Dinamika Ilmu

Integrating English, Arabic, ICT skills, and Tahfidz in An Islamic School Curriculum: An Intercultural Perspective

2025-04-22T08:00:59+08:00

The aim of the study is to hear teachers’ voices in relation to curriculum development in an Islamic school in Pattani, Thailand. With their experiences as intellectuals and practitioners of teaching in Islamic schools, curriculum development cannot neglect them, as has been happened in the past. Teachers were not involved in the curriculum development, and let it be decided by politicians. With many aspects occur in the global life change, come up an idea to integrate English, Arabic, ICT skills, and tahfidz in an Islamic school curriculum in Thailand. The study employed qualitative research using a questionnaire with a combination of closed- and open-ended items. 14 teachers participated in the study and filled out the questionnaire. The open-ended items’ results were calculated using percentage, and the open-ended items’ responses were analyzed using Christensen’s theory of the job-to-be-done. The result shows that teachers’ perception was negative, indicating that their involvement in the curriculum was not accommodated. However, in the context of curriculum development, teachers actually know the job to be done, what experiences needed so the job to-be-done, and has conducted limited actions or practices for the job-to-be-done. This study implies that teachers’ voices should be heard more than before, especially in the context of curriculum development. With the limitation of the study, such as numbers of participants participated, this study can be used as a basis for further discussion and curriculum empowerment using intercultural perspective for the development of school curriculum, especially the curriculum of Islamic schools.

Reimagining Classroom Equality: An Academic Inquiry into Surah Al-Fatihah’s Core Values for Inclusivity in Education

2025-04-22T08:08:18+08:00

This study examines the potential of Surah Al-Fatihah, often regarded as the spiritual bedrock of the Qur’an, to serve as a framework for fostering inclusive educational environments. By aligning its core values—compassion, equity, and guidance—with contemporary educational discussions on empathy and resilience, this investigation demonstrates how faith-based principles can enrich diverse instructional settings while adhering to secular educational standards. Using an interpretative methodology and a thematic review of educational literature, the study explores the application of Surah Al-Fatihah's values in practical teaching strategies, such as the incorporation of empathy-driven classroom practices, collaborative learning models, and personalized support for students' emotional well-being. Integrating perspectives from Islamic pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, and inclusive pedagogical models, the research shows how these principles can influence classroom management, curriculum design, and teacher-student interactions. Through textual analysis and observations in real-world educational settings, the findings underscore how embedding these values enhances student engagement, promotes emotional welfare, and boosts academic performance. Educators who intentionally integrate compassion, equity, and guidance into their teaching approaches report reduced stress levels, increased collaboration, and greater cultural sensitivity. The study’s discussion addresses how these outcomes can help overcome systemic challenges—such as limited institutional support and sociocultural biases—by focusing on moral imperatives in teaching practices. Ultimately, Surah Al-Fatihah emerges as a powerful moral and spiritual framework for inclusive education, strengthening culturally responsive strategies and fostering both academic success and social cohesion. The implications suggest the need for continuous professional development, cross-cultural validation, and policy interventions to fully integrate these Quranic values into educational systems.

The Educational Status of Turks in Minority Schools: A Qualitative Exploration in Western Thrace

2025-04-23T16:15:22+08:00

The main purpose of this research is to address the educational status of Turks living in Western Thrace in minority schools. After the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye, the Thrace region was divided into East and West, with Western Thrace now covering parts of Greece and Bulgaria. Around 150,000 Turks live in this region, facing social challenges, particularly in education. This research examines the problems experienced by Turks in minority education, the struggles in the process and its effects. The research is qualitative and designed with a phenomenological pattern. The study group comprises 13 participants selected through the maximum sampling method. The selection criteria for participants included: completion of primary and secondary education in minority schools in Greece, pursuit of higher education in Türkiye, and experience in teaching or working in a Greek minority school. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview form, with interviews recorded and analyzed using content analysis. The prominent conclusions are as follows: There are cultural problems in the education of Turkish minorities in Greece and there are legal obstacles to solution; there has been a struggle on this issue for years, there have been periodic improvements, but the fundamental problems still continue; it has been seen that many people, such as Dr. Sadık Ahmet, pioneered civil initiatives and that the initiatives had positive and negative effects. In conclusion, this research highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the Turkish minority in Western Thrace regarding their education. Despite periodic improvements and civil initiatives, fundamental problems persist due to cultural barriers and legal restrictions. The findings emphasize the need for continued efforts to address these issues and propose solutions to improve minority education in Greece. It is recommended that legal and educational reforms be implemented to address the challenges faced by the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, ensuring equal and improved access to quality education.

Enhancing 7th-Grade Students’ Short Story Writing through Intercultural Learning and Visual Media

2025-04-23T21:16:05+08:00

Writing short stories in English has been one of the difficult challenges at MTs Tarbiatul Islamiah. This research aims to improve short story writing skills in English by using visual media to enhance students' abilities to write short stories in English. This study employs a quantitative research method with a quasi-experimental design of the Non-equivalent Control Group type. In this study, there are two groups that are not randomly selected. Both groups were given a pretest to determine their initial condition. The experimental group was provided with visual media, while the control group was not given visual media. Data collection techniques included observation and short story writing test sheets. The assessment of short story writing skills focused on vocabulary, grammar, cohesion, and writing mechanics. The collected data will be analyzed. The results of the study indicate that writing short stories in English using visual media in the 7th grade at MTs Tarbiatul Islamiah inspires students to write short stories and helps them develop and express their ideas more fluently and coherently.

Learning to Coexist: Education, Cultural Values, and Religious Harmony in Kedang Society

2025-04-23T17:23:43+08:00

This research explores the resilience of interreligious harmony in Kedang, Lembata Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, by focusing on the intersection of local culture, religion, and governance. The study identifies three central pillars in the philosophy of life for the Kedang people: the Customary, Religious, and Governmental pillars, which together foster a strong social fabric. Key aspects of Kedang culture, including traditional architecture, music, rituals, and customs, are examined for their role in sustaining peaceful coexistence among different religious groups. A phenomenological approach is used to understand these practices authentically, with data collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and documentation. The research employs purposive sampling to select informants, including community, religious, youth, and traditional leaders, as well as government officials. Through SWOT analysis, the study assesses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to interfaith relations in Kedang, proposing strategic measures for reinforcing religious harmony. The findings contribute to a broader understanding of cultural and religious dialogue, offering a model for promoting peace and unity in diverse communities, both within Indonesia and globally.

Conceptual Representation of Culture in EFL Textbook Images: A Multimodal Analysis

2025-04-24T05:41:35+08:00

This study investigated the types of culture presented in EFL school textbooks in Indonesia. Qualitative content analysis and the Kress & van Leeuwen’s conceptual representation framework were employed to analyze the data in two textbooks widely used at the Junior high school level. The findings show that both textbooks portray a rather disproportionate representation of culture. Target culture is represented more dominantly in the global textbook, while the locally produced textbook emphasizes the presentation of source culture. This finding suggests that the former textbook, despite some localization, is intended to appeal to a wider global audience, while the latter implies an attempt to preserve local identity and localize the context of English language learning. Such imbalanced representation has the potential to impede students’ acquisition of intercultural communicative competence. Therefore, there is an urgency for material developers to provide students with balanced cultural content, as well as an active role from the teacher to appropriately select learning materials to supplement the drawbacks of the textbooks.

Perceptions and Dominant Factors of Blooket as a Game-based Learning Tool among Vietnamese Non-English Majored Students

2025-04-24T05:45:35+08:00

This study examines Vietnamese non-English major students' perceptions of Blooket, a game-based learning tool for English language education. Using a mixed-methods approach based on Asniza et al.'s (2021) framework, researchers collected survey data and conducted interviews to assess factors affecting student engagement. Quantitative results identified classroom control and time allocation as primary influential factors, with peer interaction and class size having moderate impact. Qualitative findings revealed students preferred blended learning approaches that integrate Blooket with traditional teaching methods. Students valued Blooket for enhancing engagement and motivation but expressed concerns about its limited ability to reinforce knowledge and its varying effectiveness across learning contexts and individual preferences. The study emphasizes that while game-based tools can improve engagement, their implementation requires careful consideration of both pedagogical and logistical factors. For optimal outcomes, educators should adopt a balanced approach that integrates digital tools with traditional methods while accounting for student preferences, classroom dynamics, and content requirements.

Connecting Active Reading and Academic Writing in A Multicultural Context: Strategies for Syllabus and Material Packet Development

2025-04-24T06:09:28+08:00

In response to the absence of a module for academic writing courses in a multicultural classroom context and the problems of starting to write and finding ideas for academic writing, this research aims to develop an academic writing module that meets the teachers' and undergraduate students' needs and voices. This study employed ADDIE model of R&D carried out through some steps: need analysis, drafting, developing, implementing, and evaluating. In the steps of need analysis, students claimed that reading contributes to getting ideas and building background knowledge of a certain topic for writing. Brainstorming is another voice they proposed to solve the problems. Moreover, they believe that writing essays can be the starting point for writing journal articles. Accordingly, by considering all findings in the initial step, the products of this R&D comprise students’ and teachers’ books. The product's specific characteristics are reading preceding essay writing, brainstorming, the syllabus, the scoring rubric with a detailed description, and academic honesty. The study revealed that integrating active reading into academic writing modules can be pedagogically implemented and enhance both students’ reading and writing skills. The following studies on developing a module for other levels of education can be carried out to further contribute to reading-writing pedagogy.