Indonesian Journal of Innovative Teaching and Learning

Optimizing Learning Quality through KAIZEN Principles in an Islamic Junior High School

Fachril Bachtiar Firmansyah — 2026-08-31

Background: Improving learning quality in Islamic schools requires an approach oriented toward continuous improvement through simple, consistent, and structured habits. The Kaizen principle offers a quality enhancement framework that emphasizes continuous improvement through small, gradual, and sustainable refinements. Objective: This study aims to analyze the application of Kaizen principles in optimizing learning quality through student affairs programs at MTsN 4 Klaten. Method: The study uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive design. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation, then analyzed through data reduction, descriptive data presentation, and drawing conclusions. Results: The improvement of learning quality was supported by habituation of discipline, cleanliness, religious activities, achievement development, and technology-based student progress monitoring. This implementation reflects Kaizen principles through process consistency, gradual improvement, data utilization, and continuous evaluation. However, program evaluation still needs strengthening, student involvement remains uneven, and program innovation needs to be developed to prevent stagnation. Conclusion: Kaizen principles can support the optimization of learning quality through systematic and sustainable management of student affairs programs. Contribution: This research contributes to strengthening the study of Islamic educational management and provides a practical overview of Kaizen application in improving learning quality in Islamic schools.

Energy Quest: A Quasi-Experimental Study of Game-Based Learning on Conceptual Understanding of Mechanical Energy in Secondary Physics Education

Aldrin Boocan — 2026-08-31

Background: Many secondary students struggle with abstract concepts and formula reliance in mechanical energy. Objective: This study evaluated Energy Quest, a curriculum-aligned card game, to enhance Grade 9 students' conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills in kinetic and potential energy. Method: Employing a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest non-equivalent control group design, 77 students across two intact classes participated. The experimental group (n = 40) engaged in structured game-based learning, while the control group (n = 37) received conventional instruction over two weeks. Data were collected using a validated 20-item achievement test α = 0.860) and analyzed via paired and independent samples t-tests and Cohen's d. Result: Posttest performance significantly favored the experimental group ($M = 16.40, SD = 1.74$) over the control group (M = 13.20, SD = 1.23), t (75) = 9.26, p < .001. The intervention demonstrated an extraordinarily large effect size (d = 2.11), indicating substantial learning gains. Conclusion: Structured game-based learning effectively strengthens conceptual understanding and problem-solving abilities beyond conventional teaching methods. Contribution: This study provides empirical evidence that low-cost, non-digital, and curriculum-aligned instructional innovations can successfully bridge persistent physics learning gaps, offering a scalable pedagogical solution for resource-constrained science classrooms.

Grounded Theory in Practice and Learning: Reflexivity and Innovative Approaches for Modern Qualitative Studies

Michael Mncedisi Willie — 2026-08-31

Background: Grounded theory remains a foundational qualitative methodology for generating theories from empirical data; however, researchers frequently face challenges regarding paradigmatic variations, literature management, and analytical rigor. Objective: This study synthesizes seminal and contemporary literature to clarify core methodological choices, structural tensions, and emerging digital adaptations in grounded theory practice. Method: A comprehensive synthesis of scholarly literature was conducted, examining methodological divergences between Glaserian, Straussian, and constructivist frameworks alongside innovative extensions such as netnography. Results: The analysis highlights critical operational choices in coding procedures, theoretical sampling, literature review timing, and the integration of digital data environments. Researcher positionality and reflexivity emerge as essential mechanisms for maintaining trustworthiness throughout analysis. Conclusion: Embracing methodological pluralism and reflexive documentation enhances transparency and theoretical depth, equipping qualitative researchers to develop rigorous, contextually meaningful theories. Contribution: This study contributes an integrative conceptual framework bridging traditional grounded theory traditions, reflexive practice, and netnographic inquiry. This provides a practical pedagogical guide for operationalizing reflexivity and maintaining methodological transparency when analyzing digitally mediated social interactions.

Reconceptualizing Test Instruments in Islamic Religious Education: Integrated Written, Oral, and Performance Assessments for Holistic Evaluation

Ladina Aulia — 2026-08-31

Background: Assessment in Islamic Religious Education (IRE) relies heavily on written tests focusing on cognitive achievements, limiting holistic evaluation of students' competencies. Objective: This article aims to reconceptualize IRE test instruments by integrating written, oral, and performance assessments into a comprehensive evaluation approach. Method: A qualitative library research method was employed, systematically analyzing scholarly literature, academic books, and educational regulations related to IRE assessment. Results: Findings demonstrate that written tests effectively measure knowledge mastery and analytical thinking. Oral tests evaluate conceptual understanding, verbal communication, and religious recitation skills. Performance assessments measure practical worship skills and daily application of Islamic values. Integrating these three instruments enables an all-encompassing evaluation across cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. Conclusion: Reconceptualizing IRE assessments requires a balanced, authentic evaluation system that provides accurate representations of learning outcomes while supporting the holistic development of students' religious character. Contribution: This study contributes a conceptual framework that bridges the gap in IRE evaluation literature by offering a unified multi-method assessment model to enhance educational validity and practice.

Philosophical Appraisal of Curriculum Design as Nigeria’s Educational Social Contract: A Systematic Review

Emmanuel Lucas nwachukwu — 2026-08-31

Background: Curriculum design in Nigeria is usually treated as a technical administrative task, yet it represents the foundational commitments of the state under its educational social contract. Objective: This systematic review evaluates whether contemporary Nigerian curriculum design fulfills the epistemic obligations owed to citizens using social contract theory. Method: Guided by PRISMA principles, a search across seven databases identified 62 relevant publications from 2017 to 2026. Forty core sources underwent full thematic synthesis, while 22 sources provided theoretical framing. Results: Five analytical themes emerged: the widespread policy practice gap, persistent colonial knowledge hierarchies, epistemic flaws in language policies, tensions between democratic ideals and transmission pedagogy, and the interdependence of curriculum, assessment, teacher education, and language reform. Conclusion: The failure of the Nigerian educational social contract is structural and philosophical rather than administrative. Successive post independence revisions remain symbolic, preserving inherited colonial epistemologies. Sustainable reform demands systemic epistemological reconstruction, addi-tive multilingualism, and transformed pedagogical practice. Contribution: This study introduces epistemic obligation as a vital dimension of state responsibility, shifting the curriculum reform paradigm in post colonial contexts from simple policy revision toward fundamental epistemological reconstruction.