustainability

Background: Cambodian STEM educators require professional learning that supports inquiry-based teaching, scientific reasoning, and the classroom application of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework.

Aims: This study examined changes in educators' pedagogical knowledge, scientific reasoning, and instructional competencies following an integrated professional development program.

Methods: A quantitative single-group pre-test-post-test design was employed with 30 Cambodian STEM educators. Participants completed a two-day workshop structured through six Cognitive Apprenticeship processes: modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulation, reflection, and exploration. They also engaged in authentic engineering design activities using creative circuits aligned with NGSS and CER. Data were collected before and after the workshop using a 14-item questionnaire rated on a five-point Likert scale. Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) were used to analyze the responses.

Results: Mean scores increased across all 14 items, with the overall mean rising from 1.98 at pre-test to 3.62 at post-test. Higher post-test ratings were observed for understanding NGSS three-dimensional learning, constructing CER-based scientific explanations, designing NGSS-aligned lessons, and applying science and engineering practices.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that participation in the workshop was associated with improved self-reported knowledge and pedagogical competencies. However, because the study did not include a comparison group, the observed changes cannot be attributed solely to the intervention. The integrated approach offers a promising model for future STEM teacher professional development in Cambodia, although further research using controlled designs and classroom-based outcome measures is needed.

Background:  Four-tier assessments can distinguish answers, reasoning, and confidence, but their use in Islamic Religious Education and sports education remains limited. This study focuses on instrument development and preliminary psychometric evaluation using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS SEM), rather than diagnostic prevalence.

Aims: This study aimed to develop a 12-item four-tier assessment covering Akhlaq, Fiqh, Tawhid, and Quranic Studies in sports contexts and to evaluate preliminary first-order measurement evidence.

Methods: Using a research and development approach, the instrument was constructed through curriculum document analysis, concept mapping, open-ended pre-testing with 62 students, distractor development, and prototype assembly. A separate sample of 250 sports education students completed the prototype version. The available analysis matrix was examined using first-order PLS-SEM with SmartPLS 4 Pro.

Results: All 12 indicators loaded significantly on their intended first-order domains. Composite reliability ranged from 0.754 to 0.777, average variance extracted ranged from 0.507 to 0.537, and heterotrait-monotrait ratios ranged from 0.320 to 0.648. Cronbach's alpha was modest, ranging from 0.510 to 0.569, indicating weak within-domain covariance. Keyed option positions were also strongly unbalanced, creating a position cue that constrains interpretation of the estimates.

Conclusion: The study provides preliminary first-order psychometric evidence for a four-tier assessment in an interdisciplinary socio-religious context. Because separate tier responses are not retained, observed diagnostic-category prevalence is not reported. Stronger validation requires raw tier-level responses, a documented scoring transformation, less transparent distractors, balanced key positions, and independent item response theory or Rasch analysis.

Background: Risk-taking behavior is a psychological and educational construct that shapes how university students approach decisions, adapt to new situations, and manage the challenges of academic life, and understanding its extent among this population has become increasingly important within local contexts marked by social and security instability.

Aims: The present study sought to identify the level of risk-taking behavior among students of the College of Education for Humanities at the University of Mosul and to examine whether this behavior differs according to academic department (Arabic and English) and gender.

Methods: A descriptive design was adopted, and a random sample of 100 male and female students was drawn in equal proportions from the Arabic and English departments during the academic year 2022–2023. Risk-taking behavior was measured using the 40-item scale developed by Hussein (2018), after its face validity was established and its test–retest reliability (r = 0.79) were confirmed for the present sample; data were processed using SPSS through the one-sample and independent-samples t-tests.

Results: The mean score of the sample (11.67) was significantly lower than the scale’s hypothetical mean (20), indicating that students did not display a notable level of risk-taking behavior, and no statistically significant differences emerged according to academic department or gender.

Conclusion: Risk-taking behavior among students of the College of Education for Humanities was generally low and was not shaped by academic specialization or gender, a pattern the study interprets in light of the social and security circumstances the local community has experienced in recent years.

Background: Learning classical literature, including folklore, can be challenging for students because of archaic vocabulary and the difficulty of connecting traditional narratives with contemporary learning experiences. Audiovisual media incorporating local cultural elements offers an alternative approach to presenting folklore in Indonesian language learning.

Aims: This study aimed to develop an AI-supported digital video comic incorporating West Sumatran cultural elements for folklore text learning and to evaluate its validity and practicality.

Methods: This Research and Development (R&D) study applied the ADDIE model to design the media. Feasibility was evaluated through validity testing by four interdisciplinary experts and field practicality testing using a questionnaire involving three Indonesian language teachers and 60 junior high school students in West Sumatra.

Results: The video prototype obtained an overall expert validation score of 90.75% and was categorized as very valid. The integrated media received practicality scores of 93.40% from teachers and 91.20% from students, both categorized as very practical.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that the AI-supported digital video comic is a promising learning resource for presenting folklore texts through audiovisual media incorporating local cultural elements. Its integration with Edpuzzle provides opportunities for question-based interaction during video playback. The results support the media’s validity and perceived practicality for Indonesian language and literature learning.

Background: The development of teaching materials suited to local context is essential for helping elementary school students understand economic conditions in their region.

Aims: This study aims to develop a contextual-based encyclopedia on the topic "Economic Conditions in My Region" that is valid, practical, and effective for use by fifth-grade students at SD Negeri 45 Lubuklinggau.

Method: This study employed the Research and Development (R&D) method, comprising needs analysis, content development, expert validation, limited trial testing, data collection and analysis, and product evaluation and refinement. Data were collected through observation, interviews, documentation, questionnaires, and tests.

Results: Validation results showed that the developed encyclopedia is suitable for use in learning, with scores of 0.93 for language, 0.93 for media, and 0.97 for content, yielding an average validity score of 0.94 (high category). Practicality test results showed approval rates of 86.67% from individual student responses, 86.67% from small group responses, and 96% from teacher responses, with an average of 89.78% (very practical category). The contextual-based encyclopedia also improved students' understanding of local economic material, as reflected in a pretest score of 47.96, a posttest score of 82.03, and an N-gain score of 0.65 (moderate category).

Conclusion: The contextual-based encyclopedia is suitable for use as a learning medium to enhance fifth-grade students' understanding of the material "Economic Conditions in My Region."

Background: The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) in English language teaching (ELT) has increased opportunities for personalized learning, automated feedback, and instructional efficiency. However, growing reliance on AI raises concerns regarding meaning-making, ethical-responsibility, human-agency, and the preservation of educational purpose. Although research on AI-mediated ELT and spiritual intelligence (SI) has expanded, the relationship between these domains remains underexplored.

Aims: This conceptual paper aims to 1) examine major theories of SI and their educational relevance, 2) analyze the ethical and human limitations of AI in ELT, and 3) propose a human-centered framework for spiritually intelligent AI-mediated language teaching.

Methods: The study adopts a conceptual–integrative methodology drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship from SI, AI ethics, psychology, educational technology, and language education. Relevant literature was analyzed through concept extraction, thematic synthesis, and cross-disciplinary comparison to identify convergent themes and theoretical tensions.

Results: The synthesis suggests that SI provides a valuable lens for understanding meaning-making, ethical sensitivity, self-awareness, reflective judgment, and learner agency in AI-supported learning environments. It indicates that while AI can simulate communication, it operates without subjective consciousness, lived experience, or autonomous moral accountability. The paper proposes a conceptual framework in which SI mediates the integration of AI into ELT through reflective pedagogy, ethical communication, teacher agency, and learner sense-making.

Conclusion: The proposed framework highlights the importance of preserving human-centered values in AI-mediated language education. By connecting SI with AI-supported ELT, the study contributes a novel conceptual perspective for promoting responsible, ethical, and meaning-oriented uses of AI in educational contexts.