International Journal Corner of Educational Research

Digital Marketing for Islamic Educational Institutions: Optimization of Websites, Social Media, and Online Student Admission

2026-09-27T05:21:36+00:00

Advancements in digital technology are prompting Islamic educational institutions to shift their marketing strategies from conventional models to digital marketing. Digital marketing serves not merely as a promotional tool but also as a communication strategy to build institutional image and public trust, while facilitating the new student admission process. This article aims to analyze digital marketing strategies specifically through the optimization of websites, social media, and online admission systems within Islamic educational institutions. The study employs a qualitative approach, utilizing a literature review method to examine sources related to educational marketing, social media, websites, branding, and student admissions. The findings indicate that websites function as official information hubs and social media as platforms for engagement and image enhancement, while online admission systems link promotional efforts directly to the student enrollment process. The effectiveness of these strategies depends on content consistency, the quality of human resources, information credibility, and the ability to uphold Islamic educational values. Consequently, digital marketing must be managed in an integrated and sustainable manner that prioritizes public trust. This comprehensive framework provides a foundation for modernizing the outreach efforts of madrasahs and Islamic boarding schools in an increasingly competitive global education market.

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning Analysis of Islamic Educational Institutions Based on Public Preferences in the Educational Competition Era

2026-09-28T10:52:51+00:00

The increasingly diverse educational competition encourages Islamic educational institutions to understand community characteristics and preferences in making educational choices. This study aims to analyze the segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) of Islamic educational institutions based on public preferences in the era of educational competition. A descriptive quantitative approach was utilized, involving 100 respondents. Data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using frequency distributions, percentages, and mean scores. The results reveal five community preference groups, with the strengthening of Islamic values being the largest preference at 29.0%, followed by academic quality at 24.0%. The targeting stage demonstrates that groups oriented toward Islamic values and academic quality are the primary targets based on segment size and preference levels. Regarding positioning, the strengthening of Islamic values and education achieved the highest mean score of 4.58, followed by academic quality (4.46) and educator competence (4.38). These findings indicate that the position of Islamic educational institutions in public perception is shaped by combining Islamic identity with quality educational delivery. Ultimately, this research provides implications for developing STP strategies oriented toward community preferences to navigate educational competition.

Building Positive Work Behavior in Islamic Education Human Resources Through Transformational - Prophetic Synergy: A Literature Review

2026-10-04T13:54:52+00:00

The quality of Islamic education heavily depends on the positive work behavior of human resources (HR) that transcends mere technical competency. However, literature examining the synergy between transformational leadership and Islamic organizational culture as a systematic entity in shaping such behavior remains scarce. This study aims to formulate a theoretical construct regarding the synergy of transformational leadership and Islamic organizational culture in shaping the positive work behavior of Islamic education HR. Using a library research method, data were collected from books and reputable journal articles published between 2015 and 2025, and then analyzed using content analysis techniques. The findings produced the "Transformatif-Profetik Leadership Synergy Model," which integrates the dimensions of transformational leadership with prophetic values (siddiq, amanah, tabligh, fathonah, rahmah). This synergy is proven to shift the HR psychological contract from transactional to transcendental, which in turn shapes three dimensions of positive work behavior: Spiritual Organizational Citizenship Behavior (S-OCB), meaningful Work Engagement, and Proactive Innovative Behavior. Theoretically, this study bridges the gap between conventional management theories and Islamic normative values. Practically, this model provides strategic guidelines for Islamic education institution leaders in recruiting, developing, and evaluating HR based on spiritual values.

Madrasah and Pesantren Branding: Building the Image of Excellent Islamic Educational Institutions

2026-10-07T12:18:11+00:00

Madrasahs and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in Indonesia face both challenges and opportunities in building and maintaining their image as excellent educational institutions in an era of global competition and digitalization. This article aimed to analyze effective branding strategies for Islamic educational institutions by integrating Islamic values as core values. Utilizing a systematic literature review approach, this study examines recent literature on marketing management and educational branding in Islamic contexts. The analysis indicates that constructing an institutional image of excellence requires a paradigm shift from traditional institutions to professionally managed entities. Key strategies include: (1) formulating differentiation based on the integration of general science and religious studies, (2) implementing integrated image communication through digital branding and public relations, and (3) maintaining a balance between da'wah (proselytization) orientation and managerial professionalism. The article concludes that the success of madrasah and pesantren branding depends on their ability to consistently articulate an authentic brand identity across all communication channels. The practical implication of this study is a conceptual model that institutional managers can adopt to enhance competitiveness and public image. Future research is recommended to empirically test the effectiveness of these strategies and explore stakeholder perceptions in depth.

Islamic Education Pricing Strategy: Tuition Fees, Scholarships, and Social Justice

2026-10-02T13:56:28+00:00

Pricing strategy is one of the important aspects of managing Islamic educational institutions because it is closely related to financial sustainability, the quality of educational services, and affordability for the community. This study aimed to analyze the concept of pricing strategy in Islamic education, particularly in the implementation of tuition fees, scholarships, cross-subsidies, and the principle of social justice. The study employs a qualitative approach using a library research method through a review of various relevant scholarly articles and academic sources, particularly publications from the past five years. The data were analyzed descriptively and analytically by identifying concepts, comparing research findings, and synthesizing various findings regarding Islamic education financing strategies. The results of the review indicate that pricing strategy in Islamic education should not only be oriented toward meeting the financial needs of educational institutions but should also consider students’ economic capacity, service quality, transparency, efficiency, accountability, and institutional sustainability. Tuition fees should be determined based on reasonable educational costs and accompanied by scholarship mechanisms, cross-subsidies, and fee reductions for students with limited economic resources. Furthermore, diversifying funding sources through waqf, zakat, infaq, sadaqah, government assistance, and community participation can reduce institutions’ dependence on tuition fees. Therefore, an appropriate pricing strategy in Islamic education is a strategy that is able to balance the financial sustainability of educational institutions with the principles of justice, public benefit, and equal access to education in order to achieve social justice.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Enhancing the Retention of Students, Parents, and Alumni

2026-10-07T07:19:29+00:00

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a managerial approach that can be applied by Islamic educational institutions to build, maintain, and strengthen long-term relationships with their stakeholders. In the context of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren), CRM has a strategic role in increasing student retention, strengthening parents’ trust, and maintaining alumni engagement with the institution. This article aimso analyze the implementation of Customer Relationship Management in improving the retention of santri, Parents (walisantri), and alumni. This study employs a qualitative descriptive approach. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documentation related to the management of relationships between the pesantren and its santri, walisantri, and alumni. Data analysis was conducted through data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing and verification. The findings indicate that CRM can be implemented through effective communication, improved service quality, information management, the utilization of digital technology, and active involvement of santri, walisantri, and alumni. Well-managed relationships can increase stakeholder satisfaction, trust, loyalty, and engagement with the pesantren. Therefore, CRM can serve as a strategic management approach to support institutional sustainability by strengthening retention and fostering long-term relationships with all pesantren stakeholders.

Flagship Marketing Program Strategies: Tahfidz, Bilingual, Islamic STEM, and Pesantrenpreneur

2026-10-16T00:06:18+00:00

Islamic educational institutions face increasing competition in communicating their distinctive educational value. However, marketing discussions on flagship programs require a clearer connection between the research problem, program-specific strategies, and the theoretical and practical implications of educational marketing. This article aims to examine how four flagship programs Tahfidz, bilingual education, Islamic STEM, and pesantrenpreneur can be positioned as instruments of differentiation and institutional branding in Islamic educational institutions. The study employs a qualitative library research approach, involving the identification, classification, interpretation, and synthesis of relevant literature on educational marketing, pesantren branding, bilingual education, STEM/STEAM integration, and entrepreneurship education. The review identifies four complementary dimensions of program positioning: Qur’anic character development through Tahfidz, communicative competence through bilingual education, scientific and technological competence grounded in Islamic values through Islamic STEM, and independence and entrepreneurial skills through pesantrenpreneur. The analysis further indicates that these programs can support a coherent institutional identity when integrated with the 7P marketing mix, evidence-based digital communication, and ethical promotional practices. Theoretically, this article offers an integrated framework for understanding flagship programs as interconnected components of educational differentiation and branding. Practically, it provides guidance for Islamic educational institutions in aligning marketing messages with learning processes, verifiable achievements, and educational outcomes. These findings are based on a synthesis of the literature and require empirical investigation to assess their implementation and effectiveness in specific institutional contexts.

Strategies for Managing Compensation, Employee Well-Being, and Motivation to Improve Human Resource Retention in Islamic Educational Institutions

2026-10-21T02:59:17+00:00

Human resources play an essential role in supporting the success and sustainability of Islamic educational institutions. Human resource management involves not only ensuring the availability of competent teaching personnel but also providing fair compensation, promoting employee well-being, fostering work motivation, and retaining qualified teaching and administrative staff. This article synthesize the literature on narrative to compensation, employee well-being, motivation, and human resource retention from the perspective of Islamic Educational Management. This study adopts a qualitative approach using a literature review method to examine scholarly sources relevant to the research topic. The data are analyzed through thematic categorization, comparison of previous research findings, and conceptual synthesis. The findings indicate that both financial and non-financial compensation contribute to perceptions of fairness, job satisfaction, and employee loyalty. Furthermore, well-being, encompassing economic, psychological, social, and professional dimensions, is essential for creating a supportive working environment. Work motivation is influenced not only by material rewards but also by opportunities for competence development, autonomy in performing tasks, positive social relationships, recognition, and the spiritual meaning of work. In Islamic educational institutions, human resource management should be grounded in the principles of justice ('adl), trustworthiness (amanah), excellence (ihsan), consultation (shura), and respect for human dignity. This article concludes that improving human resource retention requires a comprehensive and sustainable management approach. Integrating fair compensation, employee well-being, motivation, and Islamic values is expected to strengthen educators' organizational commitment while supporting improvements in the quality of Islamic educational institutions.

Integrating New Student Admission Data, Parents’ Satisfaction, and Key Performance Indicators in Data-Driven Marketing Management at Islamic Educational Institutions

2026-10-15T23:51:04+00:00

The growing competition among Islamic educational institutions requires them to develop marketing strategies that are oriented not only toward promotion but also toward measurable data and evaluation results. Data-driven marketing enables institutions to use information on the New Student Admission (PPDB) process, the satisfaction level of student guardians (wali santri), and institutional performance indicators as a basis for determining marketing strategies and improving service quality. This study aimed to analyze the implementation of data-driven marketing through PPDB evaluation, measurement of guardian satisfaction, and the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to support the performance improvement of Islamic educational institutions. The study employed a qualitative approach with a descriptive design, collecting data through PPDB documentation, interviews with institutional managers, and interviews with student guardians. The data were analyzed through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing to identify enrollment patterns, factors shaping guardian satisfaction, and performance indicators relevant to institutional marketing strategy. The results showed that integrating these three data sources helps institutions identify the effectiveness of marketing channels, understand the needs and experiences of guardians, and establish more measurable KPIs for evaluating marketing strategies. Therefore, Islamic educational institutions are recommended to integrate PPDB data, guardian satisfaction measurement, and KPIs into a routine evaluation system so that marketing strategies and service quality can be continuously improved.

Indonesian and Japanese Impoliteness on X: A Corpus-Based Comparison with Pedagogical Implications

2026-10-21T02:39:26+00:00

Few studies have compared how Indonesian and Japanese social media users express impoliteness toward their governments. This study coded 50 Indonesian replies on X to a post by the news outlet Tempo about the Free Nutritious Meals program and 50 Japanese replies to a post by the governing Liberal Democratic Party about measures against rising prices. Because the two posts differ in source and topic, the results describe these two corpora rather than the two languages as a whole. Conventionalized impoliteness formulae and implicational impoliteness, following Culpeper (2011), were coded at the segment level and compared at the reply level with Fisher's exact tests and Holm correction. Pointed criticisms/complaints was the only category that differed significantly, appearing in 58% of the Japanese and 24% of the Indonesian replies (adjusted p = .008). Insults were more frequent in the Indonesian replies (34% vs. 16%), but the difference was not significant after correction. In an exploratory comparison, implicational strategies appeared in more Indonesian than Japanese replies (68% vs. 46%). The Japanese replies mainly criticized the government's actions explicitly. The discussion considers how such authentic replies could support pragmatics instruction for Indonesian learners of Japanese.

Teachers and Education Staff Well-Being, Work Engagement, and Retention in Educational Institutions: A Systematic Literature Review with Evidence from Indonesia

2026-10-28T08:37:46+00:00

Educational institutions depend on the energy, commitment, and continuity of their teachers, lecturers, and administrative staff, yet many of these workers report stress, burnout, and a wish to leave the profession. This study aimed to synthesize what is known about the way employee well-being and work engagement relate to human resource retention in educational institutions, and to propose an integrative framework that can guide management practice. A systematic literature review was carried out following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guideline. Peer-reviewed international and Indonesian journal articles, including empirical studies, meta-analyses, and earlier reviews, were identified through multiple databases, screened against explicit eligibility criteria, and analyzed through thematic synthesis. The synthesis produced four main findings. First, job resources and perceived organizational support, together with manageable demands, are the consistently identified antecedents of well-being and engagement. Second, well-being supports engagement through a motivational process in which personal resources such as self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and a sense of calling play a central role. Third, burnout, job dissatisfaction, and weak attachment to the organization predict the intention to leave, whereas engagement is linked to commitment and, indirectly, to retention. Fourth, Indonesian studies largely confirm the international pattern, but they are mostly small, cross-sectional, and focused on classroom teachers, and they rarely measure retention outcomes. The study concludes that retention in educational institutions is best treated as the cumulative result of a resource-rich work environment, and it offers practical guidance for school leaders, foundation managers, and policymakers, together with an agenda for longitudinal and multi-group research.

Teachers Talking Back to AI: A Literature Review of Indonesian Vocational ESP Teachers’ Voices on ChatGPT in Published Articles

2026-10-30T02:39:05+00:00

English teachers in Indonesian vocational high schools are expected to teach English for Specific Purposes (ESP) with little field knowledge, material or curriculum guidance, and generative AI such as ChatGPT is quickly filling this gap. Existing studies report vocational teachers’ AI perceptions one site at a time, mostly through acceptance surveys, and none has synthesised what these teachers actually say. This literature review applied Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis to six freely accessible empirical articles (2024–2026) reporting the views of up to 88 in-service and pre-service SMK English teachers. Four themes were constructed: AI as a stand-in for the subject specialist; AI kept behind the classroom door, used mainly for preparation under constraints of paid features, devices and school rules; checking AI output against vocational reality, sometimes through students’ workshop knowledge; and guarding creativity, integrity and moral guidance as human work. The review shows that AI currently absorbs a structural ESP problem at the level of the individual teacher. It contributes a cross-study reading of vocational teachers’ voices, identifies a verification paradox in AI-assisted ESP, and informs ESP-oriented AI literacy, collaboration with vocational-subject teachers, and institutional guidance.

Strategies for Improving Tutor Competence in the Implementation of Inclusive Education at Al-Ghozali Community Learning Center, Ogan Komering Ulu Regency

2026-10-26T12:28:05+00:00

This study aimed to analyze the tutor competency improvement strategy in implementing inclusive education at the Al-Ghozali Community Learning Center (PKBM) in Lubuk Banjar Village, Lubuk Raja District, Ogan Komering Ulu Regency. This study used a qualitative approach with descriptive methods. Data were obtained through interviews, observations, and documentation related to the implementation of the tutor competency improvement program and the inclusive learning process. The analysis was conducted descriptively by considering the stages of the competency development strategy and their impact on learning implementation. The results showed that the tutor competency improvement strategy was implemented through training, workshops, coaching, supervision, discussions between tutors, and independent learning. These strategies support the development of four aspects of tutor competency: pedagogical, personality, professional, and social. Improved pedagogical competency is seen in the tutor's ability to adapt learning methods and media to the diverse characteristics of students. Personal competency is reflected in patience, empathy, and responsibility, while professional competency develops through mastery of material and understanding of inclusive education. Social competency is also strengthened through communication and collaboration with students, fellow tutors, and PKBM managers. However, its implementation still faces obstacles such as limited facilities and infrastructure, a lack of specialized training in inclusive education, and differences in student abilities. This study concluded that improving tutor competency requires a systematic and sustainable approach through institutional support, mentoring, and regular evaluation to achieve inclusive, adaptive, and high-quality non-formal education services.

Beyond Qawlan: Reconstructing Politeness Theory for Digital Ethics from Indonesian Islamic Communication

2026-10-26T03:45:52+00:00

Although it remains the most important framework in politeness studies, the model's shortcomings can be highlighted in the way that the same type of expressions can be offensive and yet elicit national outrage yet another equally offensive expression can go unmarked, and state downfalls and resignations can result. This article aims to reconstruct politeness theory built based on qawlan concept as depicted in the Qur'ān and experienced and debated in the Islamic communication in Indonesia. It was designed in qualitative interpretive method in which a thematic reading (tafsir mawdu’i) was performed on the verses of qawlans and reflexive thematic analysis was conducted on 19 news reports and official statements from the public on the Internet between November 2024 and August 2026, and complemented by published data on a comment level. It tackles the following five cases: a preacher flogging a street vendor; the 2025 protests; suspension of TikTok LIVE; a ministry's decision on a political video; and a regulation for four hours takedown. The four evaluative criteria found were: respect of the less powerful party (as perceived by the networked bystanders), veracity of contents, direction of the forceful language and amplification of the channel. Only some of these criteria are found in accounts in which the face is covered; they are not ordered as they are in the qawlan tradition. An Accountable Dignity Model is therefore suggested, that organizes the Qur'anic ethics of speech in the following layers: epistemic, relational and consequential, all based on human dignity (karamah). It brings a layer of truth to the concept of politeness, shifts from the hearer to the networked public, and connects politeness with accountability, implications for pragmatics, religious communication and platform governance.

Education Diplomacy in Critical Minerals: Indonesia’s Nickel Partnerships with the United States, Japan and Australia

2026-10-28T08:23:29+00:00

Critical minerals diplomacy is usually analysed as a contest over supply chains, investment and trade rules, while education is treated as a separate field of soft power. This article asks how education is positioned within Indonesia’s nickel partnerships with the United States, Japan and Australia, and what that positioning reveals about the terms on which a resource-rich middle power engages its partners. Using a qualitative comparative case design, the study applies document analysis and reflexive thematic analysis to 20 freely accessible official documents and reports, most issued between July 2023 and August 2026, including leaders’ joint statements, trade agreements, memoranda and ministerial statements. Four themes were identified. First, partners frame education primarily as workforce formation for mineral and clean-energy supply chains, while Indonesia’s own statements foreground downstream industrialisation and battery production. Second, education diplomacy runs largely on a parallel track: scholarships, university campuses and exchanges are prominent but rarely linked to mining, processing or battery skills. Third, framing is asymmetric: partners present education as attraction and long-term friendship, whereas Indonesia treats partnerships as channels for capital, technology and domestic vocational capacity built with industrial-park investors. Fourth, the United States shifted between 2023 and 2026 from a capacity-building partnership to a transactional market-access agreement, while Japan moved towards coupling minerals with industrial human resource development. The article proposes the Critical Minerals Knowledge Diplomacy (CMKD) framework, which locates partnerships by the coupling of education to the minerals agenda and by their developmental or transactional orientation, and introduces the concept of the downstream knowledge gap. It argues that education will strengthen Indonesia’s bargaining position only if it is negotiated as part of the minerals agenda rather than alongside it.